Mistaken (novel)
Mistaken is a novel by the Irish novelist and filmmaker Neil Jordan published in 2011 by John Murray in the UK and Soft Skull Press in the US. It won both the Irish Book Award and Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. Plot introduction The novel is told from the viewpoint of Kevin Thunder who grows up in 1960s Dublin, next door to Bram Stoker's house. Kevin has an elusive double, Gerald for whom he is often mistaken. Gerald lives in the more refined Palmerston Park and attends Belvedere College. The narrative begins at Gerald's funeral where Kevin meets Gerald's daughter Emily. The remainder of the novel takes the form of an explanation written for Emily on how his life and that of her father intertwined over the years. Reception Patrick McGrath in The Guardian praises Jordan's depiction of Dublin characters and places, particularly Kevin's parents "These familial scenes are deftly, warmly done, and here the novel breathes with life" but he is less impressed by the more gothic aspects of the story "The problem with Mistaken is a doom-laden cloud of insinuation that hovers over the story and saps its vitality... In terms of its manipulation of gothic tropes, Mistaken