Lets try to understand the story in the novel How I Met Myself which was written by David Hill.

David
Hill is a teacher trainer and materials writer for English language and literature working out of Budapest,
Hungary. This book is rather unique as you will learn a new word doppelganger. A doppelganger
means a ghostly double who comes to give a warning or offer advice. The doppelganger originates from
a German myth.
Now, lets read on to understand the story!

SUMMARY

The story is mainly about John Taylor and his doppelganger. He is a British expatriate who is working in
Hungary as a computer programmer. Andrea, his wife is a Hungarian language teacher and has a
daughter named Kati. He meets his doppelganger on the evening of 18 January he is knocked down in
the street by his double. He apologizes and runs on to Zsolts cellar bar. Shockingly, he left no footprints
in the snow.

John begins to dream about the meeting and feels scared. After a long time, he finally he confides in
Andrea. At the same time, John researches the idea of a doppelganger. Andrea, starts work part-time at
Zsolts bar. The year passes, baby Kati arrives. Back in Budapest, John becomes more preoccupied as 18
January approaches. The dreams of the meeting return. Surprisingly, the same thing happens; John is
knocked down and the man disappears into Zsolts bar, which is closed.

John eventually discovered that fighting ended in Pest on 18 January 1945. At that time a mother and
child named Szabo were killed by a bomb in Gergely utca. John begins to see the link. He investigates
and found out that during the same time Szabo had rushed round the corner to Gergely utca, only to
find his wife and child had died in the cellar shop, now Zsolts bar. John, tried to talk to Andrea, but she
regarded it as an obsession.

As another year passed, John became less preoccupied and things got better with Andrea. However, the
dreams return. John felt that the meetings with the doppelganger have a connection with his wife. He
investigated and discovered that Janos and Szabo mean John and tailor, like his name Taylor.
Szabo was also born on 23 October as John, and had a wife called Andrea and a daughter, Kati.

On the next 18 January John finds a note from Andrea when he reached home she has gone to work in
Zsolts bar. It is 6.45 pm. He dashes there and he hears a loud noise and runs out, and knocked into
somebody. John sees himself on the ground, apologizes, and runs on to Gergely utca. He was terrified
when he saw the wine bar destroyed. Frantically he tries to organise a rescue, but was sent home by
emergency services. He meets his doppelganger again, who was pointing at Andrea and Kati. John was

overjoyed. Incidentally, there was a man at the bar who looked like John. He discouraged Andrea and
Kati from entering. Andrea remembered that a doppelganger could be seen by someone close, and so
she immediately left with Kati. John was reunited with his family in the end

DISCUSSION

This book is interesting in the sense that there is suspense because we wonder who this intriguing man
is who knocked down John Taylor and who looks like him. The word doppelganger itself may cause some
confusion. Now, lets find out more about doppelgangers!

A doppelganger, can be the ghost of a living person or any other sort of physical double that look very
similar to the ghosts of the deceased. The word doppelganger comes from the German Doppelgaenger,
literally meaning double-goer.
In some cases a person will come upon his own doppelganger who is typically engaged in some future
activity. Scientists at the University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland discovered that electrical stimulation
of the brain, used to treat epilepsy, can produce the sensation of a doppelgangers presence in the
patient.

In folklore, the doppelganger is said to have no shadow or reflection, much like vampires in some
traditions. Seeing ones own doppelganger or the doppelganger of a friend or relative is considered very
bad luck, often indicating death or serious illness.

Doppelgangers appear often in various types of fiction. Guy de Maupassants short story Lui (Him) tells
of the writers own experience with a doppelganger. In Edgar Allan Poes short story William Wilson,
the protagonist of questionable morality is dogged by his doppelganger when his morals fail. In Charles
Williams novel, Descent into Hell, a doppelganger is a significant part of the plot as the heroines fear of
the doppelganger drives relationships and choices. In Stephen Kings book The Dark Half, the main
character, Thad Beaumont, thinks hes being tormented by a murderous doppelganger. But is revealed
later that hes indeed the ghost of Thads twin who had died in his childhood, and acquired an own life
when Thad invented a fictional character for the book he was writing.