Daniel Levine's debut novel, Hyde, comes with Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appended to the back of the book. It's an unusual move, but one that enables Levine--in his introduction to the classic story--to discuss why he was inspired to create a new take that attempts to craft "a convincing psychological model to explain Jekyll's plunge into self-annihilation."
Levine's tale, which takes place in London over four days in March 1886, begins "Henry Jekyll is dead," picking up where Stevenson left off. Though told from Hyde's perspective, it's more a strange tale of Hyde and Jekyll. Levine's Hyde exists alongside Jekyll's consciousness; inside Jekyll's head, he can reflect on all of his counterpart's thoughts and actions, as well as his own actions as Hyde. He recalls that, shortly after the transformations began, he used Jekyll's money to buy a house and hire a charwoman: "Just like that," he writes, "I was a legitimate human being." Sex, murder and debauchery follow. Now, two years since Jekyll first "ejected me into the world," Hyde says the change "has never felt so smooth before." But Jekyll is gone, dead--and Hyde is alone.
Levine's version of Stevenson's story uncovers a dark, perverse "father" theme that haunts both men. Hyde is masterfully told, with plenty of damp and spooky London gothic atmosphere. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher