RUM HIJACK by Phil Motel @motelacid

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
Also free on Kindle Unlimited

How I discovered this book:  I read and loved the original version...

In A Nutshell: Darkly humorous literary fiction about a delusional would-be writer.

Rum Hijack was originally written as three novellas, some years ago; I read them all as they came out, and loved them - now they're back as one novel, a new and improved version that retains all that I liked about the original, but is much more streamlined, better edited and put together so well that you can't see the join, as it were.

The nameless young male protagonist tells his story in the first person; later to call himself Inkker Hauser, he lives alone in a flat left to him by his grandfather, does not work, and leads a rather lonely life; often, his only company is his beloved goldfish, Kursk (named after his favourite nautical disaster), and the staff and drinkers at his local pub.

Inkker is convinced that he is destined to become a writer of such importance that, once his masterpiece is written, all other literary works will pale beside it.  He pours scorn on self-published ebook writers, on the pretentious and the less intelligent, sure that once his words burst forth, the world will recognise and revere his unmatched talent.  His lack of production he puts down to 'writer's block', and, as his frustration mounts, his grip on reality slides slowly down hill, lost in alcoholic and drug-induced chaos.

Although very much a contemporary novel, with its references to the technology and culture of today, the book it reminds me of most is Victorian comic novel Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K Jerome; similarly, the young man darts off at tangents to talk about something else in such a way that you don't mind because it's every bit as entertaining as the main story.  Also, the observations about human behaviour are both amusing and remarkably astute, and the standard of the writing itself is as good as any cult literary classic. 

Aside from this, what makes the book work so well is the fact that the young man is oddly likeable, despite his deranged alcoholism and cynical outlook.  I found myself really wanting him to find some love and peace of mind.  He is kind to the less fortunate, and to the old lady in a nearby flat, and his love for his fish is very sweet and quite heartbreaking, because he has no one else on which to focus.  There's also a terrifically moving section in which he talks at length about a childhood outing with his grandfather.

His loneliness and shame over the consequences of his bizarre actions is sometimes painful to read - having said that, though, one of my favourite parts in the entire book is the cringe-making downward spiral of a disastrous date, in which his behaviour becomes increasingly out of control as he drinks far too much and tops it up with cocaine.  The best 'bad date' story I've read!

If you like Charles Bukowski, Hunter Thompson, Philip K Dick, William Burroughs... I hope this book can gain the visibility and readership it deserves, because I believe it could become one of those novels about which, in years to come, people will say, "What?  You haven't read Rum Hijack?"