5 GOLD stars
On Goodreads
My Review
Excellent stuff, I loved it.
Jim Hardwick-Callahan deploys hedonism to mask his disappointment with himself, his guilt and pain, and because he really likes sex and drugs. The temporary buzzes of alcohol, psychedelics, weed, recreational and kinky sex do a good job of masking the emptiness that calls out to him now and again.
I stayed awake to finish it last night when I needed to sleep, because I was totally absorbed. Then of course I lay awake thinking about it. It's that sort of book. This is a terrific writer, unusually so. The book was produced in a very short time - this is mentioned in the author's note at the back, which you should definitely read - so I was surprised how tight it was, such a great structure, spot-on dialogue and detailed labyrinths of inner thought that were sometimes so sad, other times droll, or breezy, or a mixture of all three. The novel is perfectly paced, with never a wasted word.
Megan, with whom he is in love, is the main female character in that her actress name will appear second in the titles after that of Jim's when they make the film. She's clever, creative and elusive, and has way too many issues for one person. Just Jim's type.
BTW, in case this marks your point of departure. The Megan bits often contain lots of bad language and sex, some of it quite graphic. Normally, I would choose not to read that, but I made an exception. It fits the book ... hard to explain. If Jim had talked/thought/acted in a more delicate way it wouldn't have been Jim, it would have been a far less arresting character. In other words, none of it is remotely gratuitous. And it's often funny.
The book features scenes about Jim's father, Pete - I loved reading about him, and Jim's strange brother Cray. Jim's twins Amanda and Todd are essentially sound kids but are both screwed up in the way only teenagers can be. Enter ex-wife Pam. Jim's relationship with her is subtly amusing. Kind of tired. The areas of friction are still there, but they've gone limp.
Then there are the other women, comprising past, present and promising hook-ups.
As Jim's world starts getting smaller, he becomes trapped in his own head...
Amongst all the grimly entertaining chaos are many threads of introspection, anger, loss and heartbreak laid bare. A small amount of words that can illustrate the emotion so starkly; at one point I stopped reading in admiration. 'Boy can this guy write' moments were off the charts. I expect I shall read it again before too long.
It's a snip at 77p, or free on Kindle Unlimited.