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John Niven
Straight White Male
William Heinemann 2013
Kennedy Marr is a wealthy Irish novelist living in LA, one of the most self-centered hedonistic characters one will ever meet.
All Kennedy wanted – all he’d ever wanted – was to do exactly as he pleased all the time in an utterly consequence-free environment. Was this so much to ask for?
Suddenly confronted with a load of unpaid taxes and not enough cash to pay them, the only solution (besides finishing the novel he hasn’t even started) is to accept a prestigious literature prize in England which has been granted to him. However, this means moving to the same town with his ex-wife and 16-year old daughter for a year while teaching at the university where not all people are happy to see him.
Those looking for a politically-correct book written in a nice tame manner, look elsewhere.
To sum up what I think of this novel, I’ll just quote Kennedy’s answer to a lady asking whether or not he has certain ideas he tries to get across in his books.
Ach, you just want to delight the reader really, Kennedy said.
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