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A review by thebobsphere
Theft by Luke Brown
4.0
When I was reading Luke Brown’s second novel, Theft, I was a bit puzzled. Is it a political novel? is it a book about relationships? Probably it’s both but I think a brief plot summary will put things in perspective.
The main protagonist Paul is a bookseller in London, who also works for a hipster magazine White Jesus (think of newly revived art mag The Face). He’s in his 30’s and drifts in life. A sort of more savvy Nick Hornby character. Occasionally he meets his sister.
When the novel begins, the siblings are ruminating over the death of their mother. In the meantime they have to sell her house. With that looming in Paul’s mind there’s also the Brexit referendum. We all know how that turned out and it seems that Paul can’t get over it. Especially since the North ,where he’s from, voted leave while London voted remain.
Then a chain of events happen to Paul which change his life. First of all he meets author, Emily, who he fancies. Then her older boyfriend Andrew. At the same time he has to move out of his shared flat. On top of that he meets Andrew’s feminist, reactionary daughter, Sophie, and THEY hit it off. Add to friends and lovers who drift in and out of Paul’s life and his sister’s upcoming pregnancy and you have got a mess.
Theft is mostly about the complexity of relationships. It’s also about social classes and, in a way it’s a coming of age story as Paul does realise he has to grow up – to a certain extent. I guess as Britain is going into a new phase, Paul has to realise he has to as well.
The obvious star of the novel is Paul. He’s selfish and tends to be impulsive, which is the cause of his troubles. At the same time he is funny, has some charm and will go out of his way to help the people who he cares about. He’s not a good person but entirely a bad one either.
Stylistically Theft is a bit deadpan but it’s addictive reading. I had to know if Paul manages to grow up and realise that he’s making a lot of messes. It’s also funny and I did crack a smile, especially Paul’s particular brand of sarcasm.
I liked Theft, it’s a novel stuffed with themes, memorable characters and touches on a lot of topical issues. It’s written in a slightly unconventional manner but once you get into it, the book ensnares you into it’s world quickly.
The main protagonist Paul is a bookseller in London, who also works for a hipster magazine White Jesus (think of newly revived art mag The Face). He’s in his 30’s and drifts in life. A sort of more savvy Nick Hornby character. Occasionally he meets his sister.
When the novel begins, the siblings are ruminating over the death of their mother. In the meantime they have to sell her house. With that looming in Paul’s mind there’s also the Brexit referendum. We all know how that turned out and it seems that Paul can’t get over it. Especially since the North ,where he’s from, voted leave while London voted remain.
Then a chain of events happen to Paul which change his life. First of all he meets author, Emily, who he fancies. Then her older boyfriend Andrew. At the same time he has to move out of his shared flat. On top of that he meets Andrew’s feminist, reactionary daughter, Sophie, and THEY hit it off. Add to friends and lovers who drift in and out of Paul’s life and his sister’s upcoming pregnancy and you have got a mess.
Theft is mostly about the complexity of relationships. It’s also about social classes and, in a way it’s a coming of age story as Paul does realise he has to grow up – to a certain extent. I guess as Britain is going into a new phase, Paul has to realise he has to as well.
The obvious star of the novel is Paul. He’s selfish and tends to be impulsive, which is the cause of his troubles. At the same time he is funny, has some charm and will go out of his way to help the people who he cares about. He’s not a good person but entirely a bad one either.
Stylistically Theft is a bit deadpan but it’s addictive reading. I had to know if Paul manages to grow up and realise that he’s making a lot of messes. It’s also funny and I did crack a smile, especially Paul’s particular brand of sarcasm.
I liked Theft, it’s a novel stuffed with themes, memorable characters and touches on a lot of topical issues. It’s written in a slightly unconventional manner but once you get into it, the book ensnares you into it’s world quickly.