A review by fredsphere
Theft by Luke Brown

dark funny lighthearted

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Someone named this book as an example of a male author making a rare splash in the current female-dominated literary landscape. I found the first part simpatico and a lot of fun. The main character works for a hip, edgy print magazine called White Jesus and his only claim to fame in the short, ironic column he writes for it called "The London Review of Haircuts." Otherwise he makes his living working in a bookstore, and the chaotic, loser-y patterns of his life, and his stubborn insistence on ruining it and the lives of others through his envy, gradually takes the book to some tedious scenes of pissy dialog and Category 2 debauchery.

And for what?--the protag's motivations are never made clear. Why do women sleep with him?--I guess he must be good looking; he's certainly not pleasant to be around. At least the novel's ending was an ending, and saved the book my 4th star, but I will warn the reader the book isn't quite as brilliant and hip and fun as the first 25% make it appear.

Still, congrats to the author for getting published in an environment unwelcoming to his kind, and the best of luck to him on his future projects.