"I HAVE ALWAYS IMAGINED THAT PARADISE WILL BE A KIND OF LIBRARY. "

Jorge Luis Borges

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

“The Up and Comer”    by  Howard Roughan


Review #54


The strain of living an excessive, brazen, lavishly upper-tier Manhattan life in an "incredibly self-centered, every-man-for-himself world" takes a disastrous toll on the married 30-something cutthroat attorney, Philip Randall. He shamelessly admits to enjoying an extramarital affair with Jessica, his best friend Connor's girlfriend. He's definitely not a likable guy, especially when spewing smug commentary on just about every aspect of city life, and when socializing with wife Tracy's haughty, very wealthy, Greenwich, Conn., family. But… enter penniless "stoner" Tyler Mills, a prep school buddy of Philip's, who has unexpectedly blown into town, and this time Philip's arsenal of designer labels and street-smart manipulation fails him.

Tyler, flashing his "Manson Family grin", has been busy spying on his school chum's secret rendezvous with Jessica and predictably proceeds to blackmail him. Outraged at his friend's audacity and escalating threats, Philip hatches a double-crossing scheme.

Auxiliary characters, particularly Philip's robust boss, Jack Devine, and Jack's kind, innocuous wife, Sally, add the depth and humanity necessary to counteract Philip's almost robotic duplicity.

Good book...it’s rumored that this book plot is going to become a movie plot!

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