Imperfect solo

Got to admit, I have a thing for a fictional bad boy, but with certain caveats. A bad boy who does the outrageous things that a hero or a nice guy can't get away with is great, but they have to have a certain charm. I thought Meyer illustrated this really well. Yes, he is self obsessed and in the grip of a rather narcissistic mid life crisis, but I couldn't help but be charmed by his worldview developing throughout the novel. Meyer is suffering from a kind of existential dread brought on mainly by the realisation that he will probably never be a great jazz musician, his 40th birthday, family issues and worries that he's made all the wrong decisions, particularly about separating from his first wife, the mother of his son Innocent. Throughout this he is aided by his friend who is also a psychologist, Farzad.

This is black comedy but not completely black, Meyer is surrounded by a great cast of family and friends who end in some rather funny situations for him. I loved how his relationship with Farzad was depicted, they are utterly horrible to each other, trading racist insults but it's so natural. Meyer's father is also a great character. Yes, some tragic things happen, but at the same time the parts with the family are warmly depicted. Although Meyer is a bit of a misogynist, this is pointed out by the women in the novel, who give as good as they get. I particularly liked the meta reference that one of the female characters is doing a thesis on late 20th century male novelists and is quite dismissive of the worldview of some of them!

I found this a very entertaining, accomplished novel. It's philosophical, but this is handled with a light enough touch that it doesn't become too preachy.