Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "it-s-what-he-would-ve-wanted"

It's What He Would've Wanted by Sean Hughes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"It's What He Would've Wanted" is a dark comedy. I got the impression that this book was semi-autobiographical, the main character being very similar to the Sean we knew and loved from his stand up shows. The novel tells the story of Shea, whose father commits suicide. Shea finds his father's diaries and is inspired to look more deeply into his father's past to find out what could have led him to take his own life.

It's an intricate mystery, with lots of humour but also lots of introspective prose and darker parts to the tale. There are sections of the book where the author seems to be speaking directly to the reader, rather than narrating the characters' views; that reminded me of the segments in "Sean's Show" when Sean would take a few minutes to talk directly to the audience.

Although the book is quite dark, it's entertaining and thought-provoking. Much like Sean's stand-up comedy, this story vents certain frustrations about life and the human condition in an honest and open way.

If you were a fan of Sean's comedy, I would definitely recommend this book.



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