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An Unexamined Life
Gareth Young’s second novel spices up echoes of Kafka’s The Trial and Nabakov’s Lolita with a pinch of erotica as he crafts a compelling tale of the relentless and inevitable decline of a modern day Don Giovanni.
Joe Kay is released from a career that had long since lost its meaning by inheritance and seeks solace in his marriage, but when he discovers that a decade of neglect had allowed his vows to drain away he allows his libido to lead him astray. He accumulates an online roster of virtual mistresses, starts sleeping with a stripper and plays strip-Twister with a neighbor. Eventually a high school girl who frequents his favorite coffee shop and his daily fantasies exploits his clumsy infatuation and seduces Joe. Has he finally found a home for his faithless heart or would his newfound loyalty falter and lead Joe and his lovers deeper into disaster?
Joe Kay is released from a career that had long since lost its meaning by inheritance and seeks solace in his marriage, but when he discovers that a decade of neglect had allowed his vows to drain away he allows his libido to lead him astray. He accumulates an online roster of virtual mistresses, starts sleeping with a stripper and plays strip-Twister with a neighbor. Eventually a high school girl who frequents his favorite coffee shop and his daily fantasies exploits his clumsy infatuation and seduces Joe. Has he finally found a home for his faithless heart or would his newfound loyalty falter and lead Joe and his lovers deeper into disaster?
Kindle Edition
First published August 10, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 21, 2011
Calling this a modern day Lolita really fails to do this book justice.
The flawed main character Joe Kay is bored with life, newly flush with cash after an inheritance and looking for fun. Flirtations with internet porn and strip club visits spiral out of control as Joe's libido takes him into the arms of a string of women as his wife is too focused on her business. Among the arms and loins he seeks escape in are his neighbor, wifes assistant, a stripper and then a 17 year old girl keen to escape her oppressive parents.
His attention to each draws him further from his wife, until finally things crash around him and he is on the run with a 17 year old lover.
Gareth Young's Unexamined Life is a brilliant examination of moral decline, materialism, guilt, ecstasy, addiction and despair.
The flawed main character Joe Kay is bored with life, newly flush with cash after an inheritance and looking for fun. Flirtations with internet porn and strip club visits spiral out of control as Joe's libido takes him into the arms of a string of women as his wife is too focused on her business. Among the arms and loins he seeks escape in are his neighbor, wifes assistant, a stripper and then a 17 year old girl keen to escape her oppressive parents.
His attention to each draws him further from his wife, until finally things crash around him and he is on the run with a 17 year old lover.
Gareth Young's Unexamined Life is a brilliant examination of moral decline, materialism, guilt, ecstasy, addiction and despair.
November 11, 2012
I love it - but then I wrote it! While racy and in parts quite unpleasant, it is far the best thing I have ever written.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews