Literary fiction at its meta meta best.

I wouldn't normally go for this genre, but am so glad I picked it up. There are so many rings within rings, ways of approaching the theme and thesis and compelling characters I could probably get even more out of it by listening again.
The audio version is certainly enhanced by the narrator's voice acting. The laconic delivery at the start sets the tone and he is able not just to differentiate between male and female characters, but makes each one distinctive. It is read with understanding and intelligence.
The plot is simple in describing a writer who hero worships another writer and discovers their secret. The book our main character wants to write has an anti-hero at its core. The first meta level is that our author is writing about an anti-hero who wants to create a work of art as legacy. The main character has alcohol and drug addictions, suffers from a degree of hubris, confronts ethical dilemmas, his marriage and relationship with his children is falling apart and his job is in jeopardy. The descriptions are so vivid and the character's mantra is "write what you know" it made me wonder about the author's own story. Although this is an audio, the script is good at "showing, not telling" and lets the audience make their own deductions and draw their own conclusions. There is a small section of exposition of the character's take on loving and loathing, but these feelings for self and others are explored throughout the book. Another quirk of our anti-hero is his relationship with the character he created in his youth - a crime solving London pigeon. Meta comes in again as he also says the characters he creates have a life and purpose of their own.

I received a free copy, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

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