Kill your friends by John Niven***

Reading dates: 11–29 January 2016

In every difficult, worthwhile endeavour there will come a point when the easiest course of action is to abandon forward motion, to allow inertia to take over and to return to the status quo. It is the brave and great man who, upon recognising this point, resists inertia and smashes through to the far side. No matter the cost. I call this juncture the critical moment of will.
Hauptman, Unleash Your Monster (a fictional self-help book in ‘Kill Your Friends’).

This novel was the perfect antidote to ‘Little Dorrit’. Bold, gutsy, funny and relentless, the writing follows Steven Stelfox, a music A&R guy, as he lives one year of his life in coke, sex and intrigue. All of this is portrayed vividly and crassly and I learned more words for cocaine and sex positions I will ever need. He is an unlikely hero, a little John Self, a little Tom Ripley, a little Patrick Bateman. The work of the character is so internal, though, I am not sure if making it into a film would ever be successful. Literal would not work and the only possible solution would be cinematic license, as in ‘Blade Runner’ or ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’. The book is funny, enjoyable and contemporary, perfect in its non-sense and, hopefully a little romantic in its idea of what it is to be in the music industry. I say romantic as a defence for myself, I suppose. I am not sure if I would be able to stand its pace.