Straight White Male

Does anyone do erudite nastiness better than John Niven? Maybe, but he is pretty darn good at it! Unlike his Stelfox character in the "Kill Your Friends" series, however, the protagonist in "Straight White Male", Kennedy Marr, has a touch of grace and wisdom that make his multiple mistakes empathetically tragic. Mr. Marr is an wildly successful, aging writer who is gifted with the double curse of talent and expensive tastes. While his talent has enabled him to indulge in all manner of goodies, it also creates cognitive dissonance when he is forced to exploit it to pay for his habits. Niven creates a periscope into the publishing and movie business, which provides a cursory tutorial on the craft and business of writing. In true Irish fashion, this character provokes tears and laughter on the same page. A lovely read.

It is easy to dismiss this novel as a testosterone-fueled brag about liquor and sex. While this element is present, the novel addresses mainly the character's pain, regret, and sadness at what he has lost through his desires. It is in places intensely moving, and always well-written. I strongly recommend it for men and women alike.

I found the writing vivid and inspired, the story hilarious at times, but it also gravitates toward bathos and melodrama. When all is said and done, the novel is an entertaining read but leaves you thinking "Well, so What?"

Great book. There are moments of laugh out loud when people around you think you're nuts and moments when you measure your own life against passages. There is one point when the main character describes what he was doing when he could have been experiencing the moments of growing up of his daughter and if you are a parent it will bring a tear to your eye. I've read all his stuff and he doesn't have a genre. He just seems to write great stories that get you involved however mad they appear, they always stay on the right side of believeable. Keep writing John Niven and I'll keep reading and thanks for the laughs and the wisdom.

Loved the author’s previous books but actually think this was the best. The ability to make the reader laugh, cry and reflect is quite rare.In the current climate of having to be careful of what we say to and of our behaviour towards females I can’t imagine this book will go down well with everyone.(no pun intended)

My first John Niven book was "The Second Coming", which is to this day one of the best fiction novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I've read most of his books since and he has consistently entertained, enthralled and enthused me throughout each and every journey. Straight White Male did not disappoint by any stretch of the imagination; it's a good, fun and foul read all at the same time and I would recommend it to anyone.

Just a great read, rude, disrespectful, funny, sad, an anti hero whom you really would prefer not to change, I liked him for what he is.

Raw, desperate and pathetic story of effects of fame and ego. Excellent read. I cast the lead's character for the movie version within the first few pages. Wonder who else did so.

I've read a couple of novels by this author and love his style of raw comedy which challenges the reader to be offended (it's fair to say if you are a sensitive soul then his novels will not be for you).Here we have Kennedy an Irish novelist who has ended up in Hollywood screen writing for huge amounts of money and very little job satisfaction. He is a loathsome man but I was hoping that he would be interesting enough to keep my attention throughout the book - unfortunately he wasn't and I eventually tired of his behaviour. I never quite understood why everyone around him but up with him as he doesn't seem to do anything that it useful to anyone, I also couldn't even work out why he was successful in any form.John Niven is enjoying himself hugely by creating such a monster and it's valid to have someone like this as a main character but it makes it even more important that he is entertaining and Kennedy did not entertain me.I tried very hard to hate Kennedy but sadly, by the end of the book, I didn't care what happened to him at all.

Wow!! John Niven can seriously write!!! A fantastically well written entertaining story about the life of a narcissistic writer from Ireland who through utter unflinching belief in his purpose manages to wrestle his way through his tumultuous existence.What I really love about this writers style is how he is able to take the most straightfoward moments and eleganty weve them into the most immersive descriptive ones. Pulling no punches in his portrayal of characters and narrative the story flowed into my imagination with great ease...There is a definate weight of intellect behind his use of prose, an incredible understanding of how to use words for maximum entertainment value, very funny!!!Kennedy the main character is a hapless soul, deeply flawed which is what I think makes him relatable, but fundementally at his core a decent person who doesnt mean any harm, he just cant help himself and regularly finds himself drowning in a sea of his own narcissistic chaos. I liked him. He's got guts and he doesnt suffer fools. This is the story of his life, his family, his mistakes and success and ultimately his redemption.

As a huge Niven fan, I loved Kill your friends but wasn't overwhelmed by the Sunshine Cruise Company. I didn't know what to expect with this one... All I can say it's the best book he's ever written, and the funniest book I've ever read. People were looking at me on the beach in Tenerife literally crying with laughter it is so funny at some points. The humour really isn't for everyone, if you're someone easily offended then Niven is not your man, but if you have a sense of humour, a bit close to the bone, and want a can't put down book that will leave you gutted once it's over as there's no more, then this is it. Absolutely loved this book.

I liked this quite a lot: it made me laugh out loud several times. It was difficult to avoid comparing it with "Lucky Jim" by Kingsley Amis. (I think the author was aware of this, as Kingsley gets a mention here and there.) The famous hangover section of Lucky Jim had me helpless with streaming eyes for several minutes, gasping for breath. This book raised the odd guffaw, but that's rare enough at my age. The main character is a bit of a monster (like the guy in "Money" by Martin Amis), but quite likeable/sympathetic (when he "goes off on one", I was rooting for him), and the people who surround him are vivid, and interesting. In my opinion, the narrative was clunky and over-signalled, and the end was a non-event.Not at all bad. Glad I bought it. Will look at other things by John Niven.

From the first few words I disliked Kennedy Marr! He was an obnoxious, philandering odious individual. What this book did was turn it all around so that I genuinely cared what happened to Kennedy and his life. I enjoyed reading the book and although I could see the turns and twists the narrative and characterisation within the storyline were such that I found myself unable to out the book down! My first Given experience but it will not be my last!