Truth in Advertising
Published on 7. July 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-4721-5210-7 (ISBN)
Description
Finbar Dolan is lost and lonely. Except he doesn't know it. Despite escaping his blue-collar Boston upbringing to carve out a mildly successful career at a Madison Avenue ad agency, he's a bit of a mess and closing in on forty. He's recently called off his wedding. Now, a few days before Christmas, he's forced to cancel a long-postponed vacation in order to write, produce, and edit a Superbowl commercial for his diaper account in record time.
Fortunately, it gets worse. He learns that his long-estranged and once-abusive father has fallen ill. And that neither his brothers nor his sister intend to visit. It's a wake-up call for Fin to re-evaluate the choices he's made, admit that he's falling for his co-worker Phoebe, question the importance of diapers in his life, and finally tell the truth about his life and his past.
Fortunately, it gets worse. He learns that his long-estranged and once-abusive father has fallen ill. And that neither his brothers nor his sister intend to visit. It's a wake-up call for Fin to re-evaluate the choices he's made, admit that he's falling for his co-worker Phoebe, question the importance of diapers in his life, and finally tell the truth about his life and his past.
Reviews / Votes
A quick-witted, wry sendup of the advertising industry and corporate culture...A clear-eyed, sympathetic story about complex family ties and the possibility of healing * Washington Post * The protagonist, Finbar Dolan, is Don Draper stripped of all his glamour, success and pomade. What Fin, a midlevel copywriter, does have on Don is a sense of humor. . . . Framed around a surprisingly sweet romance, as well as Fin's eventual confrontation with his painful family history, this debut offers a pleasing lightness-to-heart ratio. * New York Times * We're sold on Kenney's trenchant, quick-witted debut * Entertainment Weekly * A lively debut that has 'movie deal' written all over it. * People Magazine * In this Nick Hornby-esque fiction debut, midlife crisis and family tragedy force a 39-year-old ad man to reevaluate his priorities. * O Magazine, Ten Titles to Pick Up Now * It's the stuff of Jonathan Tropper novels and Judd Apatow films and every Zooey Deschanel fantasy * USAToday.com * A masterful blend of wit and seriousness, stunning in its honesty. A novel sure to appeal to fans of Nick Hornby * Booklist (starred review) * With wry humor, always on point, Kenney guides us through the maze of work, family, love (elusive) and friendship (a lifesaver). This is an outstanding debut * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * A former copywriter, Kenney knows this world and skewers it with deadly accuracy. * Sunday Herald *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 202 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
276 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4721-5210-7 (9781472152107)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
John Kenney has worked as a copywriter in New York City for seventeen years. He has also been a contributor to The New Yorker magazine since 1999. Some of his work appears in a collection of The New Yorker's humor writing, Disquiet, Please! He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit ByJohnKenney.com.