Beetlebum

The story began with a strong narrative that was interesting, though I found it a bit difficult to stay fully engaged at first. As the book progressed and the dialogue picked up, it became more engaging. The plot was solid—both interesting and realistic. The ending felt a bit abrupt, but since it’s part of a trilogy, I’m sure the next book will pick up where this one left off. Overall, I enjoyed the story and look forward to continuing the journey in the next installment.

The story grew on me, and the main character kept me reading. The writing style took some getting used to—it's dense and uses a lot of adverbs, which felt a bit overdone at times. Still, the mix of dark humor and emotional depth worked, and I’m curious what happens next.

The writing is, as others have pointed out, sharp, clever, and enticing. The first part of this book is mostly narrative and exposition. As good as Basso’s writing is, I was a little fatigued by that and wanted to hear the characters speak for themselves. In the latter part of the book, he does start to use more dialogue, which enhances his gift for writing and makes his characters come to life. I found the exchange on the plane and at the rental car company fresh and delightful. The plot is smart, ingenious, and draws you in from the first sentence. The ending leaves you wanting more. Cue the next book, please! I recommend this book to anyone who likes a book that is cleverly written and has fresh characters.

This is definitely a character driven story. The author really immerses you in the perspective of Liam O'Shea, a law student whose father had just died. I don't think this book is for everyone, but it definitely has its audience. It's listed as satire, but I thought it had more of a literary fiction feel. The narrative is very wordy in showing what Liam is thinking and doing. Very little while happen in the space of a few pages. This isn't a bad thing. It has a biting sarcastic feel to it that can be entertaining. But you really have to like this sort of fiction to get into it. I think this book will best be liked by lovers of literary fiction, and I recommend it to that crowd.

This is a rather straight forward story: a young man, Liam, lacking prospects and money, has been estranged from his father for many years. It comes as a great surprise that his father leaves him a considerable fortune and property. The latter half of the book details Liam’s travel by airplane to Ireland with his girlfriend, a fellow law student. The writing is quite humorous, but the prose style is also quite elaborate with many references to literature and popular culture, some rather obscure. Not an easy read perhaps, but enjoyable nonetheless. There is to be a second novel to come which carries the story further. I look forward to reading it.

Great flow and very easy to read

BettleBum by Christian Basso is quite a story. An up-and-coming lawyer in his graduating year inherits a fortune from his estranged father, whom he barely sees except on occasional holidays. This story is so well written and kept me interested throughout the book. I look at Liam's play on his emotions and understand why it is called Beetlbum. There are clashing emotions, so many that I can't explain them all. Happiness for money and fortune, dealing with a man he tried to understand and could not believe his father even had such money, property, and more. He is bored of dealing with people who respect him, but he doesn't know them. He is trying to deal with them and their whole lifestyle in a reasonably wealthy area. He is learning about his father from Quinn, the lawyer, and other selected friends. It is dark humor at its best. The descriptive narrative is interesting enough to look forward to the next book. The author's writing keeps you interested.