 Jak Klinikowskireviews Keegan's Folly by Hutton Hayes 1stBooks Library ISBN: 0759619107 |
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LITERARY
SATIRE OF LITERATURE KEEGAN’S FOLLY written by Hutton Hayes and published by 1st Book Library, is a strikingly fresh and original story about a charming yet uneasy writer, trapped by his own incredible success, jilted by the man he adores, and struggling to come to terms with his muse. Keegan Kane was going to be the next Gore Vidal, all the critics said so. His stories in The New Yorker as well as other highbrow publications seemed to indicate that he had a very promising literary career ahead of him. That is until he makes a bet with another up and coming author to see who can write and publish the first gay eclectic Harleguin series set in the ancient world. Keegan writes and publishes HADRIAN’S BALL, a tongue in cheek potboiler set in the Roman Empire. Keegan wins the bet and finds himself at the top of the best seller lists, but at the bottom of the critic’s barrels. He is the king of the gay publishing world, but the laughingstock of the literary establishment. Success is not what he expected it to be. To make matters worse, his cheating lover, Wagner, humiliates him by publicly leaving him for an extremely wealthy financier. Of course the whole situation conspires to leave Keegan unable to write a single word. He is wealthy and well known, yet he is the prisoner of the pulp fiction cell he has made for himself. Into the mix steps Valentino, an extremely smooth male escort and quite possibly the most attractive man Keegan has ever set eyes on. Keegan feels the need to prove to Wagner that he is not destined to be alone in life, so Keegan hires Valentino to pose as his new boyfriend, and the fireworks that are this wonderful book begin. This is an extremely humorous yet thought provoking novel about the absurdities of the literary community and the agents, publishers, authors and critics who populate it. It is on one hand a magnificent and hysterical romp through the New York publishing world, while on the other a complex examination of the values of creativity and the measures of self worth. Is this fluff masquerading as literature, or is it literature masquerading as fluff? Who cares! It is simply a wonderful read, full of devilish plot twists and fabulous dialogue, with delightful characters of outrageous proportion. I highly recommend it to one and all. Jak Klinikowski |