A Work In Progress

A Work In Progress

by Rocky Rochford

5 out of 5

Synopsis
Snider was on the way to having it all—family, success and a movie deal. Then he’s parents died and he was never the same again. Fast forward a few years and Snider is a man who takes pride in punishing himself, forcing himself to live in squalor, as his sister lives it up in a luxurious apartment and enjoys the London night life. With no drive and no ambition to take himself out of the rut he resides in, things are soon to change as the disgraced author will be forced to do things he swore never to do, whilst landing himself in some of craziest antics that are both comical and highly sexual.



Review
Sam Snider is a failed writer, and a failed brother, who drinks and screws his way around London. He's trying to ignore the fact that he has to write, and that perhaps his life is his new work in progress.

I received a free copy in an exchange for an honest review.

Initial reaction: What the f*ck did I just read?

I don't know what I was expecting from this - something Contemporary, and a bit crude?
What I got was... was... well, something crude and Contemporary, but surprisingly real and endearing.
Within a few pages, Sam Snider is one of your best friends. He's someone that has been through a lot of shit, and coped in the only way he knows how. He is constantly going out on a limb for those that he loves. And, for all that he's willing to shag anything that moves, he's actually charming and smart. His narration is an absolute joy to follow. Be ready for a tonne of swearage.

Despite the position he's in, with his voluntary life of both excess (drink and women), and squalor (his flat is a shit tip). He's on constant watch for his baby sister, the party girl who regularly needs saving. His writing is locked away, never to be seen by the public again. You really feel like life has screwed him every which way.

BUT Rochford has done something miraculous, and makes this a very upbeat story. Despite Sam's pessimism throughout the book, it never strays into depressing. Heartfelt, occasionally; but never melancholic.

The plot is... well, we're basically following Sam through his everyday life. Where he goes on non-existing. That's it. No underlying plot. No (major) surprises. No sub-genre of thriller, mystery, or mystical. Just life.
And I loved it.
It was hilarious, and honest. It was more than occasionally crazy. It didn't need anything else, it was just pure entertainment - but with more depth.

I really don't want to say anything else, because, well, Sam Snider says it all better.

Goodreads link
Amazon UK