Lucy reviews .... Next by James Hynes

"You lost me 40 million Deutche Marks, Hank!  40 million!  You know what, Hank?  You're fired.  

Pack up your things and don't let the door hit you on the way out, deadbeat.".  

After a long day at work, there's nothing I like more than kicking back, enjoying a juice box, and reading a good book.  And boy do I have a treat for you.  Next: A Novel by James Hynes.

Next: A Novel follows middle aged protagonist Kevin Quinn as he spends a day in Austin, Texas on a job interview.  Boring, right?  And even worse, Kevin is a self-absorbed jerk (strike one), a pinko commie liberal (strike two), and an editor at the University of Michigan (strike three).  So James Hynes has really dug himself into a hole almost immediately.  A hole so deep, I thought, that even James Joyce would have a hard time writing himself out of it.

Well, James Hynes is no James Joyce, but he does pull off something amazing in Next: A Novel.  He makes the mundane interesting, and then pulls off an ending that a lesser writer would have fumbled (I'm looking at you, Dan Brown).

What's even more amazing is that he makes a Michigan employee sympathetic.  I didn't even think they had humans up there!  But by the end of Next: A Novel, I was actively rooting for him to straighten his personal life out and find some sort of solace, whether it's in Michigan or Texas.

I am awarding Next: A Novel 8 out 10 Stuffed Pink Bunnies (I'm a bit too old for rattles now).  Next: A Novel is available now, so run out and pick up a copy today. 

After I finished Next: A Novel, I went out and bought two of James Hynes' other novels: Kings of Infinite Space: A Novel and Publish and Perish: Three Tales of Tenure and Terror (James Hynes apparently likes to make sure you know what you're getting, whether its a novel or a tale).  I'll let you know how those are once I finish them. 

My thoughts on the ending are after the jump, so beware of spoilers.
I have one word to describe the last 30 pages of this novel:  AWESOME.  So Kevin gets killed in a terrorist attack on the building he happens to be interviewing in.  That's right.  Terrorists decide to attack Austin, Texas and shoot missiles at the tallest building in town.  And you know what?  I bought it.  I also bought Kevin's last second redemption as he falls to his death.  You should definitely check this one out.