I just finished this book and I was alternating between laughing out loud (literally) and being profoundly moved. It manages to combine humor and drama seamlessly, not an easy thing to pull off. A very enjoyable first novel. ( )

Call it early holiday spirit, maybe - but this book warmed me up inside. It's been a bit of a tumultuous past month or so, which I think just comes with the territory of being young and trying to figure things out, but this book is the reminder that, hey, things are messy sometimes but they can also be funny and sloppy and heartfelt and you'll be alright. Sometimes that's the kind of novel you need. Ain't nothing wrong with it - even if the real world might have fewer clean happy endings. But even still, there's a smile on my face to think of Phoebe and Fin at the end of this story and so all is right for at least this short moment.

More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2013/11/19/truth-in-advertising/ ( )

Couldn't get into it. Oh well.

Couldn't get into it. Oh well.

Fin Dolan is an advertising copywriter in a NY agency. He is closing in on 40 and has recently called off his wedding. He feels his life is empty.

Raised in a family with an angry father who after beating his gay son & being nearly killed by his oldest son, abandons his family. Shortly after, his mother kills herself. The secret Fin carries around is he saw her do it. In fact he was the first on the scene of the intentional car accident.

He finds himself attracted to his co-worker, Phoebe but he can't tell her how he feels even though all his friends can see it. When his father dies, he promises to deliver his ashes to the spot in the Pacific where his father was when the war ended.

Kenney gives us a great deal of information about working in the advertising business but we must sort out the information from the satire and humour. Very funny. ( )