Review by Pluma -- Randy the Irresistible by S M Goodier

[Pluma]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Randy the Irresistible" by S M Goodier.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Randy the Irresistible by S M Goodier tells the story of Randy Love, a young man finding his footing in adult life and its twists and turns.

The book begins with an introduction to the Love family; Marjorie, the well-prepared and exacting mother; John, the charming, egotistic father; and Harriet and James, Randy’s much older siblings. Randy is somewhat of a surprise introduction to the family, and his upbringing—being indulged and doted upon by family and friends—inevitably shapes his character.

Fast forward a few years, and Randy is still meandering his way through life. He has turned into a spoilt and selfish character, but he is charming and handsome and can still get his way with everyone around him. Though he manages to run rings around most people, he is relatively clueless in many social situations, and he doesn’t wish any harm on those he uses; he just never stops to think about anybody but himself. This attitude and his way of going through life land him in a few tight places, and these situations and escapades are the main subject matter of the book, as Randy scrambles to manage his life, family, work and relationships.

The title of the book is certainly fitting; though Randy is self-centred and has no morals whatsoever, the reader still finds themselves rooting for him, feeling sorry for him and wanting him to get the best in life, despite his being inconsiderate, rude and kind of despicable. This was a masterful piece of characterisation on the part of the author, and I thought it was very well done. Though none of the characters in the book is very ‘likeable’, the reader still cares about them and wants to find out the fate of each one.

This book is filled from the start with quirky, interesting and hilarious characters, creating many entertaining and funny moments and infusing life into the pages. The writing style is very engaging and well-done, with plenty of humour along with the life lessons, and this is what I enjoyed most about the book. Even though the subject matter of the story could have been quite mundane, as it essentially follows one character’s everyday life, the author’s writing style and skilful characterisation meant that I was never once bored while reading the book, and my attention was held from the first page to the last. Even discussions on bland topics such as the state of universities and the workforce are made interesting by the author’s style and humour. I applaud the author for so masterfully tying everything together, as this can be hard to get right in a book like this.

The book contains a lot of crude humour and foul language, as well as several inappropriate scenes, so if you do not like this kind of thing then I would recommend avoiding this book. The book also contains a lot of objectification of women and takes on a derogatory tone towards females, especially where the main character is concerned; though this may have been done by the author to carry his point and message across, it still did not sit well with me and I don’t believe it was entirely necessary. This was my least favourite element of the book, along with the various crude scenes and language, which a lot of the time didn’t seem all that necessary either. However, because these issues are due to personal preference, I didn’t remove any stars from my rating.

The book seems to have been professionally edited, as I found very few spelling and grammar errors. Overall, the plot was well put-together, and it had a satisfying ending. It could also be read as a kind of cautionary tale, warning young people away from living like Randy and paying the consequences; that said, I don’t think it would be suited to very young readers because of the content I mentioned earlier.

I rate this book four out of four stars. I would recommend the book to those looking for a light, fun and relaxing read and those who enjoy some good British humour.

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Randy the Irresistible
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[Chigo Nwagboso]

The title is very catchy "Randy the irresistible" wish I can see him. Despite his ill manners, I still wish he could manage his life and be fine. Thanks for a detailed review.

[Tarie07]

I enjoyed reading this book and I have to admit you did its review great justice.