Popular media seems to be obsessed at the moment with the 0.1% - the ultra wealthy, particularly Americans. It is unclear whether this has been driven by the success of the TV series Succession or something else is going on possibly related to the take over of America by what are essentially oligarchs. All of this media shows this class as grasping, amoral and twisted but somehow the money-driven ability to succeed. The best example of this recently was Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Long Island Compromise - a book full of unlikeable ultra-wealthy characters dealing with intergenerational trauma and the potential loss of their onscene wealth and lifestyles. Whatever it is, Australian author Robert Lukins enters the fray with his new novel Somebody Down There Likes Me.
It is 1996 and Kick Gulch is brought back into the family fold from her self imposed ten-year exile to be delivered the news that her parents Fax and Honey are about to be arrested by the FBI due to the small matter of the family company being essentially a criminal enterprise. Also around is brother Lincoln, the entitled, boorish and ugly scion of the family. As the pressure mounts, family history will be plumbed and long held secrets will come to light.
Readers patience with this book will depend on their willingness to spend time with (and possibly even empathise with?) a bunch of ugly, irredeemable characters. Lukins clearly hopes the seeding of secrets and mysteries will keep the whole thing moving. And again, maybe for some it will. But none of these elements - from the set up to the characters to the way the plot unfolded worked for me.