Truth in Advertising
“John Kenney writes
with style, intelligence, humor, and heart. Truth in Advertising is
a frank and wickedly funny peek into a world you only think you’ve seen, a
glossy, high-powered ad agency. But it is also something more: the story of a
man thoroughly marinated in the little white lies of advertising who must
learn, finally, to be honest with himself. Highly recommended.”
William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob
A wickedly funny, honest, and poignant debut novel about the absurdity of corporate life, the complications of love, and the meaning of family.
Finbar Dolan is lost and lonely. Except he doesn't know it. Despite escaping his blue-collar Boston upbringing to carve out a mildly successful career at a Madison Avenue ad agency, he's a bit of a mess—and closing in on forty. He's recently called off a wedding. Now, a few days before Christmas, he's forced to cancel a long-postponed vacation in order to write, produce, and edit a Superbowl commercial for his diaper account in record time.
Fortunately, it gets worse. He learns that his long estranged and once abusive father has fallen ill—and that neither of his brothers or his sister intend to visit. It's a wake-up call for Fin to re-evaluate the choices he's made, admit that he's falling for his coworker Phoebe, question the importance of diapers in his life, and finally tell the truth about his life and his past.
First-time novelist John Kenney, a regular New Yorker contributor, mines his own advertising background to weave spot-on, compelling insider detail into a hilarious, insightful, at times sardonic, and ultimately moving debut.
Praise