Adult Book/Malcolm Knox

If i were to describe this novel in one word it would be scabrous. Malcolm Knox is a Sydney journalist and the novel is set in its North  Shore.

It features the Brand family. John is a doctor who died age 62 after becoming  a porn addict. He has 3 sons by his ambitious wife Margaret: Davis, also a doctor; Chris a Test batsman for Australia; and Hammett who has made his fortune in the porn industry. There is no plot as such, but the circumstances of  John’s death are odd: his partner in the practice – James Cobcraft – issues the death certificate, although not his doctor, and puts the cause of death as aortic stenosis which Davis doubts.

The problem with the novel is that it is not readable. It’s the type of book you put down after four pages of reading and you cannot wait to finish. This may be caused either by the the subject matter or the author’s tendency to go into too much detail.

It does have some redeeming qualities.

The description of Sydney is very graphic and Chris, who is out of form going into a Test against South Africa, has that totally selfish mindset that all batsmen need. He does not want to be too involved in his father’s death – nor the redemption of the prodigal son Hammett – as he wants to concentrate on his form.

There is also the setting-up of a highly dodgy LBW decision which reflects Australian gamesmanship at its worst.

It’s an interesting question of how you deal with a book you are not enjoying. Unless you are in a book club you might discard it. I tend to try to reach the end in the hope it might improve and that the unresolved questions will be explained.

In this book they are not.