4 out of 4 stars
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Randy Love at your service by Shay Carter
Randy Love is a book about a young man who is trying to establish his own identity. He comes from a modest background living among the genteel in society, a fact put through in a very comical way when his pet dog (Barrett) escapes to the neighbors’ lawn and defecates in the councilor’s (Edna) compound. His father as a modest gentleman tries not to offend Edna and even takes the initiative to mend the fence himself for fear of unscrupulous cowboys. John had a lot of faith with his frugal son and he looked like the more promising of his three children. John has a friend by the name Michael, a self taught tax advisor who is close to Randy and is the one Randy runs to most of the time when he needs some advice. The only problem is he is a self declared senior bachelor and Randy has a problem taking his advice regarding women. He also had a low opinion about university graduates.
Randy Love’s life changes when he takes a break from college and moves to the US for one year from whence he becomes a liability to himself. When he realizes he had failed in college, he didn’t find it necessary to let anybody know. He carries on with live only to discover the harsh realities of life and circumstances conniving against him. He wants a good job but doesn’t have the papers. The lack of papers denies him a chance to get a good and permanent job. As a result, he has to sacrifice and revise for the failed exams during working hours.
He is hard working young man who can be dependable at times. He takes some initiative like seeking for any available job so long as he’s able to stand on his own. The managers like Michaela at the building society where they don’t seem occupied most of the time trust him including his own peers who are senior in the station. He even fills in when the manager is not available. People around him seem to trust him with responsibilities. He takes advantage of the available time and the manager’s office to revise for papers that enable him to change jobs. When he moves to London to take on a financial advisor position, he spares some time to enroll for history lessons.
Like any other young man his age, he is experimenting with his social life. His only challenge is balancing. He is so much into alcohol that sometimes he questions the decisions he is making when he is drunk. The second problem in his life is women. His good looks endear him to women and sometimes he doesn’t know how to handle them like Mrs. White the fireman’s wife. Nonetheless, he is not the hopeless kind. There are times he is running away from women like Stella the divorcee and Amelia the history classmate who is underage. It is easy to understand the life of this young man because even when he is very drunk his body still has mojo.
His brother James the solicitor and sister Heather who is in construction are doing very well and they support him once in a while when he is stuck but there are times he has to hide from them like when he has nowhere to sleep. His biggest problem is thinking he is the only smart guy in town and everybody else is dumb. He tries to swindle even the very friends who are trying to assist him get out of holes he has dug for himself. In a strange twist of events, his would be outsmart him including his father whom he tries to blame for his own shortcomings when his letter to the bank is redirected to his father.
Randy had a Russian girlfriend called Anya and their relationship seems to have ended because of distance between them or rather Randy being unable to plan well. Of all the women he has had, only Nicky the junior solicitor had some control over him. She has twice managed to convince Randy to accompany her to her parents. He has also taken a beating from Stewart because of her. He tries to run away from her but could’t manage.
This is one of the most interesting books I have read in the recent past. The writer has a very good sense of humour. There are times I found myself laughing alone. Just to mention a few, from the very first chapter we see John Love with a sellotaped dressing gown. There is this girl by the name Mary whose funny smile makes her look like she had suffered stroke in the past not forgetting the name Randy Love itself sounding like a porn star. There is this ironic chapter on holy matrimony where Randy is busy stealing rum and other expensive brands and then bumps into the best man having sex with the bride while the groom is under the table with one of the maids. Michael hilariously tells Randy that his father thought he was the son of the milk man because he was nowhere near his father in terms of character. Then there was the other time when Randy’s takes a picture of his roommate named Stenforth who blacks out and sleeps on the sofa with his arse in the air and his thumb in the mouth.. There is also the point when he misses the morning ballade by dozing on the chair in spite of making extra effort to have a view of his obsession.
It has all sorts of interesting characters like Vicky with her annoying habit of picking her nose and wiping it underneath her desk.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because in this book, I see an author who is touch with realities of the modern world. The live of Randy and those around him revolves around the issues facing the youth today and the challenges of parenting in this day and age. Think of the problems of unemployment amidst a highly educated young population. Then there is the issue of consumerism and materialism. He also highlights the problem of housing in large cities and affordability of those houses and sometimes having to live with strangers in shared units. The end with Randy and his girlfriend moving back together represents hope.
The thing I like most about this book is the candid conversation the characters have. The erotic scenes are well tempered and serious lessons are passed on in a very humorous way. The slung language used is easy enough to understand. The only thing I don’t like about the book is leaving some stories unfinished like the story of the cloned credit card.
I would recommend this book to people in college. It may help someone who is into alcohol or drug by relating with the main character or even a parent with a child in college.
There are a few typos that may not have been deliberate
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Randy Love...at your service
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