2 out of 4 stars
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Randy Love...At your service takes place in modern England, where we follow the protagonist, Randy Love, in his journey through self discovery. That's the kindest way to put it. Mostly we just witness Randy stumbling through life in all his idiocy and self obsession.
We are first introduced to Randy as he tries to skate through his young adult life by taking on various "employment" opportunities, moving from house to house, and flitting from one girl to the next. Later on, he does have an epiphany and tries to get his life in order. Through various experiences and hardships, he eventually learns what he wants out of his life.
While the book was well written (barely any spelling or grammatical errors), it failed to really grasp my attention. It wasn't a page turner by any means, and for me, the story was easily forgettable. I found myself needing to re-read previous pages just to remind myself what was happening. I also did not find myself reaching for the book at the first opportunity, or especially setting aside time to read it. It was more of an “I have nothing better to do so I'll just finish reading this book” type of situation. It wasn’t as exciting or entertaining as I’d hoped it would be as there wasn't a "central story" that the novel revolved around. It was more like, a dozen mini-stories with barely any connection to one another, and did not build up to a grand finale.
There were some elements that tie into Randy’s personality development, however the writer didn’t really spend enough time exploring this avenue, so it felt a bit lacking. The wide assortment of characters did not help either, as they were barely given any meaningful "air time." Some secondary characters would have been able to give the story more meaning if their characters and relationship to Randy was explored further. Other characters we could have totally done without as they didn't really contribute anything to Randy’s development or the progression of the story. As a matter of fact, these minor characters added to my confusion as to what was happening in Randy’s life.
Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. One good point about the book is that it's relatable. Plainly written, the book was able to convey the type of life many millennials nowadays face. Being a young adult, I identified with Randy and his problems. Though in my case, it was more of a "how stupid can this guy be" type of reaction as opposed to "Oh my god! This is my life." Some young adults or teens may find the book helpful in a way, if only to say to themselves “This is not the life I want when I grow up.” While adults who mostly have their life figured out may find the book funny to an extent, before getting bored with the long winded story that never seems to go anywhere.
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Randy Love...at your service
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