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IrishPenJen (United Kingdom) (2011/01/13):
Description:
Wild American adventure of two Irish exiles, culminating in the accidental kidnapping of the US President on top of the Empire State Building. It's bad enough having a name like Nathan Jones - unless you're a Supremes fan, which Nathan isn't - but when his girlfriend leaves him (for a drag queen) and he gets mugged, then handcuffed to a bed and cut up in a misunderstanding with an S&M hooker, it looks as if things can't get any worse for this exile in the Big Apple. But they can! Will Nathan get his girl back? Will the President survive imprisonment by a psychotic white supremist in (rapidly melting) black-face? Will veteran lift-operator Sam McClusky get his job back? Find out in Empire State. The stage is set for a vintage Bateman adventure, which takes the world of politics - international, racial and sexual - and holds it hostage atop the most famous building on Earth.Review:
A darkly funny novel from the author of Divorcing Jack. Northern Irish Nathan Jones thinks his luck is turning when he lands a job as a security guard in New York, despite his lack of a Green Card. He hopes his new job will persuade his girlfriend Lisa to stop working in a strip joint. But things do not go as planned and hapless Nathan is swept along on a tide of bizarre events. His desperate romance and a fascination with Sid Vicous lead to an unwanted S&M experience, which forces him to go on the run. Nathan is, however, not the book's only fugitive. We also follow the trajectory of racist Southerner, George Burley, as he tries to realize his dream of assassinating the most powerful man in America. As the plot races along Nathan's unpredictable temper gets him deeper and deeper into trouble, culminating in a hostage situation with the President of the United States of America on top of the Empire State Building. Romance, murder and mayhem are all rolled together in this entertaining black comedy. On the whole this is a fluffy action adventure but it still manages to be spot on in its observations on racism, violence, and US politics. (Kirkus UK) What the papers say:
Divorcing Jack: 'As sharp as a pint of snake-bite... Richly paranoid and very funny' Sunday Times Cycle of Violence: 'Fast-paced, very black and very funny. Roddy Doyle meets Carl Hiaasen' Independent on Sunday Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men: 'Fast, furious, riotously funny, and at the end, never a dry eye in the house' Mail on Sunday
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