Title: this is not Proust
Product review: In 'The Golden Rules' The author, a well starched midwestern stockbroker, opens his closet door on an ensemble of eclectic characters pursuing the classic dream of the archetypal American Loser. The story is well written and paced to keep you awake if not engaged. The flaw, as is often the case with first novels, is the profusion of gratuitous perversons that obscure and prevent a reader from ever connecting with the characters. Where Flannery O'conner can write a rape scene that reads like a religious experience, Ryan's muse seems to be the letters to the editor in a cheap porn magazine. While the ending is obvious the ride is well constructed and the story works. With the exception of the used car salesman who shows up once too often to be credible, it is scary to think that some of these characters really could be out there somewhere. If you can find a copy in a used bookstore on the dollar table and morality isn't an issue... there is a lot of talent in these pages.
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