The Brush Off is one of the books from my literature and film comparison course... i'm sticking with the Australian theme until my books get here from Amazon and beginning with this the secon of Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books. Murray Whelan is a political shit kicker. He's the "minder and general dogsbody" to the newly named Arts Minister. Problem is he knows absolutely nothing about "the arts". He expects it to be gallery openings and crazy artists till a body turns up in the moat at the front of the National Gallery in Melbourne. He's thrown into a world of fakes, high finance and conspiracies filled with illigitemate children and secrets. All while he's fighting for his own job which may be lost due to his lack of interest in "the arts" and trying to enjoy a weekend visit from his ten year old son.
I have to say I possibly missed some of the very Victorian political humour based on the fact I grew up in New South Wales (and was actually only born in the 80's and this book is set in 89 - I think). While it was written in '96 Maloney has been able to throw in a bunch of throw away lines that are hilarious given the knowledge of what's to come. But a lot of that is commentary on the state of Victorian politics so I've missed a bunch of very regional jokes. That said some of the random commentary about FW DeKlirk being elected in South Africa and how will that change anything is hilarious.
The characters are great. Murray is a brilliant character to focus a book on. He's clever, in over his head, completely in it for whatever he can get and fun. His quiet weekend with his son has been completely thrown in turmoil but he may get a new girlfriend an a more solid job out of it so he goes with it. He's scrambling but he's also doing it well... in many ways he's a slightly less polished Josh Lyman (West Wing tends to be my go to for politics references). Agnelli is a bumbling idiot of a minister (and I can see why they cast Mick Molloy for him in the film adaptations that i'll be looking at). Eastlake is a smooth and clever money man who is of course corrupt and eventually murderous. The women go from femme fatale archetypes to office bitches an back to clever and interesting women who Murray keeps falling for. The introduction of Claire who is lovely and actually helps with a near disaster for Murray is great and the support murray gets from his close friend (and mother of disaster Tarquin) Faye is awesome - she's just as likely to whack him over the head and call him an idiot as she is to help him clean up his real an metaphorical messes. Lastly there's Mick "Spider" Webb. Someone Murray has known and avoided since a childhood misdemeanor who he assumes is in the middle of the crimes - he is but in actuality he's the detective investigating it.
This is one of those very Australian books with a very dry sense of humour. I'd never read any of Maloney's books but i think i'll be picking up some more at the second hand bookshop over the weekend. It's funny, it's tightly written and from the look of the cast on the DVD the adaptation is gonna be brilliant.
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