cover image Nothing Serious

Nothing Serious

Daniel Klein. Permanent, $28 (212 p) ISBN 978-1-57962-314-2

When the founding editor of a New England philosophy magazine expresses his dying wish to see the struggling publication continue in a modernized form, his survivors serendipitously choose as his successor a once-hip, newly out of work pop culture writer whose experience in philosophy is largely limited to a cram session undertaken before the job interview. Klein (Travels with Epicurus) gives us, in Digby Maxwell, a fabulously colorful character self-aware enough to fear having his pseudo-intellectualism exposed. As such, it is a delight to watch him fake his way through situation after situation, enjoying the perks and wealth of his new position with the relish of someone who knows that it is likely to end soon. Primarily told through a limited-omniscient narration focusing on our hero's own thoughts, subplots involving Maxwell's estranged wife and daughter, a brewing conflict on the local college campus over gay rights, and Maxwell's own romantic entanglements help build a surprisingly fun and detailed world for such a short novel. When he proves a surprisingly competent editor after all, and the true reasons behind his hire are revealed, the novel will hold few surprises, but most of the enjoyment of this book is in the journey, and in spending time with a character like Maxwell. (Apr.)