520 pages
Published 2017
Read from April 10 to April 18
Rating: 3 out of 5
Some people enjoy stories about rakish aristocrats behaving badly. I'm certainly not against the general idea, but our narrator and protagonist here is up to his ears in petulance and privilege. Monty is appallingly obtuse, feeling sorry for himself -- and justifiably so, given his shitty abusive father -- but never stopping to think that others might have it worse. I believe it's meant to be a critique of performative allyship, of swooping in to save the day without stopping to ask what others less privileged might want. But Monty is an unrelenting disaster, consistently making the worst (and most dramatic) choice whenever he is presented with one.
This book is entertaining, with a fun narrative voice and a plot that careens from one scrape into the next: a horrible social disaster at the French court! highwaymen! intrigue! prison! pirates! Thanks to our hero Monty's terrible decisions, it all becomes a bit exhausting, especially in the middle going. Long past the point where you'd think he'd start learning and growing, he sends it all crashing down once more in a fit of pique because, once again, he didn't stop to ask anyone else what they needed but barreled on ahead.
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