Review of The Heel by Brendan Connell

The perspective character Mitch is a typical sleaze, borderline alcoholic, borderline jobless former gigolo still on the prowl.

Brendan Connell provides a rollicking, realistic tale of this washed-up ladies’ man. With more plot than I typically expect from his experimental work, he showcases his exquisite prose rhythms while not compromising the variety of events to be found in some popular genre novels. It plays with the expectations of the reader, and though the protagonist tries to go out and make things happen, too often, he winds up in the gutter. He’s juggling two women, and not averse to picking up more where he can get it. If you don’t mind reading about a boozer womanizer who is down on his luck, you will get a lot out of this novel. The author elevates the material to the level of literature in my opinion.

At first the sections related to his fantasies of satirical conquering seemed overblown, but the more they blended with the reality of the novel, the more I enjoyed them. The main character is rather satirical, turning the Don Juan Archetype on its head to expose its vulnerable belly. Don’t come in looking for likable characters, come in looking for likable writing.

Mitch’s motivation is simple. He wants a better life, and when someone hatches a scheme and wants to cut him in, his eyes light up, but like you would see in a crime or thriller novel, the heist does not go as planned, partly due to our hero’s blunders. The ending is a white knuckle race to escape the consequences, and the final page manages to recontextualize what came before.

A clever novel approaching brilliance.