SPOIILER ALERT

Anyone who has not read The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers. 

The Satsuma Complex is a complicated little novel about an average, slightly down-on-himself lawyer called Gary who becomes caught up in a web of deceit and conspiracy when all he really wants to do is ask out the hot girl he met at the bar while he was having a drink with his friend, Brendan.  

It’s pretty well written from this point of view. The author plays his cards fairly close to his chest for most of the novel, keeping us wondering about who the girl is; why she has disappeared; what is contained on the mysterious ‘dongle;’ who killed Brendan, assuming Brendan is actually dead at all. That (and that alone) made it a page turner, and kept me reading on until the end.  

The main characters were, for the most part, well created. They were complex, detailed and vibrant, with plenty of good interplay between them and adequate development. They were all profoundly irritating people, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get along with any of them if they were real, but they were well crafted all the same. Only the minor characters (especially the police officers) could have done with a little more development, as they did seem to blend into one another so that I forgot who was who.  

I found the dialogue in the story pretty irritating too. Don’t get me wrong, it was sharp and it was witty, but it felt somewhat unnatural. And there were way too many instances of dialogue being delivered in ALL CAPS, which robbed it of its effectiveness. 

Gary frequently encounters a squirrel throughout this story, whom he likes to talk to and imagine him talking back. At first, this was funny. It let me see the kind of man Gary is. It helped me understand how his mind works. But as the story progressed and the squirrel kept popping up again and again and again, I must admit, it started to get a little tiresome.  

All in all, not the worst book I have ever read. In fact, by some technical definitions. It was clever, it was witty, with strong characters and a satisfying story arc. It was, technically, quite a good book but… there were just too many little things in it that I found irritating. 

⭐⭐⭐