Bob Lutz’s world is spiraling out of control: his colleagues hate him and his new job is not what he was led to believe; his psychiatrist is continually increasing the dosage of the medication he does not take and his wife is concerned by the way he seems unable to think things through to any sort of logical conclusion. To make things worse, his best friend has once again put his, so to speak, foot in it and is making a fool of himself over a young girl and he wants Bob to rescue him. Meeting the girl in a biker bar in the middle of nowhere, he inexplicably offers her a job and begins to dream about replicating the various physical acts his friend has described. From here, things only become worse.

Ken Ratcliffe’s Manhook is a splendidly readable and enjoyably outrageous ramble through modern American corporate and family life. The villains, of which there are several, are both colourful and vigorous and the minor characters have enough substance just about to help them linger in the memory. They may be monochromatic but that tone is a vivid one. The plot jerks about in unexpected but interesting directions and the conclusion is both surprising and in some ways satisfying. If there are problems, then they would have been resolved by a competent editor who might have tightened up some of the apparent inconsistencies in the plotting and the occasional typo. She or he might also have persuaded the author that, in common with just about every other American author whose work I have read as a result of reviewing books, it is a bad idea to include a character from somewhere overseas when he appears to have only a very vague understanding of where other countries might be and whether people all behave and speak in the same way no matter which one is chosen.

Few novels are able to deal with the corporate world with any semblance of understanding and it is a pleasure to find one which is able to deal with the life of a CEO, even if he is one who uses a notebook and pen rather than a laptop. For that reason alone, I would recommend this book but it has a great deal more to offer too. Readers should probably ignore the title, since that sub-plot rather slithers off stage for most of the action. Instead, enjoy the roller coaster ride.