The Speechwriter (Martin McKenzie-Murray, Scribe)

Martin McKenzie-Murray’s fiction debut is a fun but sometimes frustrating book that nevertheless delivers plenty of laughs along the way. The story is told by Toby—an aspiring speechwriter whose hyper-ambition blinds him to good sense—as he recounts to his prison cellmate, Gary, his career trajectory from state politics to a federal department in Canberra and ultimately the Prime Minister’s office. The finer plot points of Toby’s rise and fall involve a series of surreal and wacky events that are sometimes too out-there, even for the absurdist world of the book, but McKenzie-Murray otherwise strikes a very readable and fast-paced mix of satire, action and drama. Gary—who comes from a different station in life to Toby—gives semi-regular interruptions to remind the reader of Toby’s fate and hint at how his stay in Canberra is to end. McKenzie-Murray has a good ear for snappy, comedic dialogue and there are lots of strong, surprising jokes throughout, but also some eye-rolls— not all of them land. Overall, he has created an entertaining story of folly set in a unique, exaggerated world of backroom politics. The Speechwriter will most likely appeal to readers of Steve Toltz, as well as fans of TV comedies like Veep and Utopia.

Brad Jefferies is the digital editor of Books+Publishing.

Category: Reviews