Review: The Inconvenient Toes by Jonathan Roth
The Inconvenient Toes is the first novel by Jonathan Roth, who some readers might know for his works of poetry. This book is a work of crime fiction. It follows the interwoven lives of Tony “The Jaw’’ Shaw, a Ringsender who Roth describes as, “a cross between Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, George in Minder, and Bernard Madoff, but with a commercial brain and a mean streak inherited from his father.” Along with Paul “Haystacks” Fahy, a well-built and good-natured Irishtown native, who is not as smart as he is loyal. Together with Pavél Novàck, who with his girlfriend Anna, left Poland in search of a better life in western Europe. Ending up in Ireland after a bartender informed them that in Ireland, “you work in a hotel they will give you €11 an hour for kitchen and cleaning … if you work here and lose your job the government will give you money, €203 a week. It is like paradise.”
What unites these desperate and somewhat naive characters is a scheme that Shaw termed ‘Project Deliverance’ or the perfectly planned kidnapping of Louis Bruton, who is worth tens of millions, and has a wife who will pay a King’s ransom for his release.
All was going well with the kidnap until “The Inconvenient Toes”
The intricacies of the book, which Roth has researched carefully, do not confound the narrative. In fact, they not only support the plot, but move it forward, and the page turns. This ability perhaps owes something to Roth’s background as a poet. This is also reflected in the book’s mood, which permits the readers to connect with the characters in an intimate way. Hats off to Roth as his working-class characters are both authentic and relatable. There is no shortage of tense scenes in this book either, and especially when the kidnapping takes an unsuspected turn. My favourite part of the book is the ending, but I can’t give that away.
Roth keeps the readers guessing as a good book should do. Good luck to him on further endeavours. It is a solid first novel.
The Inconvenient Toes is available from Jonathan Roth Publications online for €9.99
