The F*ck It List by John Niven
You are dying. Who do you kill?
Set in a near-future America, an America that has borne two terms of Trump Presidency and is now in the first term of Donald’s daughter as president, Frank Brill, a retired small-town newspaper editor, lives in a world where the populist policies Trump is currently so keen to pursue have been a reality for some years and are getting even more extreme – an erosion of abortion rights, less and less gun control, xenophobic immigration policies.
Frank, a good man, has just been given a terminal diagnosis. Rather than compile a bucket list of all the things he’s ever wanted to do in his life, he instead has at the ready his ‘fuck-it list’. Because Frank has had to endure more than his fair share of personal misfortune. And he has the names of those who are to blame for the tragedies that have befallen him.
But eventually, as he becomes more accustomed to dishing out cold revenge and the stakes get higher and higher, and with a rogue county sheriff on his tail, there only remains one name left at the bottom of his fuck-it list.
“‘[The F*ck-it List] took me by surprise – a thriller with humanity as well as tension.’ IAN RANKIN”
John Niven was born in Irvine, Ayrshire. He is the author of the novella Music from the Big Pink and the novels Kill Your Friends, The Amateurs, The Second Coming, Cold Hands, Straight White Male, The Sunshine Cruise Company, No Good Deed and Kill ‘EmAll.
Review
This was a surreal book set in a world which could actually come true. I think that is what makes it so scary for me! Ivanka is now President of the United States and the whole of America seems to be Trump and gun crazy. It’s not that much of a stretch really is it?!
This is just the background noise though. The real story is that Frank is dying but wants to enact revenge on those he feels deserves it. Im not going to go into the reasons why as that would spoil the story. Niven manages to create a character with humanity despite the fact Frank is going round killing people. Frank is technically the bad guy! However, even as a pacifist myself and totally against the gun culture which permeates American society I can see why Frank would go on this journey. I can even empathise with him. If an author can that do that then wow!
The reasons behind Franks mission can be probably classed as two of the most emotive subjects in America and probably used as a narrative trick because of this. The book is only going to appeal to liberals, but then this is a take down of Trump MAGA / Republican culture. OMG this review is so hard to write without spoilers!
Basically, if you are of the liberal persuasion you will enjoy this book, I certainly did! It’s heartbreaking, surrealism at its best, a warning of what’s to come if no checks are placed on Trump, scarily accurate portrayal of American culture, at time’s darkly funny, and a book you should definitely read!
