David's blog was his counter-plot and everything was up for judgement and redressal. If he watched TV or read a book, was delayed by roadworks or bought a sandwich, he'd blog about it. Then the comments from others might appear. It was peculiar what brought people to his site. Anything and everything. And when they arrived they'd look around, then join in. People take so much shit that they'll jump at a chance to give some back. And David's rancour was applauded. He was permitted. He felt fine. He didn't need to justify, but on occasion, late at night, adrenalized with vitriol, some cobwebby corner of him almost understood the problem: he was searching not for things to love but a place to put his rage.
David Pinner, the hero of Nick Laird's second novel, is the lowest of the low. Not a murderer, a rapist, a terrorist or even a Tom Hanks fan... he's a blogger. The scum!
David is a man consumed by insecurity, jealousy and that unsavoury combination of inferiority and superiority complexes that all true bloggers know so well. When he meets up with an old art school tutor who's gone on to bigger things, he sees romantic possibility (despite the fact that he's an unlovable slob - he's deluded, of course... didn't you hear, he's a blogger!?) But when the object of his affection meets and falls instead for David's flatmate Glover, there's nothing he won't do to put a spanner in the works and wreck their happiness.
I read a couple of reviews of Glover's Mistake that complained it was hard to sympathise with such a loathsome protagonist, yet strangely I didn't have a problem. It's true that David is slime, but you have to admire his single-minded dedication to the cause. Laird admits to being a fan of the way Nick Hornby writes about relationships, yet Hornby's heroes are usually lovable idiots - he's never released a grotesque like David Pinner into the world. As a poet, Laird's writing is a little more flowery than Hornby's, and his characters a little more arty, but their obsessions and anxieties will strike a chord with Hornby fans... and bloggers the world over will obviously be able to relate to David himself.
Because, let's face it, we are all scum.
Do I need to add a winking smiley face to the end of that post?
