Rob Doyle's latest novel "Cameo" is a biting satire of literary culture and celebrity in today's society. Through the fictional author Ren Duka, Doyle expertly lampoons the excesses of autofiction and the cult of personality surrounding writers.
Duka's life reads like a fever dream: a bestselling novelist with a penchant for danger, from mixing with drug dealers to serving time for tax evasion, his life is a tangled web of scandals and contradictions. Doyle sends up the idea that great literature must come from a place of "abjection" rather than "glory", playing out this notion in Duka's own life story.
Throughout the book, Doyle incorporates various narrative threads, including extracts from fictional novels, monologues from characters connected to Duka, and even snippets from an unnamed author recalling his boyhood breakthrough. The result is a dizzying hall of mirrors where reality blurs with fiction, creating a world that's both absurdly funny and uncomfortable.
Doyle masterfully captures the voice and tone of Duka, conveying a sense of bewilderment and weariness through the protagonist's deadpan narration. As Duka reinvents himself as an anti-woke comedian or writes an article for the New Statesman titled 'I'm Sorry', Doyle skewers the culture wars and the ways in which writers navigate the complexities of identity, politics, and celebrity.
While "Cameo" may be a slippery read to pin down, its central conceit - that the writer's life can become a fantasy of literary celebrity - feels both timely and timeless. Whether you'll find Doyle's brand of humor to your taste is another matter; but for those who enjoy satirical takes on literature and culture, "Cameo" will be an undeniably entertaining ride.
Duka's life reads like a fever dream: a bestselling novelist with a penchant for danger, from mixing with drug dealers to serving time for tax evasion, his life is a tangled web of scandals and contradictions. Doyle sends up the idea that great literature must come from a place of "abjection" rather than "glory", playing out this notion in Duka's own life story.
Throughout the book, Doyle incorporates various narrative threads, including extracts from fictional novels, monologues from characters connected to Duka, and even snippets from an unnamed author recalling his boyhood breakthrough. The result is a dizzying hall of mirrors where reality blurs with fiction, creating a world that's both absurdly funny and uncomfortable.
Doyle masterfully captures the voice and tone of Duka, conveying a sense of bewilderment and weariness through the protagonist's deadpan narration. As Duka reinvents himself as an anti-woke comedian or writes an article for the New Statesman titled 'I'm Sorry', Doyle skewers the culture wars and the ways in which writers navigate the complexities of identity, politics, and celebrity.
While "Cameo" may be a slippery read to pin down, its central conceit - that the writer's life can become a fantasy of literary celebrity - feels both timely and timeless. Whether you'll find Doyle's brand of humor to your taste is another matter; but for those who enjoy satirical takes on literature and culture, "Cameo" will be an undeniably entertaining ride.
it feels like robyns taking aim at our own insecurities and celebrity culture i mean who hasn't felt like a fake or a phony at some point in their life? Doyle is genius for finding that absurdity in Duka's story and using it to poke fun at our obsession with being 'authentic' 
. I mean, we're living in a world where people are more interested in the persona than the actual work, and that just feels so... fleeting? Like, what happens when the fame fades away? Do we lose ourselves in the process of trying to maintain it?
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! The idea of a writer's life becoming a fantasy of literary celebrity is SO relevant right now, and Doyle's satire on autofiction and celebrity culture has me intrigued 
The fact that the author can make you laugh AND feel uncomfortable at the same time is a major win in my book 
. And let's be real, who wouldn't want to read about someone reinventing themselves as an anti-woke comedian 
. The way he skewers autofiction and celebrity worship is both hilarious 
. I love how he wove together different narrative threads like they were a puzzle 
. It's like looking into a hall of mirrors, where reality blurs with fiction 
. Doyle's got this voice down pat, it's like Duka's speaking straight to you 
. And that final sentence? "This book will be an undeniably entertaining ride" 
is just perfect! 
. If you enjoy satire or just want to read something that'll make you think, then 'Cameo' is the book for you 
anyway i think what struck me most was how doyle pokes fun at our obsession with celebrity culture and writers trying to be "woke" its all just so...human 
. The fact that Doyle is skewering the whole celebrity culture thing, while also poking fun at his own protagonist's antics, is just genius 
? Only time (and a few hundred pages) will tell 
Rob Doyle is like a genius or something! I love how he pokes fun at the literary world, it's so relatable. And Ren Duka's character is just wild, I'm here for his crazy life story 
. And that humor? 
I need more of this in my life! Can't wait to dive into "Cameo" and see what kind of laughs (and awkward moments) await me 
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Duka's character is just so hilariously self-absorbed, it's like he's speaking straight to my soul 
. I might not be the target audience for this kind of humor, but if you're into it, trust me, Cameo is like the perfect read 
!
the part about duka reinventing himself as an anti-woe comedian is literally the best 
And then you got the idea that great literature comes from abjection rather than glory... it's like Doyle is poking fun at all these literary pretenders who think they're above all this stuff 
but hey, to each their own, right? 
Anyway, it sounds like "Cameo" is gonna be a fun read for anyone who enjoys satire and poking fun at the literary world 
the way he pokes fun at literary culture and celebrity is so sharp i loved how duka's life is presented as this fever dream of scandals and contradictions - it's like, we've all heard of writers with dark pasts but doyle takes it to a whole new level 
the inclusion of different narrative threads was genius, it kept me guessing until the end 
Doyle's writing style is so dry and witty it had me laughing out loud at times, but also feeling kinda uncomfortable 
. If you're into that sort of thing, I'd say give 'Cameo' a shot - it's definitely an entertaining ride! 
. Doyle's satire on literary culture is sharp and biting, especially when it comes to celebrity culture and identity politics 
. All in all, "Cameo" is like trying to keep up with a mischievous friend who keeps changing their story – it's infuriating and hilarious at the same time 
But at the same time, it's kinda genius how Doyle pokes fun at our own obsessions with celebrity and identity. I love that the protagonist's "life story" is basically just one big mess of contradictions - I think we can all relate to that 
And I love how Doyle weaves together all these different narrative threads to create this crazy hall of mirrors effect... it's like trying to keep up with Ren Duka himself!