![Cover image of Leading Man by Justin Myers. On a yellow background, standing beneath a spotlight, is a man. He is tall, and lanky, with thick, curling dark hair. He is white, with a slightly ruddy complexion, and wears brown-grey shoes, green trousers, a white shirt, a red tartan scarf, and an orangey-camel coloured coat. In one hand he holds a leather, flap-front briefcase, and in the other he holds a lilac book. Above the man, in a clear, bold sans serif font the title of the book [Leading Man] is written in bubblegum pink. Beneath the man, at the bottom of the page, the author's name [Justin Myers] is written in a red handwriting font.](https://eebonnerauthor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image-2.png?w=666)
This is easily one of the best books I have ever read.
Leading Man is an emotional sucker punch of a book. It might be blurbed like a romcom, and in so many ways it is one, but it is the modern, self-aware kind of romcom that gets 80% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes. The kind of romcom that would star comedians, down to earth Nepo-babies, and up-and-comers. Leading Man is a heart breaking, heart mending, soul expanding wonder of a book.
Leo, Lion, Dandelion, whatever you want to call the MC of this wonder of a book, is the voice inside all of our heads. Self-aware to the point of self-destructive, Leo knows his past relationships, his family life, and his friendships have all screwed him up, and been screwed up by him, in unique and painful ways. When an old friend returns to Edinburgh he finds himself catapulted into a relationship, dating a man from his wildest dreams. At the same time, changes at work not only leave him swimming upstream, when he’d always been a go-with-the-flow kinds guy, but being encouraged by an unfairly-attractive, and deeply irritating new deputy head. With his love and professional lives in upheaval, Leo finds that he can’t even rely on his oldest friends. Perpetually the sounding board, and only just starting to admit the depths of his ex’s depravity, Leo is in a constant state of flux. Leading Man follows 34 year old drama teacher Leo, who never casts himself in centre stage, as he finally begins to interrogate the relationships he has, the people who claim to love him, and the things he can rely on.
Leo was a joy to read, and at the same time I have never wanted to bodily shake a character so much. Myers has crafted someone deeply human, and yet possess such an intrinsic wit, and incomparable command of language, that the story could never be mistaken for biography. I picked this up thinking it would be a romcom, and I was delighted to find that I was wrong. Every interaction, every word, every repeated motif, was brilliantly timed. This was so much more than a campy love-themed romp. This was a novel about self-love, about exploration, and in so many ways about abuse. What it looks like, why it hurts, and how we can turn it inwards. Myers’ depiction of friendship in particular, the selfishness at it’s core, the distance you feel when you are the callee and never the caller, was breathtaking, and heartbreaking all at once. I have never read Myers before, but he just became and auto-buy writer for me.
Leading Man isn’t what I was expecting, but it blew me away. This is the kind of book you recommend to everyone you know, because it is a gem, and they will find something in it. I have no criticisms for this. It was perfect, crafted with care and skill. I read this in February, and not talking about it until now has been physically painful. I cannot express how absolutely this has consumed me. Leading Man is a perfect example of what good fiction looks like.
5 stars.
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