An ambitious young writer tells a white lie to land a scoop in this dazzling debut, interrogating the ethics of writers
For the most part, stories about writers feel a bit exhausting, suggesting a lack of imagination or curiosity towards the world beyond the craft. Of course, there are always exceptions, and Dominic Amerena’s debut, I Want Everything, is undoubtedly, strikingly, one of them.
Amerena’s protagonist (deliberately unnamed) is a frustrated young writer who buys time to write by taking part in paid medical trials. His girlfriend, Ruth, is fierce and talented, and although he hates to admit it, he envies her success and talent. When, on the way home from his latest trial, the narrator spots the legendary author and recluse Brenda Shales, who vanished 50 years earlier amid a storm of controversy surrounding her novels, he sees a chance for a scoop. It’s a small lie at first, a slip of the tongue that makes Shales believe he’s someone else. But soon the lie, and his hunger to tell the story of the real Brenda Shales, snowball, and the writer must weigh his ambition against his humanity.
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I Want Everything by Dominic Amerena is out through Simon & Schuster ($34.99)
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