Book Review: The End of the Playboy

Larry Funk is in a funk. Adrift in Los Angeles’s celebrity-obsessed youth culture, the 49-year-old Gen X rock star and former Casanova grapples with fading fame, advancing age, and a waning musical career threatened by the pop culture wars in a fractured nation.

Set in the chaotic year of 2016, amidst national turmoil and heartbreaking losses, Funk and the rest of a wistful America are stuck in a “holding pattern.” But during one magical spring break weekend in L. A., his career is miraculously revived when he gets a second chance at love and becomes the unlikely star of a hidden camera reality show. With humor and grace, this authentic middle-aged hero with a crooked smile and an easy gait will momentarily charm a new generation of fans in this high-stakes game of who gets the girl. With the odds stacked against him, Funk, as always, will give the fans their money’s worth in this life-affirming and often hilarious odyssey.

The End of the Playboy by Harlin Hailey will be published on October 15, 2024. Victory Editing provided an early galley for review.

When a writer mentions my favorite artist ever (Prince) in his opening paragraph, I know I'm in good hands as a reader. In fact, all of his music references throughout the novel (summarized nicely as a playlist in the back of the book) very much hit home for me. Clearly I'm of the age for the audience of this novel.

Hailey quickly pulled me into his story about aging and coping as Funk gets drawn into Ronnie Slater's latest endeavor. Here we have two male characters in their middle age, slowly realizing that the world has changed from their younger days and wrestling with their own morality. As an older reader, this one definitely hit more than it would for me decades ago.

For a story that covers a very short narrative time period (four days total), sometimes the reader needs to accept the terms for the story for things to move along properly. Should certain characters be questioning things more? Absolutely. Should other characters not put up with the behavior and attitude given to them? Yes. But in the end the story still works out well, the themes explored and the message delivered. I am willing to make a few minor accommodations as long as the book is entertaining me, as this one most certainly did.

If there were ever a sequel, I'll definitely put it on my reading list.