Book Review: "Truth in Advertising," by John Kenney

I don't remember where I heard about this book - may have been the library website. But no matter where I heard about it, I'm glad I did.
It's about a man, Fin [sad, I know] who works at an ad agency [that's a lot of 'a's in a row] that just got a last minute project - for a Super Bowl commercial. In the midst of all that franticness, he finds out his abusive father, who no one has seen for 25 years, has had a heart attack and is in the hospital dying [don't worry - it's not remotely sappy like it could be]. Fin's siblings don't visit, but he feels compelled to be there, even though his dad never regains consciousness. Through all this his co-workers/friends are very supportive. I love his friends. His family might be messed up, but his friends are great.
What I like about the book is the humor, but also the realism. Fin's not necessarily happy at his job - it's fine, and in this economy he figures he better stick with it - but he's just there because it's a job. He's pushing 40 and wondering where the time has gone; how time has passed without him doing anything. He knows he's average, and nothing's going to change that. He's not mopey about it, it's just a fact of life. He doesn't dwell on it, but it comes up once in awhile. "I wish I had a calling. I wish I was remarkably good at one thing. Just one thing that I could point to and say, 'I am superb at this. I know this.'...But I am not good at anything...There are times in my life when I look for experiences I can be proud of, things that might define me...The stories of a life well lived. Little monuments we all need to sustain us during those long stretches where nothing quite so memorable occurs, when life simply passes by. I scan my memory for something to hold on to. I can find almost nothing." Then he moves on to something else. But I like that that's in the book. And I like that it keeps coming up, rather that just a pathetic part at the beginning before things turn around for the character. So much more real. Fin's a little dissatisfied with life, but that's how life is.
And somehow it has inspired me to get writing. I'm not sure if it's the style of the book, or the thought of being dissatisfied and untalented being okay after all, or what, but somehow it got me writing.
Good book.