Enablers Anonymous by Nico Laeser

I loved Enablers Anonymous! This book should come with a warning not to read in public if you’re prone to laughing out loud. Jimmy is one of the most despicable yet lovable characters I’ve read. I could tell from the first chapter that this wasn’t to be a typical Nico Laeser novel, yet it carried his intelligent humour and each carefully crafted sentence was a delight to read. I was engaged from the start. The book is in several acts and follows the rise and demise of Jimmy the loser and his merry band of misfit followers. On the surface it’s a madcap tale of ‘fake it ’til you make it’; an hilarious farce that showcases the art of lying to consolidate lies and fighting to stay just one step ahead of the game. Jimmy is a complex character who makes you cringe one moment, laugh, love and pity him the next. He is the unfiltered part of our thoughts, he says and does the outrageous, that which we only think of but would never dare to do. Despite this, the story is very much rooted in the real world. Love him or hate him, there’s something in Jimmy we can all empathise with.

There is so much more to this than the despicable adventures of a lovable rogue though. This story also has a heartwarming quality that tackles many of our unspoken insecurities and a need to belong and feel loved. Jimmy becomes the king of the underdog and it’s up to the reader to decide whether his actions are deplorable or virtuous. There is a certain inevitability, that builds throughout the book, that his venture is doomed to fail explosively. I found myself rooting for Jimmy to succeed despite his dubious methods. I raced through, desperate to find out how it would end and the anticipation was excruciatingly raw. Despite all my predictions, I didn’t guess the ending, and what a clever ending it is too. The many layers of this tale are carefully crafted to create suspense, humour and entertainment, but also to bring out reader emotions, a talent that Nico Laeser has mastered perfectly. Follow my lead and read this superb book.