Written by contributor Amy Jane Lehan
Hurtling towards 30, Leo Cotton works at a job he loathes, his ex-husband has primary custody of his dog as well as a younger, mesh t-shirt wearing boyfriend, his bank account is in the negative, and now his best friend, Sara, is getting married. In Greece. When a Grindr hook-up surprisingly turns a profit, Leo thinks he may have found a way to increase his bank balance and afford to comfortably partake in events leading up to and including Sara’s big day.
From the first words of the book—literally—we are made aware of how Leo is doing financially, which essentially, is not well. Surrounded by his ‘rich’ friends, with the backdrop of the notoriously not cheap London, Leo struggles to keep pace in their world. Stretching his income as much as he possibly can to make ends meet and living in his overdraft is his normal. He is always the one having drinks and meals (happily and without judgement) bought for him, so it is no secret that he is not quite as well off as his friends, though the exact extent is seemingly unknown as his retail job keeps him in designer clothing.
When Sara announces her engagement, Leo knows that he has no chance of taking part in everything with his current financial situation, so when opportunity presents itself, he sees a way to make it all happen. Leo is sarcastic and witty, has the right amount of self-deprecation and reads as a believable character. His life is so far from ideal that as a reader, you want nothing more than the ability to fix it all for him and let him know how loved and wanted he is. In the first chapter we accompany Leo to his psychiatrist, introducing the reader to his bi-polar disorder and the fact he is medicated and reliant on it to avoid the deep downswings and mania. Over the course of the book, we watch as Leo struggles to keep everything in check and the very real impact his choices have on his life and mental health.
Sara Langaard is Leo’s best friend. Working under Leo’s ex-husband’s new boyfriend, Sara shares in Leo’s dislike for the man, and does not hesitate to voice her opinion as such. A decade of knowing each other has built a friendship most people dream of, with a sense of loyalty and understanding. Sara feels very much like Shazza from Bridget Jones. She swears, chain smokes, and drinks like a drain but has always been there for Leo, until she somewhat unintentionally becomes wrapped up in her own seemingly perfect life. Sara never comes across as nasty or malicious towards Leo, merely like her current life situation—her engagement and planning her wedding—is all consuming to an extent, something that happens to the best of us. Andrew, John, and Dominic are all friends of Leo’s, creating a well-rounded supporting cast, further fleshing out Leo as a character. Andrew provides Leo with a place to live and a consistent, safe, reliable friendship, whereas John and Dominic, seemingly to be more fun, ‘out for drinks’ types, though no less available if Leo should desire.
Michael Sarais has managed to craft a book that takes you on a journey where you quite literally gag (more than once), laugh, and try not to cry as Leo stumbles through his existence. His decision to make money from being an escort seeping into every corner of his life, despite his self-assurances that wouldn’t happen. Leo is so beautifully flawed, unaware of his self-worth and often downright hilarious, I often found myself wanting to throttle him for his poor choices. The continued struggle Leo faces with his mental health is so real, the way he is not fully aware of how his mental state presents to others really rung true, his mental health was a backdrop to this story that you didn’t feel suffocated by. It was more than a plot point or a box to check to make the story relevant in today’s reading world. The authenticity to Leo’s struggle and his desire to have a life and career he can be proud of is ultimately what made me fall in love with this story, more than Leo’s spark and humour. I wanted Leo to find his path and succeed.
My only real issue with this entire works would be in regards to the HIV testing, a clarification about the virus taking time to manifest in a persons blood and the quality of rapid result tests would improve things, but that is quite literally nit-picking and nothing more. The writing style is conversational, the story grows organically, never feeling stilted or dull and the conclusion is what you want in a book of this genre, with a tiny teaser for a potential future story. Though if that is the case, I would hope for Leo to be of a supporting nature and not centre stage. Either way, whatever Michael Sarais produces next is something I absolutely cannot wait to read. A wonderful debut novel and a solid 9/10 read.
All of My Friends Are Rich is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of June 16th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Orphan Leo Cotton has finally built a family, but the advent of bipolar depression wakes him from this dreamlife to reveal dark truths about the man he’d married.
One year later, Leo is lost. Embarrassed by a dead-end job that barely pays the bills, he can’t help but notice that those around him are all enjoying success. When his closest friend, Sara, asks him to be her best man, Leo reaches the last straw: how can he possibly afford these lavish festivities on his wages? A Grindr chance encounter reveals that a shortcut to riches does exist . . . but in the end, this reckless route may cost him the loved-ones he aims to impress and welcome terrible danger . . .
Leo’s trip will take him afar, but answers lie only within.
