Goodboy

Goodboy is a darkly funny, searing debut novel that asks: What does it mean to be a good man?

Lars is enlightened. He takes ice baths, meditates, journals, and has a cute rescue dog. He even volunteers every week! A former Hollywood agent turned producer, Lars can finally pursue his passions, like championing stories about marginalized voices (so what if the scripts happen to be written by white men!).

When he meets Rory, an artist who is slightly older than he is but still very hot, he becomes determined to prove just how much he has changed. This is the one. He will love Rory. He will be faithful. He will be good. He is good! He even resists a younger, hotter woman who is also named Rory (growth!).

But declarations of goodness will only take Lars so far. Internally, he operates much as he always has—by avoiding his own pain, objectifying women, skirting accountability, and craving validation. And as the distance between the man Lars projects himself to be and the man he actually is begins to collapse, one thing becomes increasingly clear: For Lars, the monster is already inside the house. . . .