あらすじ
Named one of Cosmopolitan's Best Books of 2018 From the husband and wife writing duo Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer comes Mr. Nice Guy, a funny and all too real comedy about the pursuit of success in life--and love--in today's working world. Lucas Callahan, a man who gave up his law degree, fiancée and small-town future for a shot at making it in the Big Apple. He snags an entry-level job at Empire magazine, believing it's only a matter of time before he becomes a famous writer. And then late one night in a downtown bar he meets a gorgeous brunette who takes him home... Carmen Kelly wanted to be a hard-hitting journalist, only to find herself cast in the role of Empire's sex columnist thanks to the boys' club mentality of Manhattan magazines. Her latest piece is about an unfortunate—and unsatisfying—encounter with an awkward and nerdy guy, who was nice enough to look at but horribly inexperienced in bed. Lucas only discovers that he's slept with the infamous Carmen Kelly—that is, his own magazine's sex columnist!—when he reads her printed take-down. Humiliated and furious, he pens a rebuttal and signs it, "Nice Guy." Empire publishes it, and the pair of columns go viral. Readers demand more. So the magazine makes an arrangement: Each week, Carmen and Lucas will sleep together... and write dueling accounts of their sexual exploits. It's the most provocative sexual relationship any couple has had, but the columnist-lovers are soon engaging in more than a war of words: They become seduced by the city's rich and powerful, tempted by fame, and more attracted to each other than they're willing to admit. In the end, they will have to choose between ambition, love, and the consequences of total honesty. "The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City — a page-turner that's part sex diary, part coming-of-age story." — Carolyn Kylstra, editor in chief, SELF "I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!! It totally messed up my week, it messed up my deadlines, but I absolutely loved it." — Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians
作品考察・見どころ
ジェニファー・ミラー夫妻が放つ本作は、メディア界の虚実を鋭く抉る知的コメディです。性体験を公に晒し合う過激な設定を通じ、現代の誠実さを問い直す筆致が圧巻。単なるロマンスを超え、成功への渇望と自己喪失の危うさを描くドラマとしての深みに、評論家として唸らされます。 承認欲求のために自分をコンテンツ化する現代人の孤独と、虚飾を脱ぎ捨てた先に残る愛。その対比を突きつける、鋭利で情熱的な物語です。一気に読み進める中毒性と、読後も消えない余韻が、あなたの価値観を鮮やかに揺さぶるでしょう。