Book Review: Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta

My Rating: 1.5⭐

Steve Galanos and John Goertz met as colleagues during the dot-com bubble in the 1990s. With the threat of the Y2K bug looming large, John’s innovative proposal to develop a solution lands him a promotion. Steve’s initial dislike and resentment toward John grows into an uneasy friendship of sorts that continues after John leaves the company. Over the next few years, John meets Mary (and her friend/colleague/roommate Lauren who was initially the person Steve and John had shown interest in), begins a relationship and finally marries her. Though the foursome finds themselves socializing often, there is an underlying tension that complicates their lives. Under the veneer of friendship we see jealousy, lies, manipulation and constant one-upmanship.

Everything comes to a head during John and Mary’s housewarming party in 1999 when a shocking tragedy irrevocably changes their lives.

The entire narrative of Dennis Cuesta’s Many Are Invited is presented through Steve’s PoV as he recalls the events leading up to that fateful night of the housewarming party. Steve is insecure, consumed by his feelings of inadequacy, and jealous of John’s success, his life and his wife. He comes across as whiny and annoying and it's difficult to muster any sympathy for him. Mary and Lauren might be roommates but they don’t hesitate to out each other's secrets to anyone willing to listen. Needless to say, I immensely disliked most of the characters in this story. The build-up to the night of the party took a long time (after the 55% mark) after which the ending is rushed and feels abrupt.

I found the locker room talk, objectification of women and blatant sexism depicted in this book in extremely poor taste. Even if it was required to set the story (I understand sensibilities in the 1990s and the present day would differ) and portray the men in this story in a negative light , I feel the author went overboard. The pretentious conversations on politics and religion between the invitees of the party (inconsequential fillers that served no purpose but to fill the pages) were uncomfortable to read, to say the least. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it was a quick read with short chapters. Clearly, I am not the right audience for this book.

Many thanks to Celestial Eyes Press and NetGalley for providing the digital review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. The book is due to be published on October 6, 2022.