Jim Kearns, a career manual labourer, struggles to overcome stifling cynicism brought on by missed opportunities and mid-life discord - then he loses his job for punching out a Hollywood action star in a bizarre job-site confrontation. In an effort to salvage not only Jim’s sanity but also their unravelling family, his wife, Maddy, assigns him a series of life-affirming tasks to complete while he suffers through unemployment and his fifteen minutes of fame. Through the pages of his journal, we get an often humorous and sometimes touching view of one man’s life journey. At once compelling and hilarious, The Unexpected and Fictional Career Change of Jim Kearns is the most refreshing novel of the 2005.