Fans of Offspring, Australia’s popular TV series, will love this book! It’s author is Offspring co-creator and head writer, Debra Oswald, who has also written three ‘Aussie Bite’ books for young readers, six novels for teenage readers and now a novel: Useful.

Sullivan Moss started life as a cruisy, baby-faced actor who picked up a bit of work here and there and got lucky with the women at uni. Meanwhile, his friends concentrated on their professions and eventually grew up to establish long-term relationships and good careers.

Sully, as he was known by his friends, succeeded at becoming such a lazy, alcoholic, unemployed, underachieving loser that he couldn’t sustain a relationship or even commit suicide properly. However, clarity hits him when he wakes up in hospital after falling the wrong way on a rooftop. Now is his chance to be useful in this world – by donating a kidney to a stranger.

Having to start from scratch after literally packing up his life, right down to the last of his clothes being thrown in a donations bin, Sully has to call on Natalie, a radio producer and friend of his ex-wife, for a huge favour: to pick him up from hospital. He’s already burnt through his friend credit with everyone else. Natalie’s dad has just died in the strangest of circumstances and so, fortunately for Sully, he now has a place to stay in her dad’s old house so he can look after the dog, Mack.

After many psychological tests, appointments with shrinks and a selfenforced healthier lifestyle, Sully miraculously forges a new, healthy life for himself. Now employed and sober, Sully finds his chutzpah again as he makes new friends with Natalie and her son Louis, and begins to patch things up with old friends such as his ex-best mate Tim. But Sully soon discovers that altruism is not as easy as it seems. Just when he thinks he’s got it together, Sully realises how fragile life is and how easily life can fall apart.

In Oswald’s inimitable fashion, Useful is an incredibly fast-paced read brimming with brilliant insights into a diverse group of characters’ lives and a wry, moving snapshot of one man’s search for meaning in life.

Emily Harms