Los Angeles is the backdrop for Kemper Donovan's smart and observant first novel, The Decent Proposal, which examines a familiar premise (see the popular 1993 film Indecent Proposal): What would two people do for a million dollars? Donovan offers a twist in his scenario--sex is not part of this proposition. Rather, a mysterious, anonymous benefactor hires a lawyer to bring together two strangers, promising that they can split $1 million if they agree to spend at least two continuous hours with each other--engaging in substantial conversation--every week, for one full year.
The novel seeks to unravel what a creative but broke 29-year-old, Jewish American film and TV producer and a pragmatic, workaholic, 33-year-old Mexican American lawyer could possibly have in common. Can the arrangement work? And just who might be responsible for this outlandish proposal--and why?
Richard Baumbach is a good-looking, down-on-his-luck creative type. He and his business partner, Keith, quit their jobs with an established film producer to strike out on their own. However, after three years, "Richard feared that 'striking out' was precisely what they'd done." The two work out of each other's apartments and at a coffee shop as they wait for a green light on one of their productions. Richard's best friend is Michaela (aka "Mike"), a hardworking literary manager--"a more interesting, less hated version of an agent, who focused on her screenwriter clients' creative process rather than the business side of things." In college, Richard and Mike were a couple, but Mike ended their romance. Once Mike gets wind of Richard's moneymaking opportunity--the DP, as the "decent proposal" is called--the whole scenario suddenly frames Richard in a new light. Is Mike actually in love with Richard after all?
Elizabeth Santiago, nicknamed "La Máquina" ("The Machine") by her peers, is the other half of the DP and the antithesis of Richard: she doesn't watch TV; she's not even on Facebook. As an eighth-year associate on the fast track to partnership at her high-powered law firm, Elizabeth doesn't need the money. A loner who lives to work, she has forsaken her family and their devout Catholic faith. She leads a solitary life, except for an intellectual homeless man named Orpheus who keeps popping up. The DP offers Elizabeth a perfect opportunity finally to step outside her comfort zone.
A strong, omniscient narrator anchors Donovan's deconstructed, opposites-attract love story where emotional stakes deepen as the story unfolds. References to pop culture, classic literature and movies--along with snappy dialogue and well-drawn characterizations, especially in the cast of supporting players--infuse a clever plot filled with surprising twists that will keep readers entertained and in suspense. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines
Shelf Talker: Two strangers are brought together by a mysterious benefactor who offers them a chance--with conditions--to split a million dollars.