The Simp: A Novel Without A Hero by Roshan Sethi (2026)
Disturbing, cringe inducing, vicious and unforgiving in its satire.......and ultimately, a sad depressing commentary on its lead character and the shark infested waters of the toxic ocean he chose to swim in.
But once I started "The Simp", I couldn't turn away from it. Readable to the max, the book felt like I'd spent time rubbernecking a horrendous one car traffic accident happening in slow motion.
Flawed as he is, I felt compelled to follow the calamitous journey of struggling actor from India Raj Ladlani. Raj is but one of multitudes of aspiring (and perspiring) actors trying to break into L.A.'s film and TV industry......where actors have a better chance of hitting the PowerBall Lottery than snagging even a small role. Raj tries to persevere, knowing that if ever given the opportunity, he's capable of gifted work. And he's encouraged by Anthony, his beloved mentor and acting coach.
With the goal of a flourishing acting career more likely out of his reach than ever, Raj takes on a different kind of performative work...... ..getting hired as an administrative assistant to a married Hollywood power couple, an impossible job that's a combination of secretary and indentured slave. Raj plays the role of a groveling, simpering, always solicitous toady so well that he actually annoys and confounds his employers. Film director Jim and his wife Anna,, both working on scripts, treat Raj with a mixture of entitled contempt alternating with surprising moments of friendship and dependency.
But through all his time spent with Jim and Anna, Raj struggles to contain the simmering anger boiling within him and the urge to break away from the 'Simp' role he's playing in real life all to0 well. And when he finally does.......the chain reaction of events becomes nothing like anyone would expect.
Author Roshan Sethi creates a truly one-of-a-kind character in Raj, whose efforts to become the hero of his own story keep you in a state of constant wincing on his behalf. The book's cleverly set in the early post-COVID years, with film industry's oncoming embrace of diversity and representation. The knowing, witty evisceration of Hollywood power players and the pampered bubble they live is brutal......(and given their behavior and the general quality of their creative output, well deserved..)
Fascinating from beginning to end and not kidding about its declaration as 'a novel without a hero'. But I still couldn't stop reading to the very last bittersweet moment.
But once I started "The Simp", I couldn't turn away from it. Readable to the max, the book felt like I'd spent time rubbernecking a horrendous one car traffic accident happening in slow motion.
Flawed as he is, I felt compelled to follow the calamitous journey of struggling actor from India Raj Ladlani. Raj is but one of multitudes of aspiring (and perspiring) actors trying to break into L.A.'s film and TV industry......where actors have a better chance of hitting the PowerBall Lottery than snagging even a small role. Raj tries to persevere, knowing that if ever given the opportunity, he's capable of gifted work. And he's encouraged by Anthony, his beloved mentor and acting coach.
With the goal of a flourishing acting career more likely out of his reach than ever, Raj takes on a different kind of performative work...... ..getting hired as an administrative assistant to a married Hollywood power couple, an impossible job that's a combination of secretary and indentured slave. Raj plays the role of a groveling, simpering, always solicitous toady so well that he actually annoys and confounds his employers. Film director Jim and his wife Anna,, both working on scripts, treat Raj with a mixture of entitled contempt alternating with surprising moments of friendship and dependency.
But through all his time spent with Jim and Anna, Raj struggles to contain the simmering anger boiling within him and the urge to break away from the 'Simp' role he's playing in real life all to0 well. And when he finally does.......the chain reaction of events becomes nothing like anyone would expect.
Author Roshan Sethi creates a truly one-of-a-kind character in Raj, whose efforts to become the hero of his own story keep you in a state of constant wincing on his behalf. The book's cleverly set in the early post-COVID years, with film industry's oncoming embrace of diversity and representation. The knowing, witty evisceration of Hollywood power players and the pampered bubble they live is brutal......(and given their behavior and the general quality of their creative output, well deserved..)
Fascinating from beginning to end and not kidding about its declaration as 'a novel without a hero'. But I still couldn't stop reading to the very last bittersweet moment.
4 stars (****).
