Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite

Alec Taylor, the Chief Marketing Officer of Biodigm, a biotech start-up, thinks he is successful. At thirty-nine, he not only boasts an athletically toned body but also a house in one of Norwich’s affluent neighborhoods. He looks down upon overweight people and believes they’re lazy. Biodigm is launching a new product called Notato, a modified potato that will help overweight people lose weight. Biodigm is about to close a deal worth over a billion dollars and will make him filthy rich. However, Alec secretly puts himself on a Notato diet to get even fitter, but before the official launch, he gains weight abnormally fast. He becomes overweight. Desperate to get back into shape, he begins a frantic search for help. He is about to enter a spell of holistic change, find love, and make a tough decision that will save the lives of hundreds of overweight people. Find out how it all goes down in Life is Swell by Mike Bayfield.

If you are looking for a comedy novel laced with drama, suspense, and a hint of realism and romance, Life is Swell by Mike Bayfield is an enthralling pick. From the introduction, Bayfield wastes no time drawing readers into Alec’s dilemma and the conflict. The narration moves at a deliberate pace, alternating between moments of reflection and the cast’s day-to-day activities. The vivid depictions drop readers into the drama, from the overweight woman running in Eaton Park to the Biodigm lab and the mess Alec makes in an airplane washroom, among other settings. Bayfield reveals the characters’ personalities and emotions through the lively, dynamic conversations and witty introspective commentary. Alec believes he is fit and rich because he is smart and hardworking, and he is smug about it. However, like every other human who believes they’re impervious to worldly problems, his dilemma with the effects of the Notato teaches him a tough lesson about humility and reality.