David Horvath's life is going nowhere. He has just lost his job (again), his most recent girlfriend has left him (again) and his grandmother expresses a wish to die and expects him to help. David's only recourse is to promise his grandmother he'll take her to the Oscars. This promise morphs into a quest to bring the Oscars to Rochester and sets him on a collision course with Rochester's venal and corrupt mayor and finds him and a group of friends at the top of High Falls ready to jump. Along the way David becomes a mentor, attacks Santa Claus and investigates the possibility that he was a dragon in a previous life.
After what I felt was a very slow start, the novel picks up comic steam once David earns the enmity of Mayor Candee, one of the most delightful portraits of a corrupt politician I have ever read. Once Mayor Candee showed up the novel took on a flavour that was reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen, lacking only the villain's comeuppance at the hands of Mother Nature. Still the good guys (mostly) prevail, the bad guys get what they deserve and the Oscars come to Rochester. ( )

This copy was received as part of Library Thing's Member Giveaway: A fun read with engaging characters in almost normal life situations.David the 'hero' is a part time tennnis coach, a jilted lover and now unemployed from his less than atttractive day-job. His friends and he hangs out at a bar which caters for others of their ilk. David's grandmother - with whom he lives is dying of cancer and wants to go to the OSCARS ceremony - red carpet and all, however all forms of travel to LA seem out of the question, so David and his pals propose to bring the OSCARS to Rochester it being the home of film (Kodak - Eastman) as well as numerous other inventions which appear to have found other homes over the years. However well intentioned their plan, they are thwarted by a psychotic Mayor and an overwhelming environment of corporate greed manifest in the city. Combine this with spoilt tennis brats, feminist film festivals and just about every famous individual who came out of Rochester this is a very funny book - Recommended. ( )

Goliath Gets Up had all the elements I hope for from a new book, and author. There were moments that were sarcastic, laugh out loud funny, then sad and despairing but entertaining right to the end. The characters were expertly created and believable, and yet extraordinary in the way they contributed to the pace of the storyline. I appreciated David’s grandmother, that she kept him “grounded”, but for her own ends. The storyline slowed down in a couple of places, but it still kept my interest to the end. The underlying message was positive, the ending was a surprise but in a satisfying manner without being cliched. ( )

Follow the journey of a man named David, who is a total incel. The characters are caricatures that seemingly came straight out of certain subreddits. Nonetheless, it roused my deplorable humor. ( )

read the book cover to cover... looking forward to more reads from Mr O'Dwyer.... one of the better "feel good" authors!