Tuxes by Scott Fivelson

With billionaires who inherited their wealth constantly making news these days, the novel Tuxes by Scott Fivelson may be more relevant now than when it was first published in 2007. The novel sends up the mega-rich through its portrayal of the Bundleworth family and their conglomerate, Tuxaco, the biggest renter and seller of tuxedos in the world. Based in Bundleworth, Texas (part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Bundleworth metroplex), Tuxaco has outlets in 48 of the 50 states and very nearly every country in the world.

With Tuxes, Scott Fivelson casts a wide net, satirizing not only the rich, the State of Texas, the formalwear industry, and corporate America, but the class system, counterculture, and American entertainment, among other things. In many ways the novel is reminiscent of such Sixties satirical movies as Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Loved One (1967), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967), taking aim at multiple targets and showing little in the way of mercy towards any of them. Indeed, in Tuxes the same traits that would make for a successful caveman are the same traits that would make for a successful corporate executive.

What makes Tuxes successful as a satire is that its characters, while exaggerated, are so convincing that readers can easily believe they are real. At the centre of it all is Bundleworth patriarch Price, who finds his life turned upside down. And while Price is arguably the central character in Tuxes, his family, employees, and yet other characters have their own hopes and dreams. Much of the humour in Tuxes comes from how the characters’ hopes and dreams succeed or fail often for reasons that are sometimes downright preposterous. In Tuxes the characters are often not the captains of their fates so much as they are merely passengers aboard a ship in an at times stormy sea.

Kevn Costner as John
Dutton III in Yellowstone

Of course, all of this would be for naught if Tuxes was not a very funny novel. Scott Fivelson has a sharp wit so that while the events in Tuxes might be exaggerated, they reflect what often happens in the real world. As to the plot of Tuxes, there is never a slow moment. The novel moves at a good clip and has enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

Tuxes is a clever book that evokes such primetime soap operas centred on wealthy families as Dallas and Dynasty, and quite currently, the Yellowstone/Taylor Sheridan Universe, while at the same time evoking such satirical movies as Dr. Strangelove and The Loved One. Ultimately it is a fun read that will keep any reader thoroughly entertained.