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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
A rather thin plot stretched over too many pages.
My full thoughts here: http://oneexwidow.blogspot.com/2010/03/blast-from-past.html
My full thoughts here: http://oneexwidow.blogspot.com/2010/03/blast-from-past.html
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Might work as a play (set largely in a flat), not so much as a novel....
I wanted to love this book; I truly did. I fell in love with Elton's humor and political satire when I read Stark years ago. This book doesn't measure up. The pacing was great, and I confess there were times I had trouble putting the book down. I did find parts quite amusing, and, as a political junkie, I enjoyed the debate.
The problem I had was two-fold. First, I didn't think the story had enough depth. I found it frustrating that on one hand Elton seemed to be trying to tell a serious story about these two people who loved each other, but couldn't find a way to bridge the gap between their two vastly different worlds, and on the other hand, he was just doing a broad satire of left wing vs right wing politics, with a stereotypical stalker thrown in for good measure. He didn't give the characters enough depth to make me fully care about the love story, so why did he bother with all those flashbacks? Yet, in giving me the background, he seemed to almost want me to care about the characters - he just didn't give me enough to allow me to buy in. Also, I saw the ending coming a mile away. Elton is capable of better than that. In general, I don't think there was enough to the story to make a full length book - this would've worked alot better as a short story.
I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, and I probably am. I did enjoy the book, it just wasn't memorable, and it wasn't up to the standards I've come to have for a novelist the calibre of Ben Elton. Elton can do better, so I would not start with this book. My favorite Elton novels are Stark, and Chart Throb.
The problem I had was two-fold. First, I didn't think the story had enough depth. I found it frustrating that on one hand Elton seemed to be trying to tell a serious story about these two people who loved each other, but couldn't find a way to bridge the gap between their two vastly different worlds, and on the other hand, he was just doing a broad satire of left wing vs right wing politics, with a stereotypical stalker thrown in for good measure. He didn't give the characters enough depth to make me fully care about the love story, so why did he bother with all those flashbacks? Yet, in giving me the background, he seemed to almost want me to care about the characters - he just didn't give me enough to allow me to buy in. Also, I saw the ending coming a mile away. Elton is capable of better than that. In general, I don't think there was enough to the story to make a full length book - this would've worked alot better as a short story.
I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, and I probably am. I did enjoy the book, it just wasn't memorable, and it wasn't up to the standards I've come to have for a novelist the calibre of Ben Elton. Elton can do better, so I would not start with this book. My favorite Elton novels are Stark, and Chart Throb.
What a strange book. Elton's dual time period storyline eventually converges into one long and immediate night, where the male lead becomes increasingly erratic and misogyny and homophobia are presented almost, but not quite, as acceptable. The politics of this are hard to get a grasp of, although you'd like to think that Elton is more soft left than boring centrist.
Not as dumb as a lot of his satire, but the ending seems inevitable once you put enough pieces together.
Not as dumb as a lot of his satire, but the ending seems inevitable once you put enough pieces together.
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have read a couple of Ben Elton's other works in the past and quite enjoyed them (one was a Big Brother type spoof, the other vicious satire of crap like Pop Idol). And both were better than this one.
The whole story is set over about three hours, but the flashbacks that set the context span about seventeen years. The structure of the book is quite dodgy, the flashbacks would have been better together as the first part of the book.
The characters are wooden and to dimensional, caricatures in fact (especially the background characters such as Peter's Mum and the milkman - what has the author got agains milkmen?!) and the final reveal of General Kent's intention is just bonkers and completely unbelievable, and to top it all off an attempt to give it a happy ending? Mental.
Ben Elton has written some clever, well structured, witty and enjoyable books. This is not one of them.
The whole story is set over about three hours, but the flashbacks that set the context span about seventeen years. The structure of the book is quite dodgy, the flashbacks would have been better together as the first part of the book.
The characters are wooden and to dimensional, caricatures in fact (especially the background characters such as Peter's Mum and the milkman - what has the author got agains milkmen?!) and the final reveal of General Kent's intention is just bonkers and completely unbelievable, and to top it all off an attempt to give it a happy ending? Mental.
Ben Elton has written some clever, well structured, witty and enjoyable books. This is not one of them.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes