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A review by galinette
Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes by Ben Lewis
1.0
This book had potential but alas it was researched and written by someone who I can only describe as a "jerk". Ben Lewis, it seems, knows all about communism and life in the USSR... except he doesn't, not really. He interprets events and people's actions in ways that just do not add up, and he often makes absolutely horrendous remarks - there were parts where it seemed he was upset that "only" a few hundred people had their (and their relatives') lives changed or destroyed because they told a joke! Even one life is one too many! Moreover, the interviews and his recollection of his life with his ex-girlfriend show that he has absolutely no respect for people who do not share his views. An open mind might have rendered this book much better.
Throughout the book, the author talks about his theories about "communist jokes" and from that I gathered he thought he was trying to scientifically approach the question. The main problem was that he only ever had theories and did not, at all, use the scientific method to test out any hypotheses he might have had.
Finally, the few jokes that were listed were not actually the best ones and not the ones I would consider representative of soviet humour. The fact that all the play-on-words jokes were ignored (because the author apparently did not want to waste time in explanations) was a let-down... but that might just be my very biased point of view, having grown up in a household with parents who had fully experienced the USSR and having experienced it myself for six years.
Throughout the book, the author talks about his theories about "communist jokes" and from that I gathered he thought he was trying to scientifically approach the question. The main problem was that he only ever had theories and did not, at all, use the scientific method to test out any hypotheses he might have had.
Finally, the few jokes that were listed were not actually the best ones and not the ones I would consider representative of soviet humour. The fact that all the play-on-words jokes were ignored (because the author apparently did not want to waste time in explanations) was a let-down... but that might just be my very biased point of view, having grown up in a household with parents who had fully experienced the USSR and having experienced it myself for six years.