A review by tsharris
The Book of Dave: A Revelation of the Recent Past and the Distant Future by Will Self

4.0

Derivative and yet highly original, this book was not easy to read. Make sure you read the glossary first - it will save you a lot of headaches. Although it took me a long time to get into it, once I did I finished it in a couple of days, though I had to go back and read the first two chapters again. There's a powerful idea at the heart of the novel: what do we leave to the future? Self draws a parallel between the climate change that devastates London, Dave's haphazard burial of his lunatic rant, and the act of parenting (the basis for Dave's religion). Whether as bearers of ideas or shapers of our children, Self suggests we have a tremendous responsibility to the future, which demands humility and sensibility (perhaps more of both than human beings are actually capable). There's also a strong Houellebecqian streak when it comes to describing the modern world.