Andrew Marr (1) (1959–)

In need of a holiday read, I grabbed this from the library, intrigued that it was written in 2014, and was set in 2017, days before the Brexit referendum. In some ways it didn't disappoint. Marr writes well, describing places, people and conversations with an eye and ear for telling detail. The plot was beyond believable. The PM dies in office, days before the vote, and his inner circle strive to conceal the death. But Marr has his finger on the pulse, and in the end, I was persuaded that this fantastical plot was far too close to possible reality for comfort. All the same, politics isn't my world, and though I enjoyed his writing well enough, it wasn't my kind of tale. Two stars? No, make it three. Just.… (altro)

god i hate the word Brexit, why has that become our go-to word for this sorry mess? (why is it a subtitle on the goodreads title of this book?)

Fortunately this book, written a couple of years before the real referendum and set in a fictional 2017, doesn't use the word Brexit. It's written as a prediction of what would happen. In some ways it didn't get it crazy enough, frankly, but in others it's pretty accurate. Currency loses value overnight, etc.

The book is a bit bloated, overall. It has way too many characters, no true main character or protagonist, so I couldn't really care less when some of the final-hour reveals came by (e.g., two characters turn out to be siblings, but why does it matter?). But too many of the plot threads are left hanging, at the same time. One reveal that irked me a lot was a gay male character bedding a woman for strategic gain at the end. It came across as homophobic on the part of the author, predatory on the part of the woman character. It leaves his partner out in the dust - we never find out what happens to him.

It seems to be unsure how much it can take potshots at real-world figures. Rory Bremner, Jeremy Clarkson, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the Milibands are namechecked (incidentally, Ed Miliband was the Labour leader for five years?? He made as much impression on me as a wet tea-towel...), but other characters are obvious ersatz versions of Theresa May, for example, and Twitter is renamed Witter. There's also a new King instead of Lizzy, and a Madame President in America - oh, if only!

But some aspects of it worked well. The central thriller plot works really well, building up subtly, and revealing the death of the PM about a third of the way into the book, which happened before all the other events that had been described up until then. I was shocked by the revelation and immediately hooked, and had to go back and check the previous chapters to find that they held together. I also was anxious on the eve of Theresa May's snap election this year and read through about half of the book that evening to calm my nerves a bit.… (altro)

CUPRINS

1. Multumiri - pag. 7
2. Introducere - pag. 9

3. Partea I - Afara din arsita, spre ger - pag. 21
4. Partea a II-a - Pledoarie pentru razboi - pag. 75
5. Partea a III-a - Sabia si cuvantul - pag. 137
6. Partea a IV-a - Dincolo de creuzetul tulbure - pag. 217
7. Partea a V-a - Detonarea lumii - pag. 287
8. Partea a VI-a - Visuri de libertate - pag. 351
9. Partea a VII-a - Capitalismul si adversarii acestuia - pag. 437
10. Partea a VIII-a - Timpurile noastre - pag. 535

11. Bibliografie - pag. 653… (altro)