Not for the "a-political"
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John O'Farrell can write some great satire - but not this.
A great read if you are
(a) a Labour supporter / activist - you'll feel at home
(b) a Tory activist - give you some light relief to hear that others have suffered also
Dont read if you are
(c) Margarer Thatcher (well, on relfection she might really enjoy it!); or worse
(d) not much interested in politics - the lowest of the low in John's eyes.
Sure it is light hearted and self-deprecating, but really a long visit to the analyst's couch for his 18 fruitless years as a labour activist in opposition.
I repeatedly had to suppress laughing out loud with John's other books. In this one only laughed out loud twice - and one of these was from a quip reportedly made by Maggie Thatcher ! (Page 257 if you get there)
John's claim to fame in here is being the guy who wrote the gags in Gordon Brown's speaches. That's all you need to know
PS as you may have guessed, he would classify me as the lowest, non-political
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Fever Pitch for Politicos
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Occasionally I see someone on the tube reading this book and I always feel envious that I no longer have the opportunity to read this book for the the first time again. I am of the same (general) age as O'Farrell so I am not sure that people in their twenties who don't remember Maggie T would get as much out of it as those of us who lived through the era O'Farrell describes but nevertheless I am confident that what they DO get out of it is more than they will get from most books out there on the shelves. As an utter cynicist who cannot see organised Labour (either the Old or New incarnation) through the rose-tinted glow as often does O'Farrell, I nevertheless acknowledge him as one of the finest humorists of his generation and I salute him! This book was a landmark for me as a review of the world in which I grew up and also restoring my faith in the power of the written word to make me laugh out loud in public.
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Leaving behind ideals
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I suppose I read this book late - ten years after publication and 10 years after Labour took power. Is there a book of the same title currently being penned by a despondent Conservative? Much of the criticism of the long in tooth Conservatives now seem so transferable to New Labour. In this book O'Farrell describes his personal travails of being a Labour party activist coinciding with the time when the party endured its longest spell out of power since its formation.
The book is funny and realistic, although some of the humour at times seems contrived and you then remember that O'Farrell has since become a comedy writer of some renown. I particularly admired his commitment and identified with his frustration at the lack of response from those he tried to reach with his message. You can literally feel his sheer despair at the constant re-election of a party, and above all a Prime Minister, who was getting it so obviously and disastrously wrong. "Why can't they see what I can see?" is his plaintiff cry, the one of all fanatics. I could also identify with him when he finally decided to drop his vegetarianism (part of the Labour Left package, together with no fashion sense, no humour and unilateral disarmament) in favour a large thick bacon sandwich.
By the end he seems to have almost ditched his political values as well and drawn comfort in a belief that this is the destiny of all faithful converts, seduced by comfort - the fight simply oozing away as other demands and concerns move in (family, security, home and lazy weekends). This may be satisfying to some, but I would have liked to have read of someone who transformed their belief to new circumstances, rather than diluted them down or gave up all together.
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Funny if you are not right-wing (or you are and can laugh at yourself)
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This book takes us on a political excursion from Maggie Thatcher (gawd bless 'er!) being elected in 1979 to Tony pre-Iraq Blair seizing her throne in 1997.
O'Farrell was a left-wing activist at the time (and actually ran for office at one point!) and this book is his view of the events of the time. It contains a lot of Spitting Image type humour which is not surprising as he was one of the writers for the 1980s show. As he is a leftie there are few barbed attacks on Tony Blair or Gordon Brown and the majority of his vitriol is reserved for Mrs T herself and her fellow conspirators - SORRY, politicans . . .
It is funny, with lots of oneliners and amusing stories. The problems are more that, post-Iraq, Labour and Tony B don't appear anyway NEAR as refreshing as they did back in 1997, so a lot of O'Farrell's 'Labour is the best force since sliced bread' type comments now appear shallow, if not naive - sure, that's not really HIS fault, I agree.
Plus, if you are right-wing or have a lot of right-wing beliefs you will not find this book amusing reading UNLESS you are able to laugh at yourself and your right-wing beliefs.
Moreover, like his other books, this one lacks the obvious elements of conventional novel-writing, such as description, plot and characterisation. It's basically a big monologue/rant about Tories + anti-Tory gags.
This novel will make you laugh but as it is a monologue will not engage you on any other level (no descriptions, emotions, non-thumbnail sketch characters etc). AND, if you were not actually old enough to remember the events and characters from 1979-97 then I'm not sure you will get a lot of his jokes . . .
Still, it is funny!
7/10
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Funny political memoir
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This is a funny book. I identified with a lot of it because I must be a similar age. If you remember the Thatcher years with a touch of dread you will enjoy this book.
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