A great romp if you like watching Sharon, Simon and Louis at work...
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Think X Factor pushed to the max in terms of absurdness, and you have 'Chart Throb' in a nutshell. Ben Elton does not remotely try to hide the similarities between his fictional judges and the real ones.
The funniest moments for me in this novel involved one unlikely and well-known contestant in the 'reality' contest. I'm sorry, but the notion of this particular dignitary having a 'pleasant light baritone' and singing the songs he is given by the Cowellesque judge evokes ribald images as good as anything Elton has ever conjured up.
It's a great book, unless you belong to the 0.00001% of the population that doesn't have a TV set.
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Chart Throb, its fab!!
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You will never look at reality tv in the same light after reading this. It is brilliant. It starts a bit slow, but is compelling, and funny! It makes you think.....just do the math!
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Insightful
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Chart Throb is a must read for any fan of X-Factor, Pop Idol, etc. Elton's story follows the next evolutionary step, where the talent search genre is full of exploitation, double-crossing and wierdos. Chart Throb is an unpredictable and entertaining journey through one season of the show, where all the bets are off (except for all the rigged entrants!) and chaos reigns. It's a great read, however don't be expecting plenty of belly laughs. The humour is wry and would be entirely missed by those who have never been caught up in the reality TV that spams the civilised world. Interesting characters and an intriguing plot will help the TV stay off until you turn the very last page.
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Another Elton page turner
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This book has got quite mixed reviews from people here at Amazon and I can understand why. I find Mr Eltons work very easy to read and I tend to work my way through one of his books in the space of a few days, this is usually because I want to know what happens next as the characters are compelling and the observations on humanity very amusing.
I am no fan of 'X Factor' style television, and I would imagine that anyone who is would not enjoy this book as it rips the whole idea to shreds.
Keep up the good work Ben.
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Ok, but not great.
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No-one would disagree that Ben Elton is a masterful observer of contemporary society. Once again here, he taps into the frustration with the X factor/Pop idol culture that seems to have dominated our "empty lives" in the last few years.
His observations are shrewd, funny and probably altogether true. You'll certainly never take another episode of these dire programmes seriously!!
The problem is that, once the jokes have been told, there is very little else here and the book drags on and on. The plot is flimsy, unfulfilling and ultimately fairly silly (without being clever) and you warm to none of the characters leaving you caring nothing about what happens to any of them.
Sometimes I think that the Ben Elton book machine latches onto the subject du jour much as a stand up comic plan his latest routine. Unfortunately, the book has to be readable and gripping as well and here, with Chart Throb, Mr Elton fails.
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