Identity Crisis

Product Information

Whoooo boy. Okay. I have some feelings about this book. So many mixed feelings. I've been thinking about it since I finished it last night and I still can't quite decide how I feel about it so bear with me if this review is a mess.

Identity Crisis - Reading Project Identity Crisis - Reading Project

Mean that you actually want to kill them. It’s more like “Oh, I disagree with you. Maybe you should think things through more”, that sort of thing.”This is brash, sharp writing. Swear words abound, so look away if you're easily offended. The short snappy chapters keep the story flowing well, and the chapters are titled - love it! More books should have them. Satire, wit and keen observations combine to give us an eerie view of the current climate, with keyboard warriors frightening politicians, public services & corporations with their own form of written vitriol. Hashtags going viral, as people increasingly display their outrage online.

Ben Elton releases 16th novel, Identity Crisis | Stuff.co.nz Ben Elton releases 16th novel, Identity Crisis | Stuff.co.nz

Britain’s most talked-about and much-loved TV show was now linked irrevocably with the enablement of sexual abuse. Whether people agreed with that view or not was irrelevant.”This book is hilarious, sad in parts, and terrifying as it is so easy to see the truth in the humour. This is razor-sharp, relevant and completely on point. From police officers who can't say the right thing when a victim (or is it survivor who died?) is murdered in a park to the hammy old 'lech' of an actor maneuvering to stay relevant (and solvent) as his one man show is vilified... it all hits the mark. If it had been nothing but satire, I would have gotten tired of the nastiness of different interest groups being manipulated to bash each other. But there is also a murder mystery that drives the plot and that’s quite well done.

Identity Crisis by Ben Elton | Goodreads

Instead it comes off less satirical and more simply reflective of everyday life (which I suppose is a commentary in itself of just how absurd things have gotten at this point!). Elton hasn’t got anything to say about it all except “Bit bonkers, innit?”, which, duh. It’s just not funny. I listened to this as an audiobook read by the author, and laughed aloud more than once walking along. Ben Elton is a talented narrator (as well as author), bringing his characters to life with ease. It was not at all a trial to keep up with each story and voice. A perfect audio read, really. I’ve never given such a low rating to a Ben Elton book but I would’ve given up on it if it wasn’t written by him. I was hoping it was going somewhere, but unfortunately not really.Ben Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.