Identity Crisis

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Without wishing to offend anybody, I found the ‘trying to please all the people all the time’ and social tip toeing around free speech and even free thought a real concern and even a real future possibility.

The other thing about this concept is that if Ben Elton thinks that the world he's presenting in this book is somehow very wild and improbably extended beyond what's possible - he doesn't spend enough time on the internet. I allways get excited when something new appears by him, because you know you’re going to be reminded of that time as a short trouser wearing kid you just, literally, could not put your book down. I listened to this as an audiobook read by the author, and laughed aloud more than once walking along.So, true to form, Elton takes on gender identity, the morality of the internet, UK referendums and the vacuous nature of social media to name a few topics. Overall: I really enjoyed it, but I think if you've never read Ben Elton you'd be better off reading one of his older satire novels to get a taste before trying this one. This book is hilarious, sad in parts, and terrifying as it is so easy to see the truth in the humour. If you are an Elton fan than you are in for a treat as his razor-sharp wit has lost none of its edge.

Whilst we all know, and are relatively inured to, the national media having their own political axe to grind we are less aware of the political leanings of Social Media or even who is responsible for those provocative hashtags. As a generation x-er myself I can totally relate to the plight of Detective Matlock who feels cumbersome in this rapidly changing world of identity and obsessive political correctness.Sometimes it feels as though Elton wants us to get on board with identity politics and sometimes it feels as though he’s poking fun at it for quick laughs. I was mildly interested in the Cambridge Analytica-esque company’s storyline and where it was going (nowhere surprising it turns out) and I did want to find out who the social media killer was. I generally find Ben Elton's satire better than his plot (other than Two Brothers which is masterful).