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Blind Faith

Author: Ben Elton
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

51 reviews
Sales Rank: 516613

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1

ISBN: 0552773913
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780552773911
ASIN: 0552773913

Publication Date: May 19, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

This was SO written by a man August 23, 2008
Blind faith had the potential to be an intersting satire on the modern technological world and the resulting complete lack of privacy. Unfortunately there was so much written about barely covered, artifically enlarged boobs, lack of privacy resulting in all sexual activity being available on the internet for everyone to see, and compulsory posting of birthing videos, that I was hard pressed to see the real story under all this male driven crap.
The point the book was making about how life might be after the flood caused by global warming was valid, but the book itself was so sordid that I only fifnished it because I was reading it for a book group. I shall be interested to see how this group of 17 ladies reacts - might even update my review!

3 out of 5 stars

a dark, dark dystopian satire August 11, 2008
Purely by chance, I read this novel shortly after completing The Book Of Dave by Will Self. Both novels use an imagined dystopian future England, decimated after severe flooding covers half the country, for a satire about the state of the nation today. As both novels appeared around the same time, this is clearly a coincidence; both Self and Elton aim at many of the same targets, but while Self's satire is like the point of a dagger skilfully skewering his targets, Ben Elton prefers the repeated hammering over the head with a blunt instrument.

Not that there is anything wrong with this. Elton has addressed the vacuousness of modern life before, and he doesn't spare his anger here. Ben Elton, like Will Self, sets his aim squarely at religious dogmatism. He is clearly horrified by the rise in creationism in the USA, which is starting to make its presence felt in the UK, and takes this to its logical conclusion, where science and rationality are rejected in favour of the titular 'blind faith' and a 'me' culture.

The first thing you should know about this novel is that it isn't funny. At all. Anyone familiar with Ben Elton's work will know that he uses comic situations to address serious issues; there is precious little to laugh about in Blind Faith, just a growing horror as the fast-paced plot drags you in.

It is about 100 years in the future. After a flood, Britain has become a much smaller country. People not only live and work in extraordinary proximity to one another, but are ruled by a religious fanaticism where privacy is frowned upon and belief in evolution- in reason of any kind- is banned. Furthermore, every aspect of one's life is required to be posted online. But Trafford, our protagonist, has the makings of a dangerous subversive- he has a secret.

The plot similarity to 1984 is obvious, and Elton doesn't try to hide it, namechecking Orwell's work more than once. This is not a problem for me; the updating for a modern world is perfect, each target bringing a knowing nod from the reader. Ultimately, the despair in the story is equal to anything Orwell could think up; Elton does show us a chink of light at the close, but be warned it arrives at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

As always with Elton, Blind Faith is a well-plotted easy read. However, for me the jaunty tone of the early chapters sits uneasily with the dark and cruel nature of the concluding section and as such I would not place it amongst his best work.

1 out of 5 stars

His poorest novel to date August 4, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I have previously enjoyed Ben Elton's novels as they seemed to be in tune with current "fads"/media issues in society (Friend Reunited/Big Brother/Congestion/Pollution etc)
In addition they were funny
This is kind of 1884/Brave New World/ Dystopian future
Is it a reworking of 1984?
Is it an allegory of our CCTV society
Is it a swipe at fundamentalism?
To be honest I do not know
I kmow it isn't an enjoyable read and it isn't worth the effort of reading

2 out of 5 stars

Rather horrible... July 31, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Despite being a huge fan of Elton's writing, I really didn't like this book. It is a clever blend of 1984 and Brave New World but updated to be more relevant to our generation, and it had its moments of biting satire, but overall it had a really nasty feel. This is deliberate I'm sure and there's no reason why books have to be light, amusing affairs all of the time, but for the me the tone was horrible, the ending predictably horrific and it left a nasty taste in my mouth.

4 out of 5 stars

Interesting concept July 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The sharing of information.. Ben Elton really touches on subjects here that seem to be happening all around us right now. Why do people think we want to see the trash that is given to us on T.V. these days. What is so fascinating about other peoples lives? Is nothing sacred?
A different and imaginitive book. Ben Elton manages to create thought provoking work from subjects close to our hearts and from everyday life, pure genius.