Hmmmm, that really didn't end the way I thought it was going to. Not sure if I'm okay with that or not. ( )

Ben Elton has a talent for seeing past the surface of things to the reality lurking beneath. In "Dead Famous" he showed us how little reality there is in Reality TV. In "Chart Throb" he exposed how the outcomes of TV talent shows are manipulated. In "Blind Faith" he shows us where we may get to if current trends in attitudes towards privacy, intellect, and the dominance of passionate opinion over factual analysis continue.

I've found previous Ben Elton books to be fun as well as insightful. He uses wit, humour and careful observation to make me smile at the gaps between the world as it is presented to us and the reality that he uncovers.

"Blind Faith" is not like that. "Blind Faith" is so in your face and so horribly plausible that it make "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" feel like light-hearted romps. Watching the plot unfold made me feel as if I were rubbernecking on a car wreck: the nice part of me wanted to look away but the reptile wrapped around my hindbrain was fascinated by the reality of the disaster.

"Blind Faith" is set in a post-flood near-future London, where the people are packed together so tightly there is only room to shuffle, not enough to walk. Social media are always on in your living room. Privacy is regarded as the kind of deviant behaviour only pedo pervert would need. Cherry-popping videos are part of everyone's online bio, laws are set by mass vote, a populist, live it large church guides all decisions, reading is illegal and vaccinations are seen as a lack of faith in God.

In the midst of all this, an ordinary man, trying to do his best and being overwhelmed.

This is a memorable book but it is not a comfortable read. The text began to make me feel as hemmed in as the characters in the novel and as overwhelmed as our hero. Ben Elton offers no comfort and no solutions, just a brutal warning. ( )

This is the first book in years that I haven't managed to finish. I was going to struggle on, but realised that the book just wasn't worth it.

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it, but it was quite tedious, dire even. It all seemed quite forced. I really expected more from Ben Elton.

Thank goodness I borrowed it from the library! ( )

It is a world where privacy is a crime. Everyone is online all the time for everyone else to see and celebrate. Trafford wants to hold on to a little bit of privacy, but he is questioned why he hasn't yet shared the birthing video of his daughter. At his work, a woman is bullied for not conforming. Another coworker takes him aside and proposes something else illegal...

I liked it almost from the start, and through most of the book would have given it 3.5 stars (good). I ended up bumping up the rating to 4 due to a couple of surprises at the end. ( )

This is a dystopian novel in which the state is run by the 'church' -- one that condones and sanctions acts of debauchery as mandated by the god of love. Every personal aspect of everyone's life is to be blogged about, video-tubed (yes, that's what it's called in the book), made public knowledge, etc. Privacy and modesty is deemed illegal, as is, independent thought. The state tells you what to think, how to behave and anything done in contrary, including keeping secrets, is heretical and subject to punishment. One man seeks to find a way out. A rather bland and sterile read, but it's probably contributed to by the starkness of the setting in which this story takes place. ( )