hmmm... one star for the book and one star for me for reading this disgraceful book to the end.

It's been a long time since I read any Ben Elton, and I must say he has built on the impressive start he made with "Stark". This was a real page-turner, well told and fast-paced. It consists of several parallel sub-stories about those caught up in the catastrophe of drugs prohibition in the UK, including the lives of a Member of Parliament on a crusade to end prohibition, a prostitute enslaved with heroin, a pop star and a jilted lover. The denouement is part redemption and part tragedy. I withhold the fifth star only because the tragedy was really a bit much for me to take. I had hoped for once to see cynicism defeated by idealism, and it did not come to pass.

One of my favs! This book came to me from a friend, who was traveling the world. It was given to him in Bali, and he passed it on to me. It reminds me of the movies Crash or Traffic, lives are interconnected and meetings happen by chance or fate in the most intriguing of ways. I've read this book twice since I received it so many years ago, can't wait to visit these pages again one day

It's been a long time since I read a Ben Elton novel. I can't decide if this wasn't as good as the others I've read or if I just enjoyed them more when I was younger.
Parts of this were very funny as expected but for the most part I found it tragically sad and a bit depressing. May have been the subject matter I guess.
Without any spoilers I enjoyed Jessie the Scottish heroin addict the most. A lot of the other characters were just plain horrible and hard to like.
My overall impression was feeling like someone who had paid for a rock concert but ended up listening to opera. Quite good but not what I had hoped for.

good read as always with Ben Elton

Its a while since I read one of Ben Elton's comedy/contemporary issue books, but chose this one to take on holiday, and it did not disappoint. I had forgotten how good Elton is at this genre ... one he pretty much invented, and certainly excels at.

The premise is the idea to deal with the drugs problem by legalising all drugs ... introduced at the beginning as an idea foe a Private members Bill by a backbench MP. The story of the MP and the progress of this idea for legislation forms the backbone running through the book, but we are immediately introduced to a selection of other characters who are affected by the drugs issue in some way. We have the pop star, the drug smuggler (imprisoned in Thailand), the prostitute, the policeman investigation police corruption in the drugs squad etc all unrelated but there are various connections that build up. Then there is the press desperate to expose the sleaze in the MPs life as he pursues an affair with his assistant. It was funny yet thought provoking and tragic, and people didn't always live up to the expected stereotypes. Well worth a read!

I like Ben Elton, which is why this book irritated the hell out of me. Elton seems to be suffering from this syndrome many people in the entertainment industry get in which they think that celebrity life in itself is really interesting. Journalists, politicians, models, superstar actors... Their lifestyle is not interesting reading just because of what it is. And myself being a person in Recovery, an ex rehab person who goes to meetings and all that boring garbage, wonder why the hell does Elton think that we would put up with listening to a self-centered prick like his mega famous pop star character Tommy? I have been in a meeting with a celebrity, and he spoke briefly and humbly, and he listened. Also, we never sit talking large and sexy about our drug and booze stories anyway, and we sure as hell wouldn't cancel appointments to hang around and continue listening to that crap, as Elton portrays people doing at a meeting. But Elton wants to make his political point about about the criminality of drugs and what if they were all legal. Well, just because I am in Recovery doesn't mean I don't think it is a valid point. In fact, why didn't Elton start with them being made legal and go with the 'what if' plot from there? It certainly would have provided more potential to be funny. This book wasn't funny. Painful and predictable irony does not equal funny. It's too easy to write. And making a political point? The very REAL characters, like a junkie whore and a drug mule stuck going crazy in a Thai prison are either glossed over or only indulged, destroyed, or saved by the celebrities. Deus ex machina, the idiot mega pop star saves the day! Well, he didn't save this book from being annoying and not funny.

A funny, ironic and powerful satire that carried a logical and forceful message: the legalisation of all drugs. He clearly is of the view of full legalisation (I agree) and makes all the arguments in a thoughtful yet tongue-in-cheek way. It feels like an old argument that will never get traction but his fiction brings it to life in a comical and almost, realistic, way. It felt like it was written for the 90s but its points still stand. It also seems to provide an overall mockery for those that back the status quo. Enjoyable read.

8/10

Ben Elton is a consistently excellent author, and I would recommend this book even if it doesn't make a very good point.
By now a few of the references are beginning to get a little dated. This doesn't detract from the story, but what it does do is make things just a tad more depressing when remember where the drug debate currently is.

Excellent read, especially considering that I bought it at an op-shop thinking it was non-fiction. I would recommend it to all my Goodreads friends and would be happy to lend it to anyone who wants to read it.

A typical Ben Elton master piece - intelligent, witty and fast paced!! A perfect holiday read. This multi talented author's books do not get the credit they deserve!!

The watershed mark for Elton. There are funny moments in this book but there is no comedy. From the start of his career he addressed serious subjects, but gradually the comic take on serious subjects became a serious take on serious subjects. This is a very bitter book, though, I think, also very necessary to Elton’s progress as an author and as a human thinker.