You need to be in the army and know the type of men who stay there to understand this book and how brilliant it is.
An impossible love affair has left its mark on both the ex-hippy and the army man as their lives crash together again in one final night.
Elton's wit and criticisms describes both the characters and the times through which they lived marvelously, making this book Elton's best.
Highly recommended, it's a great book!

This is the second time I've read Blast From The Past after a gap of a few years.

The story itself gripped me right from the start and the premise - as with all of Elton's books - is great.

We start with Polly, a woman who is being stalked receiving a call in the middle of the night which leads us through a series of flashbacks to her teenage relationship with an American army captain, Jack, while also witnessing the events of the night of the phone call unfold leading to a shocking conclusion.

I love the story but found it hard to like or engage with the characters and their views which are polar opposites of each others, and will admit to skimming through some of the political dialogue. However, for me, that didn't detract from being wrapped up in the unfolding events, and desperate to know what happens next.

En 17-årig fredsdemonstrant och en 32-årig officer träffas och inleder en intensiv kärleksaffär som dock avslutas fort. De kan dock inte glömma varandra och 16 är senare söker officeren upp sin gamla kärlek. Mycket i deras liv har förändrats, annat inte.
Gillar Ben Eltons snärtiga berättande som alltid innehåller någon slags twist, även om andra böcker jag läst av honom ligger mig närmre om hjärtat. Men helt klart en underhållande historia.

Classic Ben but a bit more of a love story

Wow! Not how I was expecting it to end. Lonely girl living alone with two men in her life. The Bug and the Soldier both have a real impact on her life. Couldn’t put it down.

Well written but now feels a bit dated. Not Ben at his best

Funny and unexpected, I didn’t quite know where this story was headed.

This is such a good read. It keeps you engaged and wanting to follow every detail of Polly's story. I didn't foresee the twist and I loved the book.

Four and a half stars - this was a delight! I had forgotten how well Elton writes, with heavy doses of both humour and social commentary. The action takes place during one night, and has touches of farce. The focus is constantly changing form as the night gradually unfolds all its secrets. Its hard to put this book in a box, it touches many genres. I loved it!

Would've been less awful had it been about 200 pages shorter (i.e. the point where I worked out what was going to happen at the climax, more or less...)

My second Ben Elton book. Not my usual genre of book, so I started this not expecting my interest to be overly piqued. But, I had forgotten just how good a writer Ben Elton is. He doesn't pull his punches. Characters are complete, complicated and flawed. Recommend.

Ben Elton is perhaps best known as both a writer of comedy and as a stand up comedian. He is also a novelist. I remember reading his first(?), Gridlock, many years ago. I can't remember whether that is comedic or not. This most definitely is not. The action takes place entirely during the wee small hours of one night, although there are places where the author gives the back story in order that the reader can make sense of what is happening. At 2.30am Polly's phone rings. The caller turns out to be a 4* American General with whom Polly had an affair whilst he a captain posted to Greenham Common and she was in the women's camp. In more recent times, Polly has had an unpleasant stalker who continues to pester her, despite having obtained a restraining order. These two threads of Polly's life come together during that night which culminates in a twist that I had not seen coming.