214th out of 1,501 books
—
12,043 voters
Blind Faith
by
Ben Elton
As Trafford Sewell struggles to work through the usual crowds of commuters, he is confronted by the intimidating figure of his priest, full of accusatory questions. Why has Trafford not been streaming his every moment of sexual intimacy onto the community website like everybody else? Does he think he's different or special in some way? Does he have something to hide? Imagi...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
October 1st 2008
by Transworld Publishers
(first published 2007)
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why can't i give a book zero stars? this book gets zero stars.
maybe even negative stars.
also i would like to add that if you think this book is good you should try to read better books so that you have some sort of standard of comparison. seriously: people are probably talking about this behind your back.
maybe even negative stars.
also i would like to add that if you think this book is good you should try to read better books so that you have some sort of standard of comparison. seriously: people are probably talking about this behind your back.
This book explores many issues that are prevalent in today's society such as vaccinations, religion, privacy, education, personal appearance, going with the mob, blind faith - too much to delve into in this review.
Blind Faith is a very apt title as most characters in this book are following faith blindly, just because someone says this is the way something is then it is believed and accepted and we have a lot of sheep living life aimlessly. Elton exaggerates what can happen if we lose ourselves...more
Blind Faith is a very apt title as most characters in this book are following faith blindly, just because someone says this is the way something is then it is believed and accepted and we have a lot of sheep living life aimlessly. Elton exaggerates what can happen if we lose ourselves...more
This was my first Ben Elton, and I'll definitely be reading more.
Whilst being funny, this book was actually a little scary. Ok, so this is a gross exaggeration of the way our society seems to be headed, but it's still the way our society is headed nonetheless.
Privacy is a thing that many people claim to hold dear, yet many of us also use sites like MySpace and Facebook on a regular basis. This, however is through choice. How would people feel if they were forced to upload every TINY detail about...more
Whilst being funny, this book was actually a little scary. Ok, so this is a gross exaggeration of the way our society seems to be headed, but it's still the way our society is headed nonetheless.
Privacy is a thing that many people claim to hold dear, yet many of us also use sites like MySpace and Facebook on a regular basis. This, however is through choice. How would people feel if they were forced to upload every TINY detail about...more
This book reminded me a lot of Orwell's 1984, however the society depicted was a lot more ridiculous than that in 1984 (the book IS a black comedy though). A little predictable at times, but still a good read.
The world depicted is in the near future (say 50 years) after global warming has flooded a lot of the world - the book is set in London, which is now a series of islands. Basically a perverted form of religion has taken over, where nothing is private and everything must be shared with every...more
The world depicted is in the near future (say 50 years) after global warming has flooded a lot of the world - the book is set in London, which is now a series of islands. Basically a perverted form of religion has taken over, where nothing is private and everything must be shared with every...more
In his recent fiction Ben Elton has satirised the ills of society; ‘High Fidelity’ satirising drug culture; ‘Popcorn’, ‘Dead Famous’ and ‘Chart Throb’ celebrity culture and reality TV; ‘Past Mortem’ the Friends Reunited type web sites; In fact the only malaise of our society Ben hasn’t porn scorn on would be writers producing hackneyed dialogue to join together the hits of various beat combo’s to sell them as musical theatre. In his earlier fiction such as ‘This Other Eden’, ‘Stark’ and ‘Gridloc...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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'1984' for an internet generation. A bit too jaded and cynical for my taste, though Elton is a master world-builder. Not overly fond of being smacked over the head with repeated 'atheism is the only true reasonable way!' message, nor did I think the jab at the One campaign all that witty. Lost pace towards the end.
Blind faith is another Ben Elton book where he takes a current idea and twists it into the worst direction he could. While it was a good idea and the story at times was gripping, at other times I became frustrated about how slowly the story was going and felt the betrayal was all a little simplistic. Nothing near as good as Past Mortem. Elton continues to produce books that make you critically think about the world, but I feel this one most people have already realised the self obsessed society...more
This was my first attempt at a Ben Elton book. Apparently Elton is huge in England -- a well known comic and TV writer. The TV writer part is readily apparent in his writing here -- the book is written almost entirely in dialogue.
The setup is clever if timeworn -- a kind of update of Orwell's "1984," but much lighter, and for the Internet/Facebook generation.
The story is schematic and predictable, and what is at stake outweighs or overpowers the incredible lightness of the characters. And Elton...more
The setup is clever if timeworn -- a kind of update of Orwell's "1984," but much lighter, and for the Internet/Facebook generation.
The story is schematic and predictable, and what is at stake outweighs or overpowers the incredible lightness of the characters. And Elton...more
2/3rd of this book had a good satirical tone to it. Ben Elton has created an over the top dystopian world while intentionally making it dumb with low-brow humor, but a good satire nonetheless. The problem came when he became too ambitious and went on to create his own version of '1984'.
Remember that feeling when you are hoping against hope that a certain major character does not turn out as clichéd and as despairingly obvious as some other characters have been in the past, thus causing the book...more
Remember that feeling when you are hoping against hope that a certain major character does not turn out as clichéd and as despairingly obvious as some other characters have been in the past, thus causing the book...more
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Ben Elton's satirical commentary about life does strike a chord. The irony of our quest to promote and encourage individualism and human rights, causes society to lose its soul. We do things and say things because society expects us to. We seek more and more to belong. We blindly follow where we are led and forget to question and be critical.
Even though, I understand that the story is set in a really bizarre future to re-inforce the how ridiculous society h...more
Ben Elton's satirical commentary about life does strike a chord. The irony of our quest to promote and encourage individualism and human rights, causes society to lose its soul. We do things and say things because society expects us to. We seek more and more to belong. We blindly follow where we are led and forget to question and be critical.
Even though, I understand that the story is set in a really bizarre future to re-inforce the how ridiculous society h...more
This is one of those apocalyptic novels that we all need to keep reading just to remind ourselves from time to time what can happen when humanity gets stupid. In this one, religious fanaticism, obsession with sex, and governmental control all combine to make a truly scary society. I hesitate to recommend the novel to most of my friends, because there is a lot of offensive language and blatant sex. But interestingly, these elements are not gratuitous--they are in fact essential to the plot. I cri...more
This book made me feel like I had just watched an entire series of big brother - which is kind of the point but I'm sure you can be satirical about the dumbing down of society without dumbing down your book to the same level. It is crass and revolting. Totally uninspiring text, not funny, not enlightening in the slightest, and the ending is about as anticlimactic as they come. At least it is relatively short and only wasted half a day of my life. For a much better satirical look at where the cur...more
I really wish goodreads would have a 10-point rating scale because in my mind the difference between 2 and 3 stars is whether the book is worthwhile reading or not. 'Blind Faith' is not an awful book but nor it is it particularly worth reading, therefore a 5 on the 10-point scale would be most apt.
As it stands I've erred on the negative side at 2/5 because I was not particularly impressed with this offering from Ben Elton. The book is a very clumsy take on Orwellian themes and an even clumsier p...more
As it stands I've erred on the negative side at 2/5 because I was not particularly impressed with this offering from Ben Elton. The book is a very clumsy take on Orwellian themes and an even clumsier p...more
If you want to read Ben Elton's personal diatribe against religion and a paranoid view of society's increasingly open communication, you'll love this book. If you're looking for an interesting, well-written science fiction novel about a dystopian world where faith and excess work together to erode all signs of intellect and independence, look elsewhere.
Blind faith is a poorly presented attack on illogicality. It mainly felt like a stab at religion, and the kind of book those who take gleeful joy...more
Blind faith is a poorly presented attack on illogicality. It mainly felt like a stab at religion, and the kind of book those who take gleeful joy...more
When God gave out "subtlety" Ben was at the end of the queue. However, he didn't have to wait long at the "cynicism" line, and he uses both to maximum effect in "Blind Faith". Elton sets this book in the future so that he can take a swipe, or a sledgehammer, at the way our current society is going. He invents a world that takes Orwell's 1984, crosses it with Big Brother (TV version), Jerry Springer, the Evangelical Right, the X Factor, our fast food culture, the self-help industry....you name a...more
Ben Elton
Blind Faith
‘The Lord made Heaven and Earth. The Lord made us. The Lord does this, the Lord wants that. We don’t know how or why, we don’t need to know, it just happens. There’s never any explanation, it’s all a miracle. Children are born, some die, it’s God’s will, we can’t change it. Don’t you think that, in a way, that’s sort of ... sort of ...?’ Thus Trafford, the hero of Elton’s Blind Faith, puts the question to his wife Chantorria, a terrified conformist in the insane world of Lo...more
Blind Faith
‘The Lord made Heaven and Earth. The Lord made us. The Lord does this, the Lord wants that. We don’t know how or why, we don’t need to know, it just happens. There’s never any explanation, it’s all a miracle. Children are born, some die, it’s God’s will, we can’t change it. Don’t you think that, in a way, that’s sort of ... sort of ...?’ Thus Trafford, the hero of Elton’s Blind Faith, puts the question to his wife Chantorria, a terrified conformist in the insane world of Lo...more
In much the same vein as Farenheit 451, A Brave New World, and 1984, Elton takes the theme of total government control through current technology with well-developed characters and spins a masterful, if not terrifying tale.
After a cataclysmic flood caused by Global Warming occurs, society is run by a government with The Temple at its head. The Temple seems to be an ammalgamation of various belief from Christianity to Green Mythology, with the exclusion of Islam. Science is Evil. Everlasting lo...more
After a cataclysmic flood caused by Global Warming occurs, society is run by a government with The Temple at its head. The Temple seems to be an ammalgamation of various belief from Christianity to Green Mythology, with the exclusion of Islam. Science is Evil. Everlasting lo...more
Jul 26, 2012
port22
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
fiction
"Blind Faith" is a dystopian novel that describes a future society by projecting our contemporary aspirations to excessively share details of our lives in social networks, distrust of science, and victory for religion.
The planet is flooded after global warming melts the polar ice caps, people disenchanted by science turn to religion for explanation of the disaster. Politicians are at first replaced by instant electronic plebiscites and later on with legislation by instant vote by sufficiently la...more
The planet is flooded after global warming melts the polar ice caps, people disenchanted by science turn to religion for explanation of the disaster. Politicians are at first replaced by instant electronic plebiscites and later on with legislation by instant vote by sufficiently la...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I would have liked to give this book three stars for the subject it addresses, as I think more people in our society should give attention to the issue, and for the fact that it did keep me on edge and constantly wanting to continue reading (as most of Elton's books). However, in the end, the book itself, the story, the style, the plot just wasn't good enough for three stars.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Elton fan, particularly of his early work - witty, confident, smart satire, to the point and...more
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Elton fan, particularly of his early work - witty, confident, smart satire, to the point and...more
I'd added this book to my list of 'books to buy' after reading a review from a fellow Ciao-er and bought it with the 'Christmas books' and other presents that my mother is already buying for Christmas...however needless to say this book did not last till Christmas and has already been devoured by me...and so now we come to the reviewing part of the reading process!
===Boring stuff===
Title: Blind Faith
Author: Ben Elton
Price: From 82p on Amazon at time of writing
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Blac...more
===Boring stuff===
Title: Blind Faith
Author: Ben Elton
Price: From 82p on Amazon at time of writing
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Blac...more
Mar 21, 2011
Rob
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
terrible-trash-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I have been thinking about how I was going to write a review for Blind Faith since I had started reading it. Every time I was reading I would think about how this book related to some events or similarities between our real world and the world depicted in Blind Faith.
Blind Faith is a novel about a world that has been punished by the 'Love' aka 'God'. Everyone in this world has Blind Faith in 'The Love'. They believe that God gives you things, such as life, food, air, children etc and yet will al...more
Blind Faith is a novel about a world that has been punished by the 'Love' aka 'God'. Everyone in this world has Blind Faith in 'The Love'. They believe that God gives you things, such as life, food, air, children etc and yet will al...more
Das Buch ohne Vorwissen zu lesen, habe ich als Vorteil empfunden und deswegen werde ich hier nicht zu viel verraten. Nur soviel, dass es in einer Welt spielt, die der heutigen ähnlich ist, aber sehr überspitzt dargestellt. Das bezieht sich auf die Radikalisierung des Glaubens (der “Tempel” ist die höchste Instanz), fehlende Privatsphäre (Bloggen und “Tubing” ist Pflicht!), Klimaerwärmung (die halbe Welt ist überflutet) und Überbevölkerung (Menschenmassen überall). Trafford Sewells Leben ist auf...more
This book has it all, and more. A gripping plot, excellent writing and characters that you really care about. There was one plot twist that was a bit predictable, but other than that I cannot find a flaw with this book, I really can't.
Blind Faith follows the journey of one man's awakening in a post-apocalyptic UK society where everyone is expected to share everything about their lives, by law. Everyone must blog and Tube the most important moments, to take pride in themselves as they were create...more
Blind Faith follows the journey of one man's awakening in a post-apocalyptic UK society where everyone is expected to share everything about their lives, by law. Everyone must blog and Tube the most important moments, to take pride in themselves as they were create...more
(This review may contain spoilers).
I actually only picked up this book to read because my sister had read it and told me to read it so that we could discuss it.
The society depicted in this book was pretty interesting. Full of contradictions, I personally felt that no one in the society truly loved or even cared about anyone else. Marriage was a sham - instead of two people choosing to spend the rest of their lives together, marriage lasted two, maybe three years, if that, before divorce inevitab...more
I actually only picked up this book to read because my sister had read it and told me to read it so that we could discuss it.
The society depicted in this book was pretty interesting. Full of contradictions, I personally felt that no one in the society truly loved or even cared about anyone else. Marriage was a sham - instead of two people choosing to spend the rest of their lives together, marriage lasted two, maybe three years, if that, before divorce inevitab...more
Ben Elton's novel is fun, an updated version of 1984 with real twists that reflect modern day England's obsession with both religion and statistics not to mention any remaining sense of privacy. While the novel ostensibly mocks faith it is equally harsh on celebrity culture and casual perhaps even indifferent attention to sex.
I avoided this for a long time: the synopsis on the back cover didn’t grab me. I found it hard to swallow the idea of a world in which everyone is forced to tell everything about themselves and secrecy is not allowed. It seemed to me that such a society could only exist with the co-operation of its members. It also sounded a bit too much like Brave New World, which I hated. But now I’ve read it and I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s also not much like Brave New World, much more like 1984 which I lik...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Ben Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memo...more
More about Ben Elton...
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memo...more
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“The internet was supposed to liberate knowledge, but in fact it buried it, first under a vast sewer of ignorance, laziness, bigotry, superstition and filth and then beneath the cloak of political surveillance. Now...cyberspace exists exclusively to promote commerce, gossip and pornography. And of course to hunt down sedition. Only paper is safe. Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar, you have to hold it, you have to read it.”
—
22 people liked it
“Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.”
—
4 people liked it
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Apr 10, 2013 08:49am
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