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21st Century Blues
Paperback
Published January 19, 1995
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May 9, 2013
This is one of those books I picked up purely because it came out of a radio series - okay, that might seem strange, but I chose to read Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy for the same reason and that sort of panned out ...
The book is really a year in the life of the sort of person you probably wouldn't want to be - an egomaniacle, self-proclaimed prophet called Chaff Chaffinch, currently sitting on top of a pole in the tradition of Simeon Stylites.
Much of the book feels like a long, scathing diatribe, and indeed it is, but it is written with the brevity of a good script writer and never spends long winding its way to the final cutting remark.
Central to the story, or the culture, is the 100 billion Tv channels - one for each person. Everyone's life is documented through a personalised channel and is watched by everyone else. The result, everyone sits watching everyone else sitting and watching everyone ..... you get the idea.
Bear in mind that this was written pre-internet and the book itself is as prophetic as its annoying main character.
I liked this book a lot, enough that it inspired the name of a band. I cant honestly say it is either the best book I have read or the best book in its genre, but if you like reading stuff that has the same quirky sense of humour as me, then you should get a good laugh from it and marvel at the scary accuracy of its predictions.
CC Hogan.
PS: any one know how I can add my kindle book on here without an ISBN? I mean, it is all very well me mentioning my sense of humour, but you won't know what the hell that is if you haven't read any of my stuff!
PS: Okay, so I am not sure if "egomaniacle" actually is completely valid as an adjective, but it is fun to say...
The book is really a year in the life of the sort of person you probably wouldn't want to be - an egomaniacle, self-proclaimed prophet called Chaff Chaffinch, currently sitting on top of a pole in the tradition of Simeon Stylites.
Much of the book feels like a long, scathing diatribe, and indeed it is, but it is written with the brevity of a good script writer and never spends long winding its way to the final cutting remark.
Central to the story, or the culture, is the 100 billion Tv channels - one for each person. Everyone's life is documented through a personalised channel and is watched by everyone else. The result, everyone sits watching everyone else sitting and watching everyone ..... you get the idea.
Bear in mind that this was written pre-internet and the book itself is as prophetic as its annoying main character.
I liked this book a lot, enough that it inspired the name of a band. I cant honestly say it is either the best book I have read or the best book in its genre, but if you like reading stuff that has the same quirky sense of humour as me, then you should get a good laugh from it and marvel at the scary accuracy of its predictions.
CC Hogan.
PS: any one know how I can add my kindle book on here without an ISBN? I mean, it is all very well me mentioning my sense of humour, but you won't know what the hell that is if you haven't read any of my stuff!
PS: Okay, so I am not sure if "egomaniacle" actually is completely valid as an adjective, but it is fun to say...
Displaying 1 of 1 review