The Last Election

by Pete Davies

Set in London toward the end of a bad century, this black comedy is a vision of a civilization gone wrong and of the human cost of maintaining an inhuman system

Genres: Fiction, Dystopia

1 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1986

About the author

Pete Davies is best known as the author of All Played Out, the classic account of the Italian World Cup in 1990 that's been continuously in print ever since it hit the bestseller list. He's also the author of three novels, and eight other works of non-fiction.

Davies has written about sport and politics, history and science, travel and weather. He's flown in hurricanes over the Gulf of Mexico and off the Carolinas, chased tornadoes on the Great Plains, and followed stories around the world from Central America to East Africa, from India to Japan, from Hong Kong to the high Arctic.

Davies was born in 1959 and lives in West Yorkshire, England. He was prolifically productive in the 1990's, but after American Road came out in 2002, he disappeared from view. In deteriorating health, he was told in 2006 that he had two years left to live.

Davies defied that diagnosis, and in 2017 - after fifteen years of silence - he published his novel Playlist. A wildly inventive comedy, Playlist marks a stunning and unexpected return to print for one of the most original voices of his generation.

Reviews

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at my sister's friend's birthday party before I went to lie down with a migraine in the make-out room upstairs until they needed it, because they had covered the l in the title with an r in the same font, taped very neatly on the spine and the cover.

It reminds me a little of A Confederacy of Dunces somehow, but its been forever since I read that. I wish I had stolen their copy and returned it later, but that seemed like a shitty thing to do to people who let me come to their party just to lie down in a room all by myself. I bet they're all in the hot tub now. They wouldn't have missed it. Dang it! I want to keep reading it! I want instant books that are not ebooks to exist. But not like the Espresso, that terrible cyborg. Like the replicator on Star Trek, but for books, not food. Or no, more like the there needs to be cross between Floo Powder and pneumatic mail, just for books I want. I want to throw something in my fireplace, say "Book. Last Election. Now." and schoooop!

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dystopian novel written during (and strongly influenced by) Thatcher-era Britain. The writing has somewhat of a Norman Spinrad feel to it, but, as a Yankee, I felt it was less relatable. Initially, none of the characters are heroes or villains, although many are part of the oppressive regime (or, at least it's propaganda arm); eventually they have to make individual decisions about exactly what they stand for (or don't stand for, as the case may be). The climax involves a convoluted tangle of conspiracies, betrayals, manipulation, and violence. 3 stars.

[Tom Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest of 99%-unknown dystopian fantasies ever. Last time I search year or two ago and subsequent years I have not been able to even find it on the net. Just waiting for the time they couldn’t suppress it any longer. Chilling, haunting, relevant, prophetic. Back. Davies is a juggernaut: an eye for offbeat, for the relevant, for the words to encapsulate it... all of his works are special beyond belief. I just ordered the book and have not read it since 87’ possibly 89’, but I remember it vividly. My main objective is that none of the characters is likable; now I see the relevance in that literary choice... but its all there... the drug-invested nights, the all lost in dancing nights, the sex, the sport-addicted life, the tv-tentacles in all our lives, the nanny state... he predicted it... all there. Civil liberties and truth all gone down after the last election. Whoa. Buy it, read it....then....

[Mark Lattman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this almost 40 years ago, only remember enjoying but not massively loving it, so probably 3 1/2 stars, but extra half star for prescience/current relevance here in America.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Last Election" is a distopian, political novel set in some unspecified future in London. Some critics have called it satire, others a thriller. In this future England, the Money Party reigns over the political scene, and they control pretty much everything, including the media. The Money Party tells everyone, "We're doing very well" - positive messages tend to keep the population from dwelling on the negative. The Money Party strongly supports the service sector b/c in this future state, people have been replaced by machines or by outsourcing because it is cheaper to do so. Money is not tied to goods but exchanges hands electronically. Disappointing to the Money Party, the population is largely jobless and therefore has copious amounts of freetime. The young cannot find jobs and are on welfare. They spend their time in dance clubs, doing drugs and drinking. There are 13 million OAP's (old age pensioners) collecting money from the government. The global economy is pumping less oil b/c there's too much of it, so the price has gone down. Therefore, there is less money to spend on public works like roads and hospitals.

The main characters are Wally Wasted, a bitter but beloved television personality w/ weak moral fiber; Grief, a very popular and rich nightclub owner and drug distributor; Bludge, a good cop; Milla, a closet People Party supporter and creative ad woman working for the Money Party; Moses, a chemist and designer of drugs; Crinkly, re-election campaign manager of the Money Party

B/c those with jobs are so lucky to have them, our characters often find themselves stuck w/ jobs that lean towards the immoral. Moses' job is to create ever-cheaper drugs for all the oldies; because he is driven by the desire to medicate to forget or to escape his life, these drugs often have a secondary aim: to get people high. In our story, Moses creates a new drug to devastating effects; b/c of the spin the government takes on this drug, our protagonists are finally triggered to do something drastic about their society and the direction it is headed.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dire, unfunny and not worth buying.