Book Club October book of the month

[David Blackburn]

Following a lively discussion and a member’s poll, the Spectator Book Club’s October book of the month is Bilton, by Andrew Martin. By all accounts it is an extremely funny satire of politics and the media in the late 90s, and it comes highly recommended by a number of Book Club members. You can buy a copy at a 10% discount, courtesy of Blackwells.

[Etruscan]

Bilton is is principally a comedy about how trivia has been allowed to dominate politics and the media. One can't help feeling the 'perfect storm' over Question Time and the BNP demonstrated how true that still is I love the hopeless Majoresque PM Lazenby and his fake enthusiasm for pigeon fancying reminds me of Brown's for the Arctic Monkeys or Cameron's for the middle classes to which he doesn't belong. I love the phlegmatic Northern wit of the novel; Bilton's throwing coffee over the PM is symbolic of public disgust at his hopelessness, but the media make certain that deeper cynicism remains unexamined while they turn Bilton into a celeb. It's every bit is light and funny a novel as I remember and I think it a scandal that the book isn't better known. An equal scandal is that Martin has never bettered or equalled it, preferring to waste his efforts on Edwardian railway thrillers and books on how to do the ironing. I thoroughly enjoyed having created a reason to revisit the book.

[David Blackburn]

Etruscan,

I agree, it's bizarre that this book isn't regarded as a classic. Rather like Yes Minister, it has become more pertinent to the era that followed it, as if Brown and Cameron but most of all Blair looked at Lazenby and thought 'That's how I'll do it'. I wonder if it will have the longevity of say Scoop, I doubt that political satire ever does to any besides those who are immersed in the context.

This is the only Andrew Martin book I've read, what a pity he confines himself to books about the ironing. I'll wager there are still some excellent gags in it though.

[zebedee]

Although I enjoyed Bilton, I did find the thread of humour a bit one dimensional - although it's possible I missed the subtleties!

[Cow Poke]

Good to see the Texas Rangers get a name check at the US Military press conference on the Fort Hood massacre just now on Sky news.

Perhaps Lonesome Dove should have been October Book of the Month - it is as much about two Texas Rangers, Captains Woodrow F Call and Augustus McCrae, as it is about anything else.