| Product: |
Dead Famous - Ben Elton |
| Date: |
26/10/05 (764 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Gripping murder mystery
Disadvantages: Based on Big Brother!
I really disliked this book...but yet I found myself devouring each and every page. There is something so strangely compulsive about it that I just had to keep reading, and at such a rapid pace that I got from cover to cover in just over a day!
A friend had recommended and lent the book to me but after discovering the subject matter I was originally very reluctant to even bother with it. I was keen to sample my first Ben Elton novel though and this was the factor that persuaded me to persevere and turn the first page.
So, why was I put off by the content? Two very simple words....Reality TV. Or Big Brother to be even more precise.
I’m not a fan of watching this voyeuristic form of television ‘entertainment’ so I certainly wasn’t enamoured at the prospect of reading about it either. And the concept behind ‘Dead Famous’ is basically just that:
‘One house, ten contestants, thirty cameras, forty microphones, one murder....and no evidence’
Anybody who shares similar views to me regarding the nations current reality TV obsession will no doubt groan at the basic plot outline. ‘House Arrest’ is the name of the popular TV show in question and it is quite obviously based on Big Brother. Broadcast by Peeping Tom Productions, the programme takes 10 housemates and locks them in a specially designed property, completely isolated from the outside world. Monitored and scrutinised for a period of 9 weeks, each desperate individual has just one ultimate goal...to be the last remaining and win the £500,000 prize.
I know what you’re thinking! Sounds like a gross rip-off of Big Brother doesn’t it? Anyone who has watched any of the early series of Big Brother will definitely recognise traits and similarities from several previous contestants and clearly see the inspiration behind Elton’s writing. But believe me though, it’s not as bad as it seems.
The reader is immediately catapulted into the action. Although the Peeping Tom house is full of cameras that are constantly recording and even broadcasting live on the internet, a murder has been committed on day 27 of the show. But how could the culprit possibly go unrecognised? Surely it’s impossible to get away with murder in the midst of this kind of environment....or is it?
After the tragic event an investigation inevitably ensues and Chief Inspector Coleridge and his team are called in to take charge of the situation. And what better way to begin than returning to day one and looking back over the previous months scintillating recordings. At this point the identity of the victim hasn’t even been revealed. In fact, it doesn’t become clear until approximately half way through the book. So aswell as trying to decide who-dunnit, you’re also left wondering who-they-dunnit-to!
The reader gets caught up in the flow and urgency of the investigation, jumping frequently from past to present as the narrative alternates between the contestants and the police. Events are therefore presented out of chronological order but in a way in which it is easy to follow with each section titled with day and time. Interest is successfully sustained as various pieces of new information are introduced, including lots of red herrings and hidden closet skeletons to add elements of confusion and doubt to the tale - just like a typical detective story!
The clever format means that while Inspector Coleridge is scouring the shows footage, the reader is doing the same alongside him, sharing involvement and desperately trying to pick up any clues that may have been given during the run up to the unfortunate event. This encourages analysis of each and every housemate as you learn about their particular characters, their original motivation for being on the show, their relationships with each other and the natural rivalry that begins to occur. Studying their sometimes degrading interactions and the general house activities (or should I say, inactivities!) detects any possible motives for murder and more importantly, each contestants potential to kill or be killed.
This study could make for terrific reading but I found it to be quite transparent and somewhat weak. This is due to the under development of the characters, particularly the housemates. Elton is writing about todays society and the constant need to achieve fame, even if it is ‘manufactured’. The result being a group of mindless, self absorbed, vain people who come across as boring and vacuous. You certainly wouldn’t want to be cooped up with them for a long period of time! There just doesn’t seem to be any emotion or feeling to their characters....which I understand has probably been done on purpose to reflect the self obsessed nature of their personalities. But this doesn’t do anything to help the dialogue of the book.
Initially, the contestants in the house are quite comical, if a little over the top. It soon becomes irritatingly repetitive though with the over use of annoying ‘yoof’ lingo which consists of limited vocabulary that is littered with expletives and even seems quite patronising at times. It’s all just a bit too flat with not enough variety to the chosen housemates. Again, it acts as emphasis to the ‘shallow wanabee’ caricature portrayal but in reality I think there would be a much wider selection of people with a couple of distinct or bizarre mentalities thrown into the mix. In ‘Dead Famous’ their backgrounds are different but they all sound the same!
Inspector Coleridge is a welcome contrast to the show participants as he is a middle aged policeman with old fashioned views and beliefs. He has little understanding of the appeal of the show and acts as the perfect voice through which Elton bluntly expresses his own harsh views and opinions, particularly regarding the morality behind the show and the selfish greed associated with the TV producers who are only interested in boosting ratings. Perceptive, wry observations are made throughout, chiding the naively manipulated contestants desire for fame...whilst being brutally honest and acknowledging that no one is completely immune to it’s allure. A touch of irony is introduced when the reader learns that despite his attitude, Coleridge has aspirations to be a successful classical actor, therefore does indeed want his own slice of the fame game!
The conclusion sees Coleridge utilise his drama skills to create a rather cliched finale. Gathering everyone together (including a live TV audience) he exposes the suspects until the pressure becomes unbearable and the culprit breaks down. A typical Poirot scenario!
And was the identity of the murderer predictable? Well there are mixed views on this. I know many people say the storyline is so paper thin that they sussed it out straight away but I can honestly say that I had a couple of possible perpetrators in mind until the dramatic revelation at the end. In that respect Elton has done a good job of making virtually everyone seem capable of murder, keeping the reader guessing throughout.
So as you can tell, I was fairly disappointed by certain elements of the book but despite cringing virtually every time one of the contestants spoke, I amazingly continued to plough through the pages. The idea of using Big Brother as a topical structure for a book and combining it with a murder mystery is certainly an interesting formula but I feel that the outcome could have been so much more improved. Would the novel have been so successful if the author was somebody a little less well known? The fact that it can be read so quickly gives the unfortunate impression that it was written in the same manner.
Although the novel has its flaws, Elton has still somehow succeeded in writing a fairly humorous book which keeps you on the edge of your seat feeling like you just have to find out how the story will evolve. A bit like Big Brother I suppose...tedious but easily addictive if you let it draw you in. Strange when you consider that the purpose behind Elton’s satirical book is to question how watching a group of fame seekers and the inanities surrounding them can possibly be interesting, and why today’s culture finds it so utterly absorbing.
The whole scenario is actually quite ridiculous but yet frightening at the same time. Surely this couldn’t happen in ‘real life’....but what if? Watching reality TV will never be the same again!
Published by: Black Swan
Pages: 382
Cover price: £6.99
ISBN: 0-552-99945-8
Summary: An easy read...but sometimes very annoying.
|
|
