Ben Elton's view of the future (This Other Eden - Ben Elton)

Member Name: hugon

Product:	This Other Eden - Ben Elton
Date:	16/08/01 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great characters, Great plot twists, Meaty storyline

Disadvantages: Takes a while to get going

Regular reader of my opinions will notice I’ve become quite a fan of Elton’s books recently. This is the longest and probably the best thought out book I have read of his so far. At the outset, I didn’t think I was going to like it, as it got off to a very slow start, but once you get a feel for the story and the characters, it becomes a lot more enjoyable and interesting. It’s an adventure set in the not too distant future, with a bit of humour and a little politics thrown in for good measure.

At the time of the book, the end of the world is not too far away, the way we have treated the earth over the years has finally caught up with us – there are massive holes in the ozone layer raining cancerous sunrays down on the earth, poisonous gases and liquids that must be disposed of, things aren’t looking too healthy. Enter media giant Plastic Tolstoy, President of the Claustrosphere corporation and one of the most important men in Hollywood. The end of the world is the best thing that could happen to him, as he sells little Biodomes (Claustrospheres) in which the public can live safely after the Rat Run (end of the world).

That’s all well and good, but there are people opposed to the Claustrospheres. Natura are the future equivalent of the Green Party, led by Jurgen Thor, who argues that by buying these Claustrospheres, the public are becoming complacent about Green Issues – after all, why should they care about looking after the world if they are going to be able to step into these little worlds after the death of the planet? Rosalie is a prominent terrorist in the Mother Earth organisation, a more militant wing of the Natura party, determined to force change by actions.

Max Maximus is one of the biggest stars on the planet, perfect to star in the type of film to promote Claustrospheres even further. However, by chance he meets Rosalie, becomes besotted with her, and chases her round the world
, despite the obvious conflicts of interest. This allows Rosalie a glance at the world from the inside, and soon they start to put two and two together and getting and answer that neither of them really likes.

I was almost at the point of giving up with this book – it’s quite long, at a shade under 500 pages, and the first 100 pages are pretty tough going, as it gets a little confusing as the plot takes a fair while to develop, and for a good while there really isn’t any clear indication as to what the plot is even going to be. This makes reading slightly laborious, and I only managed about a chapter in a sitting. The writing style isn’t as relaxed in his other books, it’s less chatty and requires a lot more concentration on your behalf, and a lot more thinking.

However, persistence pays off, and once the book does start to pick up and you get an idea of the plot, it does get a little more exciting, and every thing starts to speed up from the initial slow pace. It’s divided into 27 chapters, and the first few chapters take turns in introducing us to the main characters, and allow us to get a feel for them and get to know them. I feel he does it well this way, building the characters up at the start rather than us learning about them along the way, as once the plot starts to get going, knowing what the characters opinions are and how they think makes the book make more sense. It also allows for a lot of surprise as the characters change tack and go off in directions you wouldn’t expect them too, as they harden and soften their views according to their situation.

You have Max – typical arrogant movie star, obsessed with his image and what people think of him. He provides a lot of the humour, as he has to come to grips with life in the real world – people who actually do jobs for a living and don’t go out partying all night. This naïve sense of the world gives him some great lines
, as well as some funny situations, where his acting really excites him. Rosalie is the absolute contrast to him – brash and opinionated, headstrong and independent, able to make it quite easily on her own. While the unison of the two is unexpected, the book has crafted the characters so that it is believable, and you can see the effect they have on each other as they come to understand each other’s ideas, and how they mange to work as a team for the better.

Plastic Tolstoy is an excellent villain, despicable and completely selfish, seeing other people for what they can do for him and nothing else. Controlling the news networks means he has virtual control and allows him to screen adverts for his Claustrospheres after each disaster, tempting the public into buying one and safeguarding their future. Judy Schwartz is the FBI agent investigating Mother Earth’s militant actions and he manages to get drawn into the world and ends up taking their side. A nerdy, small man, he has endured a life of ridicule at the FBI, no one taking him seriously, and sees this as his opportunity to gain respect in the bureau. Jurgen Thor is another self-important man, as obsessed with his own image as he is with saving the planet. In a way, you can see how much he and Tolstoy have in common yet they are so different.

The book works well because it manages to combine people who seemingly shouldn’t get on together, but manage to overcome this and work together for the good of the planet. Because the book builds up their characters so well it does become believable, as you can see past their jobs and facades and have an idea of their true character underneath, what they stand for, and what they want. It’s great to see the characters change as the story goes on; they see what they believe in falling around them and how they overcome it. Looking at the characters at the end of the book, it’s hard to believe it’s the same characters as
seem to grow as people during the book.

The book is nicely thought out – it keeps throwing twists into the cauldron to keep you on your toes and prevent you getting to comfortable in what you think is going on. The book shows what some people will do for power and how two faced people can be when a little bit of responsibility is thrown at them, and how they manage to justify their actions. Once it gets going, the story is quite fast and exciting, with a good mixture of action and humour.

The humour is mostly spoken humour between the characters, either from Max misunderstanding something in the real world, or a witty remark from some one, or a sarcastic one liner. Sometimes they’re quite subtle and if you’re not paying attention you’ll miss them. There’s also a fair amount of visual humour, it isn’t the falling over type of slapstick humour, but more the type of them getting into difficult situations that don’t go quite they way they plan it. It isn’t laugh out loud funny, but there is plenty to keep you smiling, and coupled with the speedy plot it makes an enjoyable read.

It’s quite a satirical book. It isn’t highly political, but you can see subtle digs at society during the book. With the book being set in the future, it allows Elton to write about the way things will proceed if they continue the same way they are at the moment, so we have the European parliament with no toilets because no country wanted to say they made the toilets, the government still as ineffectual as ever, films being replaced my two hour adverts overflowing with product placement, and the public still lapping up talk shows so much that it’s the people without problems who feel dysfunctional now. Elton never allows the satire to get in the way of the plot, but you can always see it bubbling away underneath the surface, this also adds a lot of humour to the book, it’s quite like some of the st
uff he talks about when he does stand up, like how easily the public are lead by television and so on.

It’s a very enjoyable book, one of the best I’ve read in a long time. On the surface it’s an “us against them” battle off the small people against the corporate giants, with a fair smattering of humour thrown in for good measure, but look underneath the skin and you see a book with a fair amount of truth in it, and it is quite scary to see Elton’s view of the future. Definitely worth a look.

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