Blind Faith

I found this book in a large metal dumpster outside my dormitory, right next to the German translation of the book of Mormon and a book called “How to Live with a Huge Penis”. The tacky, tasteless cover made me want to slide it back in, together with the other two, but I'm glad I didn't, because this is one of the most interesting books I've read so far this year (as in February, 2019).

It starts off rather simple. I'd even say, a bit primitive - like a poor man's version of the Brave New World, offering a world without nuance, a world that is just bad. It felt like Ben Elton crammed everything he hates about the world today into an exaggerated madness that is the London in Blind Faith.

However, soon plot picks up the pace and you realize you can't let go of the book! Even though the initial ideas were simplistic, more ideas develop as the book goes on, and those are the strong point of the story, I think.

Ben Elton writes well, even though the language he employs is rather simple. He gave this book a very neat structure and he reveals the world bit by bit, which I find a lot more satisfying than exposition through first person narration.

There were a few things I didn't like as much, but most of them are plot-relevant, so I won't discuss them in this review. The protagonist was annoying from time to time and I found some of his actions outright ridiculous. As for other characters, a lot of them were one-dimensional, but that's mainly because a lot of this book is meant to be a parody.

I think it's fitting that I found this book in a dumpster, since fiction is banned in the world of Blind Faith and can only be found in abandoned places.