I came across this book purely by chance, after reading a blurb at the back of
another strange book by the same publisher - and having read it in two sittings (it's only 100pp), I can honestly say it's one of the most disturbing I've ever read. Up there with Shirley Jackson's The Lottery.
'They' are purging an idyllic pastoral England of art and artists - destroying books and tearing out bookplates to efface the memory of bookish gifts. 'They' loathe people who live alone, people who make things, people who are self-sufficient. 'They' maim writers and promote blaring television 24/7. 'They' was published in 1977 but seems more horribly relevant today. Of course, the reader smugly identifies as one of 'us', not one of 'them' - and I'm not sure that's altogether healthy, either.
Ooh, The Lottery is very stressful. I used to do it with students sometimes. Argh. Don't think I'll read that book.
ReplyDeleteBook proofs? You're a writer? You work in publishing?
When I say I used to "do" it, I don't mean select students for... well, you know. I used to study it with them.
ReplyDeleteAnd never tempted to select, Pam? ... you're a saint!
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't work in publishing - but couldn't bring myself to throw out stacks of scrap paper!