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High Society
The war on drugs has been lost, but afraid to face that fact, the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime, and this story takes us through the landscape it has created.
380 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
About the author
Ben Elton
47 books1,361 followersBen Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His ground breaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sit-coms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.
More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.
Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His ground breaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sit-coms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.
More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.
Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
September 14, 2022
Hilarious! One of the few books which claim to be funny and actually is.
Five stars.
Five stars.
January 18, 2019
I read an article that suggested Ben Elton had sold 3 million books in the last decade. That’s not necessarily a gauge of quality, as Katie Price was hot on his heels, but it was a good enough reason to read one of his novels, especially as humour is my preferred genre. Obviously, I chose ‘High Society’ to dip my toe into and I wasn’t disappointed.
The story is a series of drug-related, interconnecting tales. In the main thread, Labour MP, Peter Paget, is chosen by ballot to introduce a Private Member’s Bill. He proposes that Parliament legalise all recreational drug use. Elton uses the Paget family, Paget’s parliamentary assistant, Samantha, with whom he’s having an affair, together with the characters and scenarios in the other threads to make a valid argument for the proposal.
The exaggerated characters and witty one-liners offer up plenty of humour, but a nefarious darkness hangs over the proceedings. Shocking and deeply moving scenes are woven carefully into the plot.
Elton is often criticised for being too didactic and his literary skills derided. However, he knows his target audience and serves it well. He sets out to entertain and he pulls it off.
“Oi want you to blow some charlie op moi crapper, Tom.” Whilst using an empty biro to blow an illegal stimulant up your West Country date’s bottom is comedic, the regional accent isn’t. The various dialects rendered in the book are a task to read. Nobody’s perfect!
The story is a series of drug-related, interconnecting tales. In the main thread, Labour MP, Peter Paget, is chosen by ballot to introduce a Private Member’s Bill. He proposes that Parliament legalise all recreational drug use. Elton uses the Paget family, Paget’s parliamentary assistant, Samantha, with whom he’s having an affair, together with the characters and scenarios in the other threads to make a valid argument for the proposal.
The exaggerated characters and witty one-liners offer up plenty of humour, but a nefarious darkness hangs over the proceedings. Shocking and deeply moving scenes are woven carefully into the plot.
Elton is often criticised for being too didactic and his literary skills derided. However, he knows his target audience and serves it well. He sets out to entertain and he pulls it off.
“Oi want you to blow some charlie op moi crapper, Tom.” Whilst using an empty biro to blow an illegal stimulant up your West Country date’s bottom is comedic, the regional accent isn’t. The various dialects rendered in the book are a task to read. Nobody’s perfect!
January 9, 2015
MP Peter Paget has an idea that will solve the drugs crisis in the UK – a very simple one – if we legalise all drugs and set up a licensed supply chain, we could quite literally pull the rug from under the feet of the drug barons. Ben Elton puts this idea forward in a very entertaining, readable way. I found myself having some agreement with him during this read, which I have to say I didn’t find particularly laugh out loud funny, but I did really enjoy. It is told in a series of short and sharp chapters featuring a number of characters across a wide spectrum of society, who are all affected by the drugs trade. We had a drug mule stuck in a Bangkok jail, the young couple so obsessed with where their next fix is coming from that their baby son is starving to death, the society ���it” girl, so out of her brain that she is putting herself in danger. By far the most moving though is the story of Jessie, young and naïve she is “captured” and forced into a life of prostitution to feed the habit that her pimps have deliberately given her.
One of the main characters is Tommy Hanson, gobby pop star who tells his story at his local AA/NA meetings. I have to say I found him really irritating, cocky and just plain annoying. This was the only real weakness in the story for me, because when he is telling his story he doesn’t show many signs of regret, especially at the start where he really comes across as just showing off to the other AA members. Imagine Liam Gallagher posturing at AA/NA and you have the general idea of the image that comes to mind with Tommy Hanson.
It is a dark read, full of unlikeable characters and one that really shows the despair, humiliation and degradation that comes with a drug habit. It is not a pleasant read at all, but is one that is thought provoking. It really did make me think about where I stood in the debate.
One of the main characters is Tommy Hanson, gobby pop star who tells his story at his local AA/NA meetings. I have to say I found him really irritating, cocky and just plain annoying. This was the only real weakness in the story for me, because when he is telling his story he doesn’t show many signs of regret, especially at the start where he really comes across as just showing off to the other AA members. Imagine Liam Gallagher posturing at AA/NA and you have the general idea of the image that comes to mind with Tommy Hanson.
It is a dark read, full of unlikeable characters and one that really shows the despair, humiliation and degradation that comes with a drug habit. It is not a pleasant read at all, but is one that is thought provoking. It really did make me think about where I stood in the debate.
March 2, 2020
Interesting comedy about a UK seriously considering legalising all drugs with an ensemble cast of MPs, 'celebs', prostitutes, media etc. The comedy doesn't work so well in the areas of sexual and physical abuse by a number of men as part of the story, which sort of sours the book a bit - although on my initial read I didn't seem to feel this. What makes the book above the norm, is the rationale Elton uses to start the debate about decriminalising drugs, all drugs... that rationale? Common sense!!! 7 out of 12
December 16, 2008
Lives and loves of the whores, pimps, rockstars, and politicians involved in the drug trade in early 2000s London and Birmingham. Elton's fragmented novel is a passionate plea for drug legalization, but largely a cliched celebrity tale, and its message is subverted by the most predictable and downer of endings.
Just because you have a bunch of characters, different narrators and voices and locations, doesn't mean you've told a complete tale. For three-quarters of the book, the characters don't even seem real, just uber-examples of types that might be involved in a celebrity drug story. There's a nearly-constant dreaded sense of "ok, here comes the moralistic ending." The book isn't UN-funny, it's simply not funny, which isn't any better. Near the end it started picking up momentum, I started to care more about the characters, and I actually got excited about reading it for a while. Maybe Elton isn't going for the obvious? Ah, sadly, no--my hopes for something different and uncliched gets thwarted again. Save your time on this one and go rent Drugstore Cowboy, Trainspotting, and/or Requiem For A Dream instead.
Just because you have a bunch of characters, different narrators and voices and locations, doesn't mean you've told a complete tale. For three-quarters of the book, the characters don't even seem real, just uber-examples of types that might be involved in a celebrity drug story. There's a nearly-constant dreaded sense of "ok, here comes the moralistic ending." The book isn't UN-funny, it's simply not funny, which isn't any better. Near the end it started picking up momentum, I started to care more about the characters, and I actually got excited about reading it for a while. Maybe Elton isn't going for the obvious? Ah, sadly, no--my hopes for something different and uncliched gets thwarted again. Save your time on this one and go rent Drugstore Cowboy, Trainspotting, and/or Requiem For A Dream instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2012
Reading a novel by Ben Elton is like watching an episode of your favourite TV show. He never fails to deliver.
High Society is about a whole heaps of characters they are involved in the drug industry. From the drugged up pop-star to the junkie on the street and all sorts of drug users in between... Did I just make the book sound boring? I think I did, but I do like Ben Elton and so I read it.... and it was pretty darn good.
The book jumps around a lot. Without any indication we are reading both past and present at different speeds, which sounds confusing but it was strangely very easy to follow. The characters were all very likeable, and there was a really strong storyline (this would make a great movie).
If I were trying to get someone hooked on Ben Elton I would suggest Blind Faith or Chart Throb or Dead Famous first.
High Society is about a whole heaps of characters they are involved in the drug industry. From the drugged up pop-star to the junkie on the street and all sorts of drug users in between... Did I just make the book sound boring? I think I did, but I do like Ben Elton and so I read it.... and it was pretty darn good.
The book jumps around a lot. Without any indication we are reading both past and present at different speeds, which sounds confusing but it was strangely very easy to follow. The characters were all very likeable, and there was a really strong storyline (this would make a great movie).
If I were trying to get someone hooked on Ben Elton I would suggest Blind Faith or Chart Throb or Dead Famous first.
October 30, 2016
Ben Elton's books are paceless, tasteless and f-ing graceless.
His books are often like low-grade fast food: tasty in an obvious sort of way, but without much nutrition. They can also leave you hungry, not because of a shortage of bulk, but because there's no substance behind the fizz and pop.
Even junk has its own integrity whereas Ben Elton has none whatsoever. He deliberately gets on people's nerves. He gets a kick out of it.
There was a poll taken not too long ago amongst the british and there is a general consensus that ben elton should've been put to death at birth which i think is a bit over the top because there is no way you can ascertain how someone will turn out at that age.
Ben Elton hasn't always been a figure of scorn. He once upon a time gave us Blackadder. What happened?!
His books are often like low-grade fast food: tasty in an obvious sort of way, but without much nutrition. They can also leave you hungry, not because of a shortage of bulk, but because there's no substance behind the fizz and pop.
Even junk has its own integrity whereas Ben Elton has none whatsoever. He deliberately gets on people's nerves. He gets a kick out of it.
There was a poll taken not too long ago amongst the british and there is a general consensus that ben elton should've been put to death at birth which i think is a bit over the top because there is no way you can ascertain how someone will turn out at that age.
Ben Elton hasn't always been a figure of scorn. He once upon a time gave us Blackadder. What happened?!
October 31, 2018
I think Ben Elton is a master of writing dramedies. And I love dramedies; they're sort of perfect.
They have the potential to deliver very serious messages but they don't take themselves too seriously. You laugh and then you cry.
One minute, you're hating a character's guts and the next, you're cheering for them.
That's how I felt while reading this anyway.
They have the potential to deliver very serious messages but they don't take themselves too seriously. You laugh and then you cry.
One minute, you're hating a character's guts and the next, you're cheering for them.
That's how I felt while reading this anyway.
Read
August 5, 2011Ben Elton gets a lot of slagging for supposedly "selling out" but i've always found his fiction very readable. And I enjoyed this as much as I have his other books. A clever look at the implications of current drug legislation and what legalisation could mean.
April 7, 2019
I really enjoyed the format of the book,the small chapters taking you in and out of the various characters whose lives have been affected by drugs.It nicely knitted the book together and largely brought the characters to life.There was enough humour without making the book feel like a comedy and this was a good contrast to the underlying,sadness,deceit and darkness brought about by the ever present problem of drugs in our society.
Is this Ben Elton telling us his opinions on drugs and the legalisation ofthem or is he through the story making us think hard about it and make our own minds up.
Is this Ben Elton telling us his opinions on drugs and the legalisation ofthem or is he through the story making us think hard about it and make our own minds up.
July 20, 2023
Some people may find it irritating that the author progresses the story by having various different characters narrate the events, hence the four stars.
I was not at all put off by this, however. Each character adds his or her own knowledge and experience to the storyline, building an overall picture of the drug culture in Britain.
Being a Ben Elton, however, the book is not without its quirkier moments (I especially enjoyed the representations of the Birmingham, or "Brummie" accent) and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot leading up to its optimistic ending.
A book that sets the reader thinking and one I would highly recommend.
I was not at all put off by this, however. Each character adds his or her own knowledge and experience to the storyline, building an overall picture of the drug culture in Britain.
Being a Ben Elton, however, the book is not without its quirkier moments (I especially enjoyed the representations of the Birmingham, or "Brummie" accent) and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot leading up to its optimistic ending.
A book that sets the reader thinking and one I would highly recommend.
August 24, 2022
this book radicalised me
October 19, 2013
Some time ago, mostly during my university years I read several novels by Ben Elton, so I presume I must have liked his books quite a bit, otherwise I wouldn’t have read so many of them. Anyway, a couple of years passed since then, and now I mostly remember that a Ben Elton novel is an excellent choice when you’re waiting for an exam to start; or when your brain is muddled for some reason and you find it difficult to think clearly; or in any situation when it’s impossible to really pay attention to a book but you must pass the time somehow. By the way, I always suspected that Elton’s novels are disposable, but I wanted to find out for sure if this is really the case, and I had some time on my hands when I wouldn’t have been able to pay attention to a „proper” book anyway, so I went ahead and re-read one of his novels. I chose High Society because I had some vague recollections that I used to consider it as one of Elton’s better efforts.
As it turned out, I was right – Ben Elton is indeed rather amusing in his own frightfully pedantic, spoon-feeding way, and he can weave a plot with wonderful ease (so this is a book I would normally read in one sitting because it’s virtually unputdownable), but the novel is absolutely transparent, with no depths or intricacies, and a second reading offers exactly the same results as the first. (In a way this is okay – I could at least pass some time with the book again.)
So, getting down to High Society then. The protagonist is an unknown backbencher who comes up with the radical idea that all drugs should immediately be legalized in England because everyone is doing them anyway, and if people could get them legally, crime rates would drop by 90% and also, the state would get a lot of tax money. The main plot-line follows the actions and fights of this backbencher who wants to get support for his bill, and with a lot of work, he slowly manages to make the bill popular – but this is not how the story ends.
Besides a whole lot of parliamentary debates and political manoeuvres, there’s a bunch of (awfully instructive and tale-like) other plot-lines where we get acquainted with several characters whose life was ruined by drugs one way or another. For instance, there’s the English chick who tries to smuggle some drugs from Thailand to England for the first time in her life, and gets caught. Then there’s the popular rock singer who destroys his health and career in about two years because he consumes an unbelievable amount of drugs. And then there’s another young girl who runs away from home and ends up being a crack whore within just a couple of days.
I try not to be unnecessarily ironic. Of course my heart’s not made of stone, and I’m aware that dreadful things can happen to human beings because of drug-taking and because of the crime and violence associated with it – but I can’t stand Elton’s preaching and spoon-feeding style without irony. Because Elton’s characters are not really characters, and his stories are not really stories – in his novels, the characters and stories are just illustrations Elton uses in order to make me understand what he thinks is wrong with today’s drug politics and how he would like to change the drug-related legislation in England. (I’m not mixing up Elton and his protagonist – it’s only that I always feel when I read one of his books that his novels are never really about the beliefs of the characters but about the beliefs of Elton himself, which he – for some unknown reason – molds into the shape of a novel.)
And naturally, I understand what Elton says, but I’m not exactly satisfied because I prefer reading about „real” characters in a novel, and not about puppets whose only function is to illustrate some point the author wishes to make. Anyway, I suspect that I get much more easily irritated by didactic-preaching literature nowadays, so considering my current taste in books (which is, of course, subject to change) I would say that Elton’s novels are not only disposable – they are novels you can live without. I’m pretty sure I will live without them in the future.
As it turned out, I was right – Ben Elton is indeed rather amusing in his own frightfully pedantic, spoon-feeding way, and he can weave a plot with wonderful ease (so this is a book I would normally read in one sitting because it’s virtually unputdownable), but the novel is absolutely transparent, with no depths or intricacies, and a second reading offers exactly the same results as the first. (In a way this is okay – I could at least pass some time with the book again.)
So, getting down to High Society then. The protagonist is an unknown backbencher who comes up with the radical idea that all drugs should immediately be legalized in England because everyone is doing them anyway, and if people could get them legally, crime rates would drop by 90% and also, the state would get a lot of tax money. The main plot-line follows the actions and fights of this backbencher who wants to get support for his bill, and with a lot of work, he slowly manages to make the bill popular – but this is not how the story ends.
Besides a whole lot of parliamentary debates and political manoeuvres, there’s a bunch of (awfully instructive and tale-like) other plot-lines where we get acquainted with several characters whose life was ruined by drugs one way or another. For instance, there’s the English chick who tries to smuggle some drugs from Thailand to England for the first time in her life, and gets caught. Then there’s the popular rock singer who destroys his health and career in about two years because he consumes an unbelievable amount of drugs. And then there’s another young girl who runs away from home and ends up being a crack whore within just a couple of days.
I try not to be unnecessarily ironic. Of course my heart’s not made of stone, and I’m aware that dreadful things can happen to human beings because of drug-taking and because of the crime and violence associated with it – but I can’t stand Elton’s preaching and spoon-feeding style without irony. Because Elton’s characters are not really characters, and his stories are not really stories – in his novels, the characters and stories are just illustrations Elton uses in order to make me understand what he thinks is wrong with today’s drug politics and how he would like to change the drug-related legislation in England. (I’m not mixing up Elton and his protagonist – it’s only that I always feel when I read one of his books that his novels are never really about the beliefs of the characters but about the beliefs of Elton himself, which he – for some unknown reason – molds into the shape of a novel.)
And naturally, I understand what Elton says, but I’m not exactly satisfied because I prefer reading about „real” characters in a novel, and not about puppets whose only function is to illustrate some point the author wishes to make. Anyway, I suspect that I get much more easily irritated by didactic-preaching literature nowadays, so considering my current taste in books (which is, of course, subject to change) I would say that Elton’s novels are not only disposable – they are novels you can live without. I’m pretty sure I will live without them in the future.
June 13, 2017
Ben Elton seems to have been quite a household name. That being said, it has taken me ages to read any of his work. Going off Goodreads reviews, he seems not to be the most respected of authors. I really enjoyed this book however. I mean, it wasn't perfect. The characters were well drawn but not especially likeable - save Jesse, the Scottish heroin addict. It had some humour but more than anything I found this story to be depressing and dark. Particularly the end of it all. The whole thing ends on quite a downer. Though Peter Paget really made his own bed and deserved to lie in it, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor guy. Tommy Hanson was equally entertaining and obnoxious. Some stories such as Inspector Leaman - (I listened to this on audio tape so aplogise for any incorrect spelling) - kind of fell apart into nothing. I liked it when he went after those two corrupt cops, but otherwise his was a character wasted.
All in all, I really liked this and am tempted to give it four stars. I think, however, it is one of those cases where the ending covered over some of the mediocrity from before.
All in all, I really liked this and am tempted to give it four stars. I think, however, it is one of those cases where the ending covered over some of the mediocrity from before.
June 20, 2013
I like Ben Elton, which is why this book irritated the hell out of me. Elton seems to be suffering from this syndrome many people in the entertainment industry get in which they think that celebrity life in itself is really interesting. Journalists, politicians, models, superstar actors... Their lifestyle is not interesting reading just because of what it is. And myself being a person in Recovery, an ex rehab person who goes to meetings and all that boring garbage, wonder why the hell does Elton think that we would put up with listening to a self-centered prick like his mega famous pop star character Tommy? I have been in a meeting with a celebrity, and he spoke briefly and humbly, and he listened. Also, we never sit talking large and sexy about our drug and booze stories anyway, and we sure as hell wouldn't cancel appointments to hang around and continue listening to that crap, as Elton portrays people doing at a meeting. But Elton wants to make his political point about about the criminality of drugs and what if they were all legal. Well, just because I am in Recovery doesn't mean I don't think it is a valid point. In fact, why didn't Elton start with them being made legal and go with the 'what if' plot from there? It certainly would have provided more potential to be funny. This book wasn't funny. Painful and predictable irony does not equal funny. It's too easy to write. And making a political point? The very REAL characters, like a junkie whore and a drug mule stuck going crazy in a Thai prison are either glossed over or only indulged, destroyed, or saved by the celebrities. Deus ex machina, the idiot mega pop star saves the day! Well, he didn't save this book from being annoying and not funny.
May 20, 2016
I've read a lot of stories recently that weren't stories at all; they were the author's views arranged around weak characters. Kurt Vonnegut's 'Cat's Cradle' comes to mind here. Ben Elton's 'High Society' is not like this at all. It carries a political agenda but the story is still paramount and the characters are real, lovable in their "fooked" up ways.
It gets you thinking about drugs and how to tackle them, an issue which is as important today as when High Society was published nearly fifteen years ago. The story and the message resonate in the same way. What I was not expecting when I began the book was Elton's ideas on the corruption in politics which I think, even more than drugs, are the novel's main theme.
This is a fantastic book that brought a lot of nostalgia, fun and, buried deeply (as it should be) a message of true importance.
It gets you thinking about drugs and how to tackle them, an issue which is as important today as when High Society was published nearly fifteen years ago. The story and the message resonate in the same way. What I was not expecting when I began the book was Elton's ideas on the corruption in politics which I think, even more than drugs, are the novel's main theme.
This is a fantastic book that brought a lot of nostalgia, fun and, buried deeply (as it should be) a message of true importance.
July 24, 2017
It's been a long time since I read a Ben Elton novel. I can't decide if this wasn't as good as the others I've read or if I just enjoyed them more when I was younger.
Parts of this were very funny as expected but for the most part I found it tragically sad and a bit depressing. May have been the subject matter I guess.
Without any spoilers I enjoyed Jessie the Scottish heroin addict the most. A lot of the other characters were just plain horrible and hard to like.
My overall impression was feeling like someone who had paid for a rock concert but ended up listening to opera. Quite good but not what I had hoped for.
Parts of this were very funny as expected but for the most part I found it tragically sad and a bit depressing. May have been the subject matter I guess.
Without any spoilers I enjoyed Jessie the Scottish heroin addict the most. A lot of the other characters were just plain horrible and hard to like.
My overall impression was feeling like someone who had paid for a rock concert but ended up listening to opera. Quite good but not what I had hoped for.
March 13, 2019
Ben Elton has produced a complex narrative with an interesting style. There are no clear chapters and we are carried through the book via the multiple narratives of the main characters. MP Peter Paget has won the lottery to present this parliamentary sessions Private members bill and has chosen to focus on the legalisation of all drugs. We meet his attractive ministerial secretary, journalists and a variety of drug users as Elton draws together the multiple narrative lines. The characters were all flawed and we see all those flaws as the book progresses. Elton does a good job of making the reader like or loathe his characters and sometimes my opinions changed. My main problem would be that there was some repetition and the whole thing just seemed a little lengthy to me
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March 19, 2018The watershed mark for Elton. There are funny moments in this book but there is no comedy. From the start of his career he addressed serious subjects, but gradually the comic take on serious subjects became a serious take on serious subjects. This is a very bitter book, though, I think, also very necessary to Elton’s progress as an author and as a human thinker.
February 9, 2020
I read this when it first came out and it’s still a really good story showing all the different types of drug use and how drugs affect people in millions of different ways. It does feel a bit dated now, but still worth reading.
August 13, 2021
Highly recommend, a bit hard to get into at the start but very well written in the end.
December 13, 2021
Brilliant
September 14, 2012
There's a lot to dislike about this book - as ever with Elton, it has the tang of the sermon about it, his certainty about having the "right" answer about everything is really irritating if you disagree with him (and I say that as someone who is broadly sympathetic to his views on drugs and politics - even I got incensed by a couple of throwaway comments e.g. about it being unfair that men accused of being sexual predators can be publicly named while their accusers remain anonymous. There is a whole massive debate to be had about that, and yet Elton just throws it in, in passing, as if it were indisputable by any right-minded person. If I strongly disagreed with him on any of the central issues of the novel, I'd have found it insufferable. I sense he is always going to be preaching to the converted).
He doesn't always successfully juggle his dramatis personae (Sonia is particularly underwritten, but Emily's story, Leman's story and some of the others' stories also seem to peter out half way though). He overrelies on (not always authentically realised) regional dialect as a way of differentiating characters. And he sometimes crosses the line from heartwarming to sickly sentimentality and from a consciously fairytale-style optimism to amateurish farfetchedness.
From a feminist viewpoint, he tries hard (e.g. Jess is no damsel in distress who has to be rescued and saved by a man), but the novel still seems a tad malecentric (however resourceful she is, Jess is ultimately important to the plot because she is pretty and a man falls in love with her).
BUT I still loved it. I got totally sucked into the main characters' stories and really cared what happened to them. I admired the way in which Elton drew conflicting characters with equal sympathy and compassion. With a few obvious exceptions, there aren't many goodies or baddies in this novel - Elton convincingly charts how easily decent people can drift into doing unwise things and the consequences can snowball and lead to further unwise decisions. I was genuinely moved by what happened to most of the characters and, even when on occasions they were tearing each other apart, I could sympathise with both of them.
For all its lecturing, the novel does make an even-handed, broad-sweeping, intelligent exploration of the issue of drugs in modern Britain. It's a hell of an ambitious book and he more or less pulls it off.
In plot terms, it was also very compelling. And, unsurprisingly, with Elton pushing the pen, there were some fabulous one-liners.
He doesn't always successfully juggle his dramatis personae (Sonia is particularly underwritten, but Emily's story, Leman's story and some of the others' stories also seem to peter out half way though). He overrelies on (not always authentically realised) regional dialect as a way of differentiating characters. And he sometimes crosses the line from heartwarming to sickly sentimentality and from a consciously fairytale-style optimism to amateurish farfetchedness.
From a feminist viewpoint, he tries hard (e.g. Jess is no damsel in distress who has to be rescued and saved by a man), but the novel still seems a tad malecentric (however resourceful she is, Jess is ultimately important to the plot because she is pretty and a man falls in love with her).
BUT I still loved it. I got totally sucked into the main characters' stories and really cared what happened to them. I admired the way in which Elton drew conflicting characters with equal sympathy and compassion. With a few obvious exceptions, there aren't many goodies or baddies in this novel - Elton convincingly charts how easily decent people can drift into doing unwise things and the consequences can snowball and lead to further unwise decisions. I was genuinely moved by what happened to most of the characters and, even when on occasions they were tearing each other apart, I could sympathise with both of them.
For all its lecturing, the novel does make an even-handed, broad-sweeping, intelligent exploration of the issue of drugs in modern Britain. It's a hell of an ambitious book and he more or less pulls it off.
In plot terms, it was also very compelling. And, unsurprisingly, with Elton pushing the pen, there were some fabulous one-liners.
September 21, 2023
I have worked in trade for a long time, not in the most elite sector, and I have the skill to distinguish abusers. And I have always been surprised by the diametrically opposite style of behavior in two groups of addicts. Alcoholics are a little ashamed and behave as if they are apologizing to the world, like a Drunkard in "The Little Prince": "- I drink to forget. - Forget about what? "That I'm ashamed of what I drink." Drug addicts are arrogant and arrogant: "we are flying, and you are crawling, you fools, fools" they break through even when they try to drive you obviously stolen. Not that I thought much about this topic, but with the book by British comedian Ben Elton, I vividly remembered.
Therefore, the title "Secular nonsense" perfectly fits this book. It doesn't matter that in the absolute majority of cases, people who use drugs have nothing to do with the establishment. Substances do something like that with the psyche, tightly snap some kind of toggle switch in the brain, which is responsible for adequate self-esteem, make you see yourself as lords hovering on a helicopter carpet. Although in the gallery of images of the novel, the only and far from the main character is somehow connected with the upper world - the wayward daughter of a lord and the mistress of a rock musician, who plays one of the main roles in this story.
In the exposition of the novel, the monologue of pop idol Tommy Hansen at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous runs from the beginning to the end of the story, depicting the transformation of a spoiled, crazy and sometimes completely unbearable, but damn charming guy into a serious responsible and reliable man, determined to end the sins of youth. Yes, and could he do without the cult musician Elton, who wrote the musical "Wi Will Rock You" (which critics did not understand, but the audience voted with a conditional ruble and continues to do it - a dystopia with Queen compositions based on the longest-running Broadway productions).
This structure of the musical: monologues interspersed with a third-person story, it follows in "Secular nonsense", the plot is based on a bill on the legalization of drugs, which MP Peter Paget submits to Parliament. Motivating by the fact that all spheres of society are permeated with the use of various substances, from conditionally harmless weed to heavy heroin and crack, he proposes to allow everything and issue prescription drugs to addicts, thereby excluding drug-related crimes. One of Paget's arguments: "The battle with drugs is lost by society, and drug cartels and corrupt police officers benefit from the ban on them."
Married 43-year-old Peter, who sincerely believes in his own rhetoric, on the wave of sudden and somewhat scandalous fame, enters into an affair with an assistant, a young and beautiful Samantha, this affair in the style of "devil-in-the-rib" will also be a significant line of the novel. There is also an honest police officer Lehman, who supports Peter, he sees well how many of his colleagues become the service of the drug mafia. There is a girl from Scotland, Jessie, who ran away from home, where her stepfather was chasing her and fell into the clutches of a pimp in London who got hooked on heroin. And another girl who contracted as a courier in Tai, who ended up in prison there.
The author masterfully weaves their stories, it's interesting to read /listen to - in the audio variant performed by Sergey Chonishvili just fine - and is in no hurry to voice his own position on the possibility of legalization. Although something tells me that he doesn't think an open Overton window is a particularly good idea.
Зло зла злее
Герой на героине
Героиня на героине
Я долго работала в торговле, не в самом элитном секторе, и навык различения злоупотребляющих имею. И я всегда удивлялась диаметрально противоположному стилю поведения у двух групп зависимых. Алкоголики немного стыдятся и ведут себя так, словно извиняются перед миром, как Пьяница в "Маленьком Принце": "- Я пью, чтобы забыть. - Забыть о чем? - О том, что мне стыдно за то, что я пью". Наркоманы заносчивы и высокомерны: "мы летим, а вы ползете, дураки вы, дураки" у них прорывается даже когда пытаются загнать тебе явно краденое. Не то, чтобы я много думала на эту тему, но с книгой британского комика Бена Элтона живо вспомнила.
Потому заглавие "Светская дурь" замечательно подходит этой книге. Неважно, что в абсолютном большинстве случаев употребляющие люди не имеют к истеблишменту отношения. Вещества что-то такое делают с психикой, намертво защелкивают какой-то тумблер в мозгу, который отвечает за адекватную самооценку, заставляют видеть себя лордами, парящими на ковре-вертолете. Хотя в галерее образов романа как-то связана с высшим светом единственная и далеко не главная героиня - непутевая дочь лорда и любовница рок-музыканта, который на одной из основных ролей в этой истории.
В экспозиции романа монолог поп-идола Томми Хансена на собрании Анонимных Алкоголиков проходит от начала к концу истории, рисуя трансформацию избалованного успехом безбашенного и порой совершенно невыносимого, но чертовски обаятельного парня в серьезного ответственного и надежного мужчину, твердо намеренного покончить с грехами молодости. Да, и мог ли обойтись без культового музыканта Элтон, написавший мюзикл "Wi Will Rock You" (которого критики не поняли, но зритель проголосовал условным рублем и продолжает это делать - антиутопия с композициями Queen в основе из самых долгоиграющих бродвейских постановок).
Этой структуре мюзикла: монологи, перемежающиеся рассказом от третьего лица, он следует и в "Светской дури", в основе сюжета законопроект о легализации наркотиков, который депутат Питер Педжет вносит на рассмотрение Парламента. Мотивируя тем, что все сферы общества пронизаны употреблением различных веществ, от условно безобидной травки до тяжелого героина и крека, он предлагает разрешить все и выдавать зависимым рецептурно, тем исключив преступления на почве наркомании. Один из аргументов Педжета: "Битва с наркотиками обществом проиграна, а от запрета на них выигрывают наркокартели и коррумпированные полицейские."
Женатый 43-летний Питер, искренне верящий в собственную риторику, на волне внезапной и несколько скандальной известности, вступает в связь с помощницей, молодой и прекрасной Самантой, эта интрижка в стиле "бес-в-ребро" тоже будет значимой линией романа. Есть еще честный полицейский Леман, поддерживающий Питера, он хорошо видит, как многие его коллеги становятся на службу наркомафии. Есть девушка из Шотландии Джесси, которая сбежала из дома, где ее преследовал отчим и попала в Лондоне в лапы сутенера, подсадившего на героин. И еще одна девушка, подрядившаяся курьером в Тай, которая попала в тамошнюю тюрьму.
Автор мастерски сплетает их истории, это интересно читать/слушать - в аудиоварианте в исполнении Сергея Чонишвили просто отлично - и не торопится озвучивать собственную позицию в отношении возможности легализации. Хотя что-то подсказывает мне, что он не считает распахнутое окно Овертона особенно хорошей идеей
October 7, 2015
This is a great read – I just love Ben Elton’s writing and humour. He makes valid moral points within a riveting and extremely funny novel. Elton in no way pushes the humour in his writing trying to get a cheap laugh, instead it is all played through his fantastic characters. Take arrogant pop star Tommy Hanson – he is simply hilarious. On saying that, there is no lack of emotional development in certain characters too.
The main point running through the book is the war on drugs, the way it affects everyone from successful business-people to people who have fallen out of society and whether the legalisation of drugs would solve a lot of problems. Peter Paget, MP and familyman, is the character trying to push this legislation through parliament while playing down a scandal of an affair he is having with his PA.
There are quite a few characters in this novel, all affected in one way or another by drugs – some of them are touched on briefly such as young Brummie Sonia who lands up in a Bangkok jail for smuggling while others form the main backbone of the novel – the endearing Jessie who has fallen foul of heroin by being lured into it by a pimp who uses her good looks and vulnerability by putting her on the game.
Then there is the fantastic character of Tommy Hanson who is attending rehab meetings to try and kick the habit. I can’t describe how brilliantly funny Elton has made Tommy as it just wouldn’t do him justice, you will just have to delve in.
I like the way it goes from snippet to snippet of these people’s lives and even changes tense without warning. I know this has annoyed people but I found it easy to follow and it enabled you to gradually get to know the characters and their lives better.
The main point running through the book is the war on drugs, the way it affects everyone from successful business-people to people who have fallen out of society and whether the legalisation of drugs would solve a lot of problems. Peter Paget, MP and familyman, is the character trying to push this legislation through parliament while playing down a scandal of an affair he is having with his PA.
There are quite a few characters in this novel, all affected in one way or another by drugs – some of them are touched on briefly such as young Brummie Sonia who lands up in a Bangkok jail for smuggling while others form the main backbone of the novel – the endearing Jessie who has fallen foul of heroin by being lured into it by a pimp who uses her good looks and vulnerability by putting her on the game.
Then there is the fantastic character of Tommy Hanson who is attending rehab meetings to try and kick the habit. I can’t describe how brilliantly funny Elton has made Tommy as it just wouldn’t do him justice, you will just have to delve in.
I like the way it goes from snippet to snippet of these people’s lives and even changes tense without warning. I know this has annoyed people but I found it easy to follow and it enabled you to gradually get to know the characters and their lives better.
November 20, 2018
“High Society” is the excellently titled eighth novel by Ben Elton. A darkly comic tale which takes a look at the use and abuse of recreational drugs in Britain. The major theme throughout the book is that the war on drugs is failing, the criminal element is pervasive, and would the legalisation, licensing, and control of recreational drugs be a viable alternative.
Once more Elton handles quite controversial and sensitive matters with aplomb. His characters are believable and their motives and actions are clear and reasonable.
Following the interconnected stories of three major characters (Peter Paget: a politician, Tommy Hanson: a pop/rock star, and Jessie: a runaway coerced into prostitution) the book taps into several other themes including illegal sex trade and slavery, deception, trust, politics, poverty, homelessness, police corruption, personal identity, and happiness/depression.
This book did, however, take me a long time to get into and I did catch myself thinking “Where the hell is this going?” But I should not have doubted the storytelling skill of Elton. Once the scene had been set the story was compelling.
High Society gets 3.5 lines of Bolivian Marching Powder out of 5.
Once more Elton handles quite controversial and sensitive matters with aplomb. His characters are believable and their motives and actions are clear and reasonable.
Following the interconnected stories of three major characters (Peter Paget: a politician, Tommy Hanson: a pop/rock star, and Jessie: a runaway coerced into prostitution) the book taps into several other themes including illegal sex trade and slavery, deception, trust, politics, poverty, homelessness, police corruption, personal identity, and happiness/depression.
This book did, however, take me a long time to get into and I did catch myself thinking “Where the hell is this going?” But I should not have doubted the storytelling skill of Elton. Once the scene had been set the story was compelling.
High Society gets 3.5 lines of Bolivian Marching Powder out of 5.
May 11, 2016
Not sure what I expected. The comic streak not quite there. Whatever the arguments and plot themes designed to explore legalization, the overall theme that came across to me was that people who can afford a habit are more likely to get away with it than people who can't. This is not all that radical, and it paints a very ugly picture of the UK at the time - perhaps it was that way, but I wonder if this is more about what the tabloids said it was than about what it actually was. As for the writing itself, easy to read, despite the overworked regional accents; characters with very little depth, more like policy positions than characters; and occasionally heroic and unlikely plot twists in order to make a point. Not my favorite Ben Elton novel.
December 29, 2017
I really enjoy Ben Elton’s books. This one is very readable with lots of dark humour. The characters are well developed and you find yourself immersed in their individual stories. The Pop Star Tommy was highly irritating but really showed the grip of fame on society. The drugs stories are detailed and disturbing and therefore the idea of legalising them via one of the main characters Peter Pagent MP becomes intriguing and even possible.
The ending is shocking, dark and quite savage. I was genuinely amazed at the level that we descended to at the end, and although there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, this is no happily ever after.
Thought provoking, which I love in a book.
The ending is shocking, dark and quite savage. I was genuinely amazed at the level that we descended to at the end, and although there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, this is no happily ever after.
Thought provoking, which I love in a book.
February 10, 2008
I picked the book up at a local bookstore and was attracted to it because it tells the story, thorugh a series of vignettes about the durg cultuere in Birtain. I don't know why, but I've always been attracted to the lurid sotires of drugs in the dance music culture.
The book explores the effects of illegal drugs on pop stars, prostitutes, celebrities and politicians. Hardly a grand novel, certainly not as poignant as other books that explore the trajedy and smoetimes redemption of characters involved in drugs, but a quick read, fast paced.
The book explores the effects of illegal drugs on pop stars, prostitutes, celebrities and politicians. Hardly a grand novel, certainly not as poignant as other books that explore the trajedy and smoetimes redemption of characters involved in drugs, but a quick read, fast paced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2011
Absolutely awful. Most of it is written in direct speech and, worse, in cringeworthy regional accents. It's all so tired: a Scottish junkie? Yes, we all saw Trainspotting six years prior to publication. A lairy, hedonistic, hopelessly addicted pop star? Yes, that's what heat magazine is for. A lying scumbag politician giving his secretary one? Ooh, what a surprise. The only part I liked was when said politician's precocious daughter got made a complete tit of. Any relevant points Elton was making were obliterated by the fact of it being utter crap.
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