Book #57: The Cockroach by Ian McEwan
Number of pages: 100
I got this book as soon as it was released because it intrigued me. Very topical in nature, it is a thinly-veiled satire about Brexit, with "clockwisers" (remainers) and "reversalists" (brexiters).
So, in a sort of parody of Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the cockroach, Jim Sams, suddenly turns into (or evidently swaps bodies with) the British Prime Minister, and after getting used to his human body, proceeds to ensure that Britain votes for his "reversalist" movement. It also turns out that the entire cabinet is made up of cockroaches who have become humans. Not surprisingly, this involves a lot of backstabbing and smear campaigns. In one of the funniest moments, he calls up the American president and asks if he "once had six legs", a question that results in the phone receiver being slammed down on the other end.
It's not hard to see that Ian McEwan is completely anti-Brexit, and while this book felt quite dense, it was very short and easy to read in a few days, and it did make me laugh a lot. The points it made were not exactly subtle, but I was glad I read this.
Next book: Case Histories (Kate Atkinson)