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January 26, 2004
Satirist O'Farrell is the U.K.'s answer to Dave Barry (he was named Best Columnist of the Year at the British Liars' Awards and contributed to the screenplay of Chicken Run
). He collected his caustic columns from the Guardian
for U.K. publication in 2001 and now offers a "slightly different version" for American readers. The cover shows Bush wearing a dunce cap. ' 'I've had gym teachers smarter than George W. Bush.... When Dubya takes his seat in the Oval Office the global village will finally be complete," O'Farrell wrote three years ago. "At last it will have its own global village idiot." But Bush isn't O'Farrell's only target, and the satirist doesn't deal in idle whimsy. He unleashes devilish darts across the full sociopolitical landscape, covering such topics as fox hunting, in vitro fertilization ("Who was the first baby ever to be produced through IVF? Why, Jesus Christ himself of course"), the high-tech war on terrorism ("Soon NATO forces will be able to blow up the wrong building far more quickly than they have been able to do in the past"), McDonald's and boxing ("Mike Tyson remains a role model for thousands. Where I live in South London far more young working class men have named their pet Rottweillers 'Tyson' than say, 'Chomsky' "). Most readers left of center will appreciate O'Farrell's humor; for them, the hilarity is so thorough that even the closing "Note on the Type" brings chortles.
January 5, 2004
A cross between Dave Barry, Al Franken and a droll Englishman,"liberal limey" O'Farrell takes on the topics of the day in this collection of humorous newspaper essays. O'Farrell is something of a progressive populist, and aims his joshing derision at conservatives on both sides of the pond, royals and other"posh people," sexists, homophobes, churchmen and cops who beat up protesters. Targets include Bush ("we knew that some American voters had an anti-intellectual streak but they didn't have to go that far"), British cultural monuments like fox-hunters ("there is only one thing the English hate more than people being cruel to animals, and that is snooty rich people being cruel to animals") and the Queen Mother ("She may have a nice smile and an ability to wave, but then so have the cartoon characters walking around Disneyland"), and such international comic staples as cell phones ("teenagers desperately needed the most expensive communications technology so that they could grunt monosyllables at each other") and the French ("for a French President to call a British leader 'rude' is a bit like England accusing the French of having warm beer"). O'Farrell keeps the tone light-hearted, but often includes a high-minded sermonette ("there are countless deaths every year caused by the unnecessary shortage of organs for transplant") to remind readers where he stands. The deadline pressures affecting these once-a-week (approximately) pieces show up in the occasional perfunctory performance, but on the whole they make for a diverting read with a sting attached.
Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.