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The Book of Dave

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The Book of Dave

By: Will Self
Narrated by: Will Self
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About this listen

What if a demented London cabbie called Dave Rudman wrote a book to his estranged son to give him some fatherly advice? What if that book was buried in Hampstead, and hundreds of years later, when rising sea levels have put London underwater, spawned a religion? What if one man decided to question life according to Dave? And what if Dave had indeed made a mistake?

Shuttling between the recent past and a far-off future, in which England is terribly altered, The Book of Dave is a strange and troubling mirror held up to our times: disturbing, satirizing, and vilifying who and what we think we are.

©2006 Will Self (P)2010 WF Howes Ltd Dystopian Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Emotionally Gripping

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The author has created a dystopian future based around "the knowledge". With its own language, I found it very hard to follow a story that jumps around a lot.
Through dogged determination and little else in the way of interest, I managed to finish this tome, but it was a struggle.

A long and winding cab journey.

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Would you listen to The Book of Dave again? Why?

Yes - as a lot of what happens in it is so clever, you need time to digest it!

Have you listened to any of Will Self’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No - but he is an excellent reader - possibly a little slow, but I found that playing it at a slightly faster speed - 1.25 - was perfect!

Really unusual but gripping story

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If you could sum up The Book of Dave in three words, what would they be?

Totally subversive - brilliant

What did you like best about this story?

dripping with satire. It was extremely good on mental health. I loved the sci fi aspect. Self is apparently a huge sci fi addict and it reminds me of bits of Ballard and Dick as well as Heller and Houellebecq. The characters were real and vivid. Loved the motos
I listened on audiobook so found bits a bit hard to follow until I got into "mockney" and "arpie"
Saying that it is very original. I just loved it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Enjoy is not a word that goes easily with this book but loved all the bits with the motos

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You couldn't make a film of this book so please don't anyone try!

Any additional comments?

This is an uncomfortable, challenging book which is truly tragic but has it's moments of redemption. Come to terms with it's message and you will be a much better and wiser person

This book challenges but it's worth it.

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I had read half the book on paper and was struggling with the difficult dialect/kanguage etc. Self reads it beautifully and the story was easier to follow this way I think.

it's so thought provoking and the stories leave you feeling fulfilled yet asking more questions.

left with a lot to think about.

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Whilst I did enjoy this book, it left me a little depressed. The situation in which this society finds itself (I can't say too much without giving away the plot) is so true of modern religious faction, yet so far from reality, that it leaves a bad taste. However, it is very funny throughout and is very well written. Will Self is certainly a master at thinking outside the box and getting to the nub of human existence. Depressing though that nub might be. I wouldn't recommend this book to everybody, but for many it will give both amusement and perhaps food for thought.

An interesting premise

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I enjoyed that, but it was a bit difficult at times, not something I shall be picking up again.

Intriguing

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Would you listen to The Book of Dave again? Why?

Brilliantly narrated by Will Self with a certain supercilious verve the story by turns ludicrous, cruel, racist, sexist, istist, becomes a moving archaeology of London and revealed religion all shook by a thousand taxi rides across the metropolis past and its dystopian future.

Where to Guv?

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Don't miss the opportunity to hear this story in it's native tongue. Spiteful, hopeless, beautiful and inevitable.

Great story, superbly narrated.

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I read this book a few years ago and found it a challenging read, just because of the phonetically written “Mockni”, although the concept and plot stuck with me for a long time. What a gift then, to have the author himself read it out. And yes, it makes much more sense when listened to - though it is still a challenge, both being a very long listen, and also as one tries to grapple with the post apocalyptic sea ravaged topography of life in Ing half a century after Dave. Sadly, my download didn’t come with a map or a glossary which would have been useful to refer back to. Nonetheless, Self’s loquacious delivery and keenly observed prose fully drew me into this improbable universe more fully than when I originally read the book and this time I found myself oddly invested in the rather disturbing cast of characters within Dave’s world. Consequently I “consumed” this listen in just a few days, which has left a Moto sized hole in my life. Speaking of….what kind of deranged mind could imagine up something as grotesque as a Moto while making the same creature….loveable? Or or the genius portmanteau of “Daveinity”? This book is not for everyone - but then, that’s Will Self. Personally- I loved it and I don’t care if no one else gets it at all. In much the same way we’re not apparently “getting” 1.5 degrees of warming the novel is a bizarre and salutary warning of what may be to come. To Nu London, then …..

Ware2, Guv?

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I really like Will Self, warts and all.
Incisive, witty, profound by turns.
But this just tries too hard, and never quite works for me. A tad laborious.
And of course, it's just taste in the end isn't it? - and taste is the enemy of art (obviously).

Not for me

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