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I Laughed Out Loud (Reviews from the good folk at Authonomy.com) Mar 01, 2010
By Ian D. Smith
"Ian D. Smith"
This book is just up my street. I really enjoyed the satire. - Phil
Well done. This is an amusing (if slightly risque politically) piece of writing. Could do with slightly longer chapters however: short ones break up the story. You very cleverly have your MC actually sounding like TB. This is extremely readable and a real page turner. Good luck with it. SHELVED. - Phyllis
Even though I'm not British and don't follow British politics, I laughed out loud. Can't imagine how much I would have laughed if I knew half as much as you do about politics and Tony Blair. Maybe you will start a popular revolution. Shelved, of course. - Sheryl
What a great idea for a story! Very funny indeed. I can hear the inflection of Tony Blair's voice in the narrative voice and the dialogue. Off the wall and extremely effective. Definitely worthy of a trip to my shelf. Best wishes, Elinor
Loved the quirky narrative voice. Your prose is perfect. The pace adds to the exhilarating ride. It's original and refreshing. I think this will do well.- Shinzy
I found this very amusing, the tone (sic) is a joy and if you get all the in-jokes (his catchphrases, mention of cabinet colleagues etc) there is an extra level of comedy to enjoy. Difficult to comment on the plot on the basis of the portion of short segments that's up here, but I enjoyed this classic study of the little man's delusion enough to back it, definitely. Although it's debatable whether your protagonist ever challenges the real TB's level of delusion. Does he start to believe he can bring democracy and free market economics to the Middle East by killing thousands of Iraqis for example? - Al
I see this is supposed to be funny, it is in spots, the first chapter does get your attention. the writing is good. - Jason
I've been avoiding this one on my watchlist for sometime because of the words "Tony Blair" in the title, and not feeling that I wished to read something political. How foolish of me! This is a delightfully bizarre witty little romp and though I have no idea where it is going I am enjoying the ride. Your Tony Blair is a wonderfully mixed up man and the humour is non-stop here and decidedly quirky. It's like nothing else I've read, and that can only be a good thing. On my shelf. - mn
Hi - this is so cool. Read the first three chapters and was guffawing like a demented MP. 'In my new order, money will be square'. Brilliant! I found this by accident after seeing a comment on it on someone else's page and then reading some more comments below. And everyone is right - this is funny, satirical without bashing you over the head with it, well-written and, above all, very, very addictive! Look forward to reading more but am shelving now as it definitely deserves it..! - Wilf
Wicked, silly, so very British. (I wonder whether many Yankees will get the humor, or should I say, humour?) That, or give us a glossary.
Loved his delusion; the fact that he felt he needed to wage his comeback campaign at McDonalds. He is a wonderful, Peter Sellers-esque phenom, him with Dictaphone Walkabout. Congrats on a brilliant concept; shelved. - K Gadette
This is funny and well-written. It reminds me a little (oddly enough) of a movie called Bubba Hotep about 2 old guys in a nursing home -- one thinks he's Elvis and the other thinks he's JFK. - Therasa
With tongue planted firmly in cheek I have read your wonderful story. How droll and insightful your Tony is...is such a weird way. This is hilarious. Well done and on my shelf. - Jeff
Deludedly funny. Love it. Backed it. - KJ Kron
Agree with what inkster says. This is a cracking little read, and it should be higher. The chpt lengths are very short, which is good on here, but an agent *might* (If they have no soul) wonder whether there is any substance. If they actually spend any time reading it, though, they will see the light. Some delicious one liners. Loved the "self-image crisis", the taxi driver banter in chpt 6, and the phrase "the real Blair, er, that's me". I can actually *hear* him saying it, can't you? Lovely stuff, sir.... Best of luck with Blair, though, either way. It's fine prose - sestius
Tony "Bono" Blair. Wow, what a name. Combining two people I can't stand. I love your narrator's voice. Quick, witty, and sharp. "Mr. Nice Pie" "I'm a straight kinda guy" "platform drinking machines" "Lack of staff, what ever that meant." There are so many great lines in this piece. I love it. - John
"bono" blair is a brilliant name which on its own demands a shelf, you capture the self-delusional quality of blair, its mixture of moral priggish prissiness and savvy political powerplay, extremely well. backing it now and wishing you well with it. Freddie
I absolutely love the voice you have going here. Deliciously quirky character -- downright insane and enjoyable! Very funny. You write exceptionally well. Your prose are never boring and are very fluid and easy to breeze through. I would buy this happily and will give it a turn on my shelf with no hesitation. Best of luck with this. It should do well. - Heidi
What a great piece of satire you have here. The sideswipes at the ex-PM are priceless, although they may earn you the unwelcome attention of a highly paid female barrister. Tony
Bearing in mind his wife's a lawyer, a title that will probably get you sued, or published. But look on the bright side; the former is unlikely to happen without the latter. No doubt this book will be picked up in many a bookshop on the strength of its title. Maybe the odd Sun reader and biography hunter will be disappointed, a normal reader will not. - I only had time for a couple of chapters, but I'll take it. - Absolution
Tony 'Bono' Blair is a perfect satirical creation. I admit I did get a bit lost some of the time - but then so did he. - Wes White
A delusional tony blair wannabe? You have the market on originality there!
Knowing virtually nothing about Tony Blair but you are weaving something here that definitely borders on psychotic. He has some serious issues! I think you have presented `bono' Blair very well in the fact that I have no doubt there is something wrong in him! It is a very easy read and flows well. Chapters are short, which I am normally all for, except that maybe these are TOO short.- Gina
A light, and amusing read, Ian. You must have enjoyed writing it. No suggestions, I'm afraid. Just post the rest of it as soon as possible and I'll be delighted to read it. - Marko
This is quite likely one of the funniest books I've read in quite a while. The humor is in the utterly offhand way that he speaks and just pronounces that he'll ban this or that, and by the time he got to mentioning Margaret Thatcher, you really had me laughing. I'm up to chapter ten and reading on, but I'll stop to back this now. What a delightful change this is, and so self-assured. The teddy bear is genius, as is opening the loch so he can walk on water. - Jeanne
Hi Ian. Is "Bono" short for bonafide? This is a witty, quick read and has a lot of potential. Your dialogue is very well done. Although I'm not that familiar with the dialect, I can see it is authentic. You have all the good elements here: showing (not telling), character development, visualization, active sentences, etc. The only thing I saw was the word "backwards". I recommend spelling it "backward". Good luck with this. - Randy
Oh yes. I definitely like this, Ian. Have backed 'Tony Blair: The Wilderness years', but will have to leave further comment until tomorrow. Marko
Tried a couple of chapters, Ian, and enjoyed them. Will stay on to see where the train takes me. Have you seen the film 'In The Loop'? Not as good as the TV series, but not bad.
Hey Ian, The voice of Tony Blair is just right for this poor deluded soul who'd heading to Scotland, "an awful little country called Scotland, where I'd once struggled to escape humble beginnings, where it rained slowly all the time...". I like his little asides into the tape recorder of things he's going to change once he returns to power. He's going to be one busy man! If the economy keeps nose-diving the way it is, I'll end up working for Construction News for Scotland, so his slur on that fine publication was out of order. Apart from that I can forgive him his idiosyncrasies because there's nothing sadder than a former leader clinging to his former glory than someone who thinks they were a former leader and clinging to that same glory and speaking out his backside! The teddy bear, Mr Nixon is a nice touch; after all, "even superheroes needed a caped friend". Watch your brand names - I'm not sure if it is deliberate because you do have a wicked sense of humour, but MacDonald's is spelt McDonald's, even in Scotland. And it's iPods and Game Boys. Sorry about the lack of Big Brother and the smoking ban announced `yesterday' but happy to back this in compensation. Cheers, Heather, Friends & Pho
I have read straight through to chapter 4! Biting dialogue and a cynical Tony Blair post Prime Minister, this is hysterical and strangely feels like glimpsing into his personal diary. I loved the woman on the train platform wanting him to get her a Pepsi. I also loved the last line of chapter 4! ": This is ye're final warning (,) Blair. Button it, or you'll be the chosen one all right, chosen tae go outta that winder wi' that Dictaphone up ye're River Clyde." This is really a wonderful read. There are minor grammatical things, like missing commas and stuff, but with a fine edit you'll catch them. I pointed one out in the last sentence. Very minor things that can easily be fixed! Splendid work! - Rachel
You are evil, sir. `Thinking he is taking over as CEO ...... ` had me rolling on the floor. You are really mean to your characters. Have you no sympathy? I have read quite a lot and have a thought. By design, a lot of narrative. My work is much the same. Some of your scenes narrated, could be play-acted by the characters. So, interspersed with the narrative we witness the actual scenes taking place. We see the characters in action and we hear them speak. I was actually thinking of opening the novel with such a scene. Perhaps the most hilarious and ludicrous one you have. To engage the reader immediately and evoke the essence of your whole novel? Over the past five months I have spent three hundred hours providing page-long critiques but can no longer keep up with the volume. So I'm trying another way of passing on information. I will attempt to do better than critique your work by indicating how you might judge it yourself. Rather along the lines of give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for life. You may or may not agree with everything and I admit I do not always stick to these thoughts either.
This is rich and ingenious. Given that political leaders, especially ones that stay in office for years and years, tend to end up somewhat psychotic, the idea that another person might end up harbouring the delusion that they are someone else with a delusion is a rich one. Curiously the "real" Tony Blair seems thus far to have escaped the sense of desolation that pretty much every Prime Minister in the past 50 years must have felt when booted out - I imagine that Sir Alec Douglas Home took it best. It would be interesting to find out more about why he is so convinced that he is the "other Blair". You capture other little signs of the Zeitgeist very well. The cravings for MacDonalds, etc. The pitiful state of the railways - though it was Jonny Major who handed him that poisoned chalice. I'm half hoping that a doppelganger Major and Thatcher will also put in an appearance - perhaps also sleazy guests at the Hotel Machiavellian. A creative new angle on satire. - Henrik
This is not just funny, its really well written. I shall be back to read more of this. - spc
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