Guardian Faber Publishing Depraved New World Please Hold, the Government Will Be With You Shortly.

by John Crace

O brave new world, that has such people in't. Or not. William Shakespeare clearly had never imagined a clusterf*ck on this scale. Given the state of the country right now, he would be in need of a long lie down.Another year, another prime minister - how many have we been through now? In the face of all the nonsense that has spewed forth from Westminster over the past two years, John Crace's brilliantly lacerating political sketches have provided the nation with some desperately needed relief.In Depraved New World, Crace introduces a worryingly funny selection of his finest work, taking in everything from Partygate, BoJo's farewell and Liz Truss & Kwasi Kwarteng's disastrous reign to the psychodrama of the Tory leadership contest(s), the return of Rishi, Suella Braverman's hokey pokey and whatever lies ahead . . .

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Humor, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2023

Reviews

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this half price in Waterstones last week as I loved "Decline and Fail" and am a fan of John Crace.

Reading this was almost too depressing as it reminded me of the end of Boris Johnson's time as prime minister followed by Liz Truss and the start of Sunak's tenure. I had forgotton how bad things have been. Crace did make me chuckle with his turn of phrase and nicknames for politicians but the scary thing is he didn't have to tweak much to make it satire....

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and just what a lot of us were thinking ...

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely brilliant and amusing (but depressing) book this is. In a series of chronological article style chapters the author essentially lays into the absurdities, the lies, the incompetence and just general hopelessness of the last few years of Tory government. From Boris "the convict", the gormless and absurd Liz Truss (what were they thinking??) to the pretty useless Rishi or Rish! as he is referred to. Just when you think it couldn`t get any worse they came up with something to trump it. This book, only 2 years old, already seems like old history such is the political pace but is a salient reminder that bad as Starmer and Labour are this lot were an awful lot worse.
The author is hardly balanced, everything the Tories do is maligned, they are all charlatans, non entities, odd balls and not up to it, but then that seems to be par the course for most politicians these days.
The authors flights of fancy as he imagines conversations and the inner thoughts of the shambles of successive Tory administrations work and are highly amusing, i fear that they are not too far into the realms of fantasy though.
I do enjoy the authors journalism and writing, this book is highly recommended.

[Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot has happened in the past two years – I know you probably think it was a lot, but it was A LOT.
Three prime ministers for a start. Plus a pandemic. And a cost of living crisis. Then there was the PM who lied a lot, the one who tanked the economy and the one who got the job because the Tories didn't trust their own members to vote on it.
And that last bit was just one year.
Thankfully, John Crace is here to recap it all for you – with sharp insights, wit and humour.
And you'll need all of that.
His latest collection of columns prove once again why The Guardian's political sketch writer has been one of the essential writers to read during All Of The Everything.
It may have been hell, but Crace makes it all worth reading about.
Oh, and the Queen died. Almost forgot that bit.

[Grant S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a diary format detailing events from the demise of Johnson through to the puppet PM Sunak. Crace is a great satirist but those who read his political sketches in the Guardian may not find too much here. That said it lays bare just how bad things have become and makes you question how on earth did it get to this point and how as a country we are still functioning given what has happened over the last few years. If you have a friend or a family member who don’t follow politics try and get them to read this book - tell them its entirely fictional - it’s an easy sell.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Please hold the government will be with you shortly". Thanks John Grace for making us laugh at the dire government this country is unfortunate to be lumbered with. You just couldn't make up how ludicrous they are. Every day is a new low of a self devouring bunch of clowns. (Sorry clowns I don't mean to insult you). Depraved New World gives us the laughs we so desperately need to get through this nonsense.

[Judith Speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because John Crace’s column in The Guardian always has me in stitches. I enjoyed reading it but I must admit that I felt slightly cheated to find that it consisted largely of a compilation of his columns.
If you don’t read John Crace’s Guardian columns, you won’t be disappointed as this book is hilarious, whatever your political persuasion may be. But if you do, you’re basically paying twice for something.

[Jerry Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Crace’s columns are a daily highlight in the Guardian. The only way to live with the incompetence and immorality of the Tory leadership is to laugh at John’s acerbic skewering of their antics. He is blessed that they give him so much ammunition but it takes real talent to deliver the satirical gold that he does. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading all these pieces. Thanks John, you are a beacon in a depressing (political) world.

[Andrew Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing selection of columns from the dog days of Johnson, the cabbage patch of Truss and the Stop The Votes period of Sunak. At this point it's probably mandatory to say that reality has made satire redundant / dead, but Crace makes a valiant attempt to re-employ / resurrect it. Labour (and the moral vacuum that is Keith Starmer) come off pretty lightly, but they weren't yet the main show in town so I suppose that's understandable

[Richard Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crace is probably the best political sketch writer of the past 50 years, and long may he continue to be. To have this collection of essays on Tory madness and other political failures and excesses is to have history laid bare. Essential reading.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Event booook!

[Stuart Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny in places, but a bit repetitive throughout.
Telling us that Boris Johnson is a sociopathic liar on every chapter, gets a bit weary, even if this is the case!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant work from a favourite newspaper columnist.

[Annette]

Visceral swipe at Tory Government

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satirical look at the dying years of the Johnson/Truss/Sunak administrations, undoubtedly the worst UK government of my life.

[Radella Hardwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Literally just a retelling of what the UK has been through in the last couple of years. Zero extra commentary.

[Elspeth Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant political satire as always

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a tough read, after 13 years of things getting worse you seem to look back and think “maybe it wasn’t so bad”, but your wrong, it was way worse than you realised at the time.

I will imagine that there will be some righties who will hate the book, but to be fair the lefties clearly aren’t in power and I’m sure there will be plenty of books that will take a pop at the upcoming labour government.

Until then remember “Having a conscience can drag you down”