Gridlock

by Ben Elton

By the television comedy writer of "Blackadder" and "The Young Ones," this is an ecological disaster novel written with humor but containing an underlying seriousness. Gridlock is when a city dies. Killed in the name of freedom. Killed in the name of oil and steel. Choked on carbon monoxide and strangled with a pair of fuzzy dice. How did it come to this? How did the ultimate freedom machine end up paralyzing us all? How did we end up driving to our own funeral in somebody else's gravy train? Deborah and Geoffrey know, but they have transportation problems of their own. And anyway, whoever it was that murdered the city can just as easily murder them.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Comedy, Science Fiction, Satire, Contemporary, Modern

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Ben Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar School, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.

His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His groundbreaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sitcoms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.

More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.

Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.

Reviews

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

The great racer Stirling Moss claimed that there are two things a man will never admit he does badly, drive and make love. Which is a strange irony, because most people are not particularly good at either.

Ben Elton, however, is surely an exceptional writer. The last book I read of him, Past Mortem, I loved to bits and I still haven't found one that is not a recommended read.

Gridlock has most of the qualities I have come to expect, but it is a bit too confused to claim a place among his top ones. The book starts out in quite a distinct 'comedy' (black comedy, but still) voice, but it tends more and more towards thriller. One leg of the story is a bit too grand scale and together with the slightly over-the-top characters, this reads a little bit like a James Bond parody of the late 80's. The other part, with crooked politicians making evil plans, reads a bit more like Carl Hiaasen, including the environmental viewpoint. In Elton's British voice this does not get so dark, but hovers dangerously close to slapstick instead. The darkness is there - I especially think of a turnpoint unexpected event around the middle - but unfortunately, the story loses pace a bit after this as well. After what feels like a lot drawn out more of the same, the ending is quite sudden and did not give the pay-off one would have wanted.

It's quite readable, and parts are really entertaining, but I would start with another book by the author.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty captivating comedy thriller... a very Eltonesque farce like comedy-thriller on cars, political corruption, the oil barons, personal greed and of course transport gridlock.; with the added novelty and insight in having two of the main protagonists disabled. A solid 7 out of 12, one of the Elton reads that got me captivated, especially the last third of the book.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's weird to give this book such a low rating, because I enjoyed it the whole way through. It's a funny, madcap-ey comedy about the evils and stupidity of cars. And you know, it has some good points, though it's can be pretty preachy. It's a little odd to listen to somebody complaining about the grossness and unreliability of public transport in freaking London, though. Their stuff is a million years better than anything we have.

But that's not the reason for the low rating. The low rating is because of the abrupt intense bummer of an ending. I expect a weirdly high body count from Ben Elton, but I do not expect the total negation of anything good that has happened in the story. That just makes me feel dumb for getting invested in the characters at all.

[Derek Baldwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear reader: there are too many cars in the world. I shall now doodle around for 250 pages saying this same thing time and time again with a few tepid jokes thrown in. Did I mention I went to public school? Yours sincerely, Benjy

[Sarbjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Elton was a head of his time when he wrote this.

[_inbetween_]

Brilliant. For once, quotes by critics say the truth. This is why I used to love Ben Elton. Acerbity and spot-on observations served up in a rapid-paced story that still has plot(s) and humanity. I don't think Tom Sharpe is funny or outrageous, and it seems that Elton is the only author/comic who still manages to outrage the Brits because nowhere is there mentioned the second crucial element (apart from car and road industries) that makes this book: the hero is a CP sufferer, or spastic. His introduction is so ingenious, as are those of several others, that this might be a spoiler, but I think not mentioning it at all is part of the prejudices that Elton and his Geoffrey fight. I really really like this young man. Every male UK author of the last decades features those thinnish, nerdish, uncool anti-heroes, from Fry and Laurie to Pratchett and Holt, but this Physics doctor with his genuine disability, that makes him overcome the oddest odds, is something I've never read the likes off.
The subchapters all have headings, making it more obvious that Elton could well deliver any of them as part of his stand-up routine(s), but just as those live-programmes always had threads and looped back and forth, this is a novel, not just a string of pithy socio-political observations. Humour is not just in puns and observations, but also e.g. in Deborah's parents.
I had stopped reading him a few years ago, when the novel Popcorn wasn't as good as the absolutely fantastic play. I had loved and still think Inconceivable ("Maybe Baby") is a masterpiece, but found nothing funny in his - still relevant - later works. This is his second novel, and I'm glad that my watching-Robson streak made me get over the cover and the age and get back to my Brits, they are the best.

ETA: after page 200 it gets a bit boring, but then in America, linguist Noam Chomsky and punk musician Jello Biafra make spoken word albums where they just talk about basic facts (stand-up is related to that and serves some of this function in other countries), because the media doesn't and the vast majority of people believe insane lies of those in power, ie. companies and corporations.
Elton does get back to the point though, and he never gives in to any simple black/white solutions; in fact mostly there are none. The good guys plans tend to not work, or nobody wants them to. In this case actually, history might have changed one factor: water isn't that much cheaper than oil.

ETA-TWO: what might surprise people who know Elton's brilliant work for Blackadder and other shows is that he mostly writes crime novels, and that he does breathtaking show-downs. Those usually bore me, esp. on a large scale, but in Gridlock Elton tightens the screws in the last 100 pages or so and never lets up, genuine twist and turns in a city that is completely disabled by the end. There are beautiful triumphs of those considered more disabled, but there's never a fictional happy end, because Elton treats real issues, and those are harsh, even in comedy.

[John Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering that this was written 20 years ago, it's surprisingly topical now, particularly with all the concerns about peak oil. I also thought that his description of protest marches was amazingly accurate. In fact, it's a shame that he sometimes got carried away with hyperbole because that may mean that people dismiss some of his accurate points as exaggeration. Fortunately some things have improved since then, particularly wheelchair accessibility at railway stations in London.

The protagonists are an unusual bunch, and they do have a bit of character rather than just acting as mouthpieces (a problem with one of the female characters in Fat).

The main problem with the book is that there are two separate plots which don't really have much to do with each other; if anything, they conflict with each other. Also, I found the ending a bit unsatisfying.

Plot A involved the stolen hydrogen engine. People were chasing the paper copy of the patent, but what happened to the stolen hard drive? Did the thieves destroy it so that the paper copy would be the only record?

Plan B involved the conspiracy to build a lot more roads. This is assumed to be bad because it won't ease congestion, so people will still spend all day stuck in traffic jams; meanwhile, cars are dangerous. However, even if the hydrogen engine had been sold to the world, that wouldn't automatically reduce the number of cars or the demand for extra roads. It would reduce pollution, but that's all. Also, as the oil runs out that will drive fuel prices upwards, which may result in fewer cars on the roads. If you give people an alternative, it will enable them to keep driving.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be frank.. I can find Ben Elton to be a bit heavy handed and preachy at times but I always do value sitting down to read one of his books. I've had to evaluate that stance as having re-read this book almost 15 years after the first time, its shocking and extremely saddening how relevant this book is today. In the time since it was written we have gotten bigger cars, a bigger hole in the ozone layer, gone to war several times over the fuel to run these things and have finally come to a crisis point where people are taking notice (and by crisis point let me be cynical and say that the crisis is that we can no longer *afford* the fuel).



Multi layered in its points from corporate greed and their relationships with the government to ignorant consumer driven advertising junkie middle class to the treatment by the public at large of disabled people, they are woven seamlessly into a narrative that can be a little bombastic at times but is ultimately needed to be heard (you can practically *see* him sweating). I adore Ben Elton, I think he is very funny and tackles important issues in the only way where they are going to be discussed and taken on board successfully. Social commentator more than comedian his books always have a message (usually the cause du jour) which can become tiresome, however reading this book again makes me really think.. what the HELL is going on and WHY havent things changed….

[David]

This is the novel which I have given away the most often. Once to an old friend returning to Italy, and once each to young women students who were using wheelchairs—each of whom thoroughly approved of Deborah’s role in the climax of the action. I am on my fourth copy. Elton’s early work is highly eco-aggressive, socially conscious, and very funny. In this one, there is an engine that runs on an alternative fuel—something which simultaneously excites the imaginations of automotive designers and engineers, and terrifies the barons of the oil industry. The resultant conflicts, contract killings, etc., drive the plot. An important component is an excoriation of commonplace attitudes towards the “disabled”—most of which involve underestimation, condescension, and dehumanizing. It’s a book that a lot of ableist, racist, and sexist bastards ought to read, but probably never will.

[Chris Leib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ben Elton. I've followed him for 30 years, dating back to The Young Ones TV show, and have always loved his wit. Now in literary form, it perfectly matches his pathos. Granted, he can pontificate with the best of them, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The one thing about Elton is that he always keeps me on my toes - the twists and turns he throws out there are always (or almost always) a complete surprise. I never (or rarely) see them coming. I am constantly surprised when I read his works, and this keeps me coming back for morw.

And though this was written about 20 years ago, it is still (sadly) relevant today. Highly, highly recommended.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel by comedian Ben Elton tackles some very controversial but prominent issues and although written in 1991, they are still just as relevant today, (although thankfully a few things have improved). Some of the issues touched on include traffic congestion, corporate greed, political corruption, the treatment of those with disabilities and the options available for those with disabilities. Somehow his novel manages to look at all these serious issues in a very humorous manner without taking any of the underlying importance and empathetic elements away. His humour is dry with a layer of witty sarcasm and his approach is very clever.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the humor Ben Elton writes with.
I also like the fact he holds no special place for the lead characters and they may be killed at any moment and often are.
No Hollywood endings for Ben.

[Joseph Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great second book from Ben Elton, the characters as always are spectacular, the writing sharp and funny but still has touching moments, the political commentary is a relevant today as it was 32 years ago when it was first published.

[Julie Ayres · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an Interesting concept. Gives you something to think about. Good book, very funny. Might sell my car..

[George Collett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me hate cars even more, but not sure that was a good thing as we moved to a city full of cars.

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be careful reading this on the bus or train, its laugh out loud funny at times. Should be mandatory reading for all city planners, and transport ministers. Totally relatable for anyone who has even been stuck in a traffic jam.

[Alec Sillifant · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was finding this book pretty hard to read because of Mr Elton's stand-up comedy comments that he insisted on adding in his well known '...bit of politics...' way but either I got used to their intrusive agenda or he backed them off. Either way, after a while the story began to flow much more freely in my mind. (Maybe he has brain washed me into selling my motorbike, car, speed boat, jet-ski and private jet because I can't find four of this list in my garage any more?)

As things moved along, albeit at a fairly pedestrian pace, there was suddenly a massive plot changing hay maker that clocked me right on the chin and I will freely admit I never saw it coming at all. I won't say what it was (spoiler) but from that moment on my respect for this book heightened and it became a much more enjoyable read and one I wanted to finish.

The ending was fairly obvious - it couldn't have been any other way without diving head first into the sci-fi/fantasy pool - but it suited the narrative struggle and I suspect it was meant to make us think how much better the world would be if only things had turned out better for the heroes.

This is the second book - the other being 'Stark' - I have read by Mr Elton and both are well crafted works and I would not mind reading some more in the future...before the world goes up in an ecological fireball caused by me and you, though mostly you according to Ben.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am finding it really difficult to rate this book! I REALLY enjoyed parts of it but equally disliked other parts. This is the second Ben Elton book I have read and I am finding that I tend to like the subject matter but not the characters. Toss was the only remotely likable character in this novel in my opinion. However the politics and the views on cars and the greed of industry and mankind where interesting and well presented! Its also an incredibly funny book! I laughed out loud alot! The end however was disappointing! I guessed part of it - but after alot of action and drama the whole thing was wound up MUCH to quickly!

I really still don't know what to give it! Think I'll give it 4 stars - but its only getting this because of the humour and the brilliance of the subject of cars in modern society - because this is what really saves this novel!

[Stephanie Augustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly, my first Ben Elton. Crazy fun, with some Wodehouse similes-type humour thrown and a dash of Tom Sharpe sass. Part of me (the part that plans weekly meals based on estimated petrol consumption) wished and hoped that hydrogen engine was real.

The political BS framing the road vs public transport argument, jokes aside, can be easily extrapolated to frame any other argument really, especially when words like 'personal rights' and 'economic scarcity' are bandied about.

Makes a ripe reread for the upcoming UK elections centred around the construction of a high-speed rail across the country.

Warning: Elton has no qualms making you fall in love with a character only to kill it off a page later. Let's hope his later works (this was published 1990) can be held up to the same standard.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another environmentally-themed novel from Ben Elton. I remember reading it on holiday and thinking....he's being very brave with some of his portrayals of disabled people, and it could get him into bother. Sure enough when I got home I spotted him on the TV being grilled about his book by a disabled journalist who was very definitely not impressed. Not everyone's going to approve, but like I said, he was being quite brave. The humour in this book is superb....from the Global Moritz II Ghia with a 'challenging third ashtray', to the men in blue ovealls in garages who suck their breath in through pursed lips and announce "'sgonnacostyaguvna", it's very very funny, and on that level alone it's worth a read.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 3.75
WHY: Humankind has come up with the solutions to many problems, but one that they've failed to conquer is the traffic jam. But Dr. Geoffrey Peason has an answer--he has come up with the design for an engine powered by hydrogen. No fossil fuels, no environmental impacts, no cost. Global Motors manages to steal the patent and come up with a plan to make massive profits for not manufacturing it. The little people such as Peason, who has cerebral palsy, and his friend, Deborah, in a wheelchair as a result of a car accident don't stand much chance against the corporate behemoths - or do they? Elton has written a funny political satire that takes things to extremes while effectively making the point. A little bit too long but enjoyable.

[Pvw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely funny book about a Geoffrey Spasmo who invents a hydrogen engine for his girlfriend's wheelchair. When car manufacturers and oil sheiks find out about this, they don't think twice and send agents to go steal the invention and kill Spasmo while they're at it.

The book has great observations about British society (for instance, speeches that are given at party conferences. Elton remarks that one of the party's ministers could talk absolute nonsense, copulate a dog while on stage, and still get an applause.) And of course, the introduction to this book, in which 'Brainians' from the planet Brain study Earth for a weekly documentary about other worlds, is in itself worth a read.

[Matt John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story, written over twenty years ago, is still very much relevant today. As is common with Elton's earlier works, Gridlock is a sarcastic and humourous comment on the modern western world. Very few writers could combine three dimensional characters, including a "spastic" cerebral-palsy man, a closeted homosexual politician and wheelchair-bound strong willed woman, to create a story that is funny and thought-provoking, without being offensive. As with all Elton's work, Gridlock is a comment on the desire to concrete everything and to make money, at the cost of the environment and even people's lives.

[Sieats]

poor compared to the others of his ive read, like most of his novels he has chosen a section of society and attempted to comedically dramatise the extreme result of societies failings and explore the worst possibilities of what is possible. However here i think he chose unwisely, the book is simply written with lightweight characters (apart from Geoffrey). The subject matter is also boring, traffic jams are boring and this is in essence the basis for the whole novel. Popcorn or Dead Famous are much better.

[Sara Eames · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is on ok book - I think Ben Elton has written much better ones (Dead Famous, Chart Throb and High Society to name 3). The chief problem is that the characters are simply unlikeable - most of them have very little in the way of redeeming features. Also, the further you get into the book, the more unlikely the situation becomes - until you reach the point that you have to totally suspend any ounce of credibility in order to finish the book. Sorry to be so negative, but that is my opinion of this book. I would, however, read others by Ben Elton as I find he has more hits than misses.

[Shona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read many of his other books I was slightly disappointed by this particular novel. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it, it is just that compared to the others this one was a bit far fetched and lacking in as much humour as the others.

The first half of the novel was slow and lacking in much excitement but things started to get quite gripping towards the last 100 or so pages.

Not a serious read but would be ok as a holiday read.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Elton is a lovely, funny person. This is not his best book.
It feels as though he wrote a list of issues he wanted to say something about, thought of some humour to make his point, and then wove it into a narrative. The narrative is cluttered with too many issues. The point he wants to make that he gets spot on is making our two disabled heroes brave, loveable and coping well with an unfriendly world.

[Tanvir Muntasim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew you could write an uproariously funny novel on traffic jams? Ben Elton does it with flair and aplomb and highlights the absurdity of considering the private car to be synonimous with a means for freedom. Crammed full of one liners that never deviate from emphasising the seriousness of the issue covered. Recommended for social conscious readers who like their reading laced with black humor.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

First attempt at reading this book I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters, the story line wasn't interesting me in the slightest. When I had a break, came back and started again I found it so much easier to get into and got really into the plot. Only grumble I have against this book is the abrupt ending.

[Donna]

I have never picked up a new book and author and put them down after only an hour after starting! But with Ben Elton I had to. I'm not saying it was bad, it was just not what I enjoy. It felt a bit manic and silly. It would appeal to many I am sure, otherwise he wouldn't be so successful! I am not rating this book as I don't think it would be fair.