Arse About Face

by Alec Hawkes

So many things that do not make sense:
So much corruption ...
BANKS . GOVERNMENT
POLITICALLY CORRECT NONSENSE
CRIMINALS BEFORE VICTIMS
GREED AND POWERLUST
This is the third book in the series, joining ...
'Common Sense Would Be Good'
And
'If Brains Were Dynamite'
-
Foreword written by a check-out girl.

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2014

About the author

Hello readers and writers, I'm an English chap who loves to read as well as write. I have just published my fourth satirical 'pop' at the system. This is called OUR LIES ARE BETTER THAN THEIRS and it's a direct follow up to ARSE ABOUT FACE. If you think our vainglorious leaders - on both sides of the pond - are a little less than honest with us poor little peasants; if you think corporate cons have gone far enough; if you think religious brainwashing should end; and if you like a damn good laugh, then you will love these books. They are hilarious in parts, eyebrow raising in others. Enjoy!

Reviews

[C.W. Lovatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic Hawkes at his finest! Whether it be the Halls of Power, or the World of Finance, the author rolls up his sleeves, sticks his tongue firmly in cheek, and weighs in on 'the system,' smiting it hip and thigh, armed with a frightful array of wit, logic and (un)common sense! Do I agree with everything he says? No, of course not (I don't think even he does,) but that's not the point. The author has an unerring nose for sniffing out the real dragons that threaten (or have already consumed) our way of life, to point out, in fact, that which has gradually turned arse about face, and has the courage to slap it upside the head, rather like St. George on one of his more rib-tickling days.

Like its predecessors, "Common Sense Would Be Good," and "If Brains Were Dynamite," this book takes a playful swipe at the greed, corruption, and blind stupidity of those (both elected and unelected) who control our lives, only this time he doesn't confine himself to the UK but takes on the decadent West as a whole. Why, he even has the gumption to take on the politically correct, to point out the more obvious imbecilities in a high, clear voice when the rest of us, cowed by the weight of their twisted agenda, mutter the same in the privacy of our own homes, hoping against hope that 'the system' hasn't yet got around to bugging the room! For, of course, underlying it all, Alec's 'playful swipe' isn't really playful at all. It's a wake-up call, a rallying cry for us to open up our eyes, and to take back that which is rightfully ours: a fair and just society.

Every day we see it all around us: diminished rights, diminished income, diminished everything, until we've become only a shadow of our forefathers. Most of us bury our heads in the sand, telling ourselves that there's nothing we can do, but there is. It's nothing that a million dollars (although some loose pocket change would do in a pinch) and a few bottles of gin can't handle...oh, and a good stout lock, too! All that's required is the will to use them.

I heartily recommend this book to everyone with a sense of humour, and to anyone who thinks that they've lost hope - you haven't - you've just been waiting around for someone to stand up and cry 'cobblers!'

Well, he's here.

[Darren Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cervantes said in his book Don Quixote “Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be” And I think Alec Hawkes has written a wonderfully darkly cynical book. Yes life should be different, a better and kinder place. But it isn’t so we may as well poke fun at it as we travel life’s far too short and rocky road.
Alec’s previous books have been good but tried too hard to be Spitting Image and just missed the mark. However 'Arse About Face' is what William Hogarth, if he were alive today (and not trying to get out of his coffin), would be writing; instead of drawing. Society is a dystopia which is captured magnificently in this book. Not politically correct, which is always a good start as far as I am concerned. Snarlingly angry in places but brutally honest. But it is also funny. In fact in quite a few places it had me laughing out very loudly. Most embarrassing as I was on a crowded train at the time.
Yes it is about politics, but it won’t date as change the names mentioned and the lies told will always be the same. The poor electorate suffering for voting for whatever party leads them. So we might as well laugh at our so called betters.
There are a few drawbacks, it does tend to flit about a little bit, making it slightly disjointed, and a bit of proofreading and a quick spell check would have taken out a few jarring faults. But they are minor and churlish. This is a very entertaining book and well worth reading. So if you are in an anarchic mood and feel like being cheered up by the absurdity of our leaders in Westminster and around the world then this is definitely well worth reading.