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Who owns all the oranges?
“You don’t subdue people by taking everything away at once. You chip away at things, slowly sculpting the system you want or need, or you control the flow of information so nobody realises the scope of what’s happening. That way, everyone gets used to each measure before you introduce the next.”
In 2030, a journalist tries to explain to his 17-year-old daughter how Britain has ended up being ruled by politicians reluctant to give up their self-anointed positions of power. The media is tightly controlled, 30,000 people are held in prison camps and private security forces carry out the brutal needs of the government. The majority of the population conform while struggling to get by in an economy which has never recovered from the financial meltdown of twenty years before.
As the conversation recounts more than three decades of changes, it’s clear their own family is not immune from the cruelty the Central Cabinet and their allies believe is necessary to maintain control and keep democracy’s replacement, The Stability System, in place.
In 2030, a journalist tries to explain to his 17-year-old daughter how Britain has ended up being ruled by politicians reluctant to give up their self-anointed positions of power. The media is tightly controlled, 30,000 people are held in prison camps and private security forces carry out the brutal needs of the government. The majority of the population conform while struggling to get by in an economy which has never recovered from the financial meltdown of twenty years before.
As the conversation recounts more than three decades of changes, it’s clear their own family is not immune from the cruelty the Central Cabinet and their allies believe is necessary to maintain control and keep democracy’s replacement, The Stability System, in place.
172 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2014
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121 people want to read
About the author
Oran Burke
2 books3 followersOran Burke is an Irish writer who has spent most of his adult life in the UK. He is the author of Travels with Checkpoints, a travelogue, and Who owns all the oranges?, a dystopian tale of a Britain without democracy.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 17, 2014
I received this book through GoodReads First Reads. The synopsis on the website sounded interesting so I entered the giveaway, I was very eager to start reading it once I had been sent it. However it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.
This novella focuses on a conversation between Mr. O'Dwyer and his seventeen-year-old daughter Cassie. It's 2030 and Britain has changed dramatically in the past few years, and Cassie bangs to understand why. People are disappearing and no one is speaking out, even her father has stopped writing his critical political pieces. But why?
Considering we're only exposed to two (three maximum) characters in some detail, I still feel I didn't really make any connections with them. Usually dialogue is a great place to establish a characters personality as a way of showing and not telling, but I didn't really feel as though this happened in this story. You were able to get an understanding that Mr. O'Dwyer is considered a rebel against the government, and that Cassie is a normal, inquisitive teenager. However I really enjoyed seeing Mr. O'Dwyer in the flashbacks, his sarcasm to the workers of The Stability System made me smile and it was nice seeing some kind of personality in this character, that you don't really see in the present day parts.
It's interesting reading something that's nearly entirely in dialogue, however for me it didn't work quite the way I thought it would. There are timed where it worked really well, however when he was explaining certain things to his daughter it did feel like I was back in my A-Level politics classroom. This occurs for most of the first half of the book which made it difficult for me to stick with reading, as much as I enjoyed my politics lessons, I didn't really want to hear some of it again. It's relevant to the story but a bit of a bore to read. When it starts getting into what happened from 2017 and onwards, then it starts to become interesting. Unfortunately that isn't until nearly halfway through. The flashbacks were my favourite parts of the novel, I liked the narration of them and I preferred seeing what happened to being told. Especially when some of the speech isn't convincing.
I would have preferred this book if it was showing Mr. O'Dwyer and his wife living through what he was explaining to his daughter Cassie. It didn't really feel as though there was a plot to this, that it was more of an explanation of events. Although at the end this makes far more sense as I realise that this is the first volume and there is another one to come. The book got better as it went on, but by the time I really got into it, it was over!
I feel as though I will get the second volume when it's released as something was finally happening, and I want to know where it's going to go next. The idea is great and has a lot of potential. Where it's set in the very near future and has relevant information in, it's very unsettling and will stay with me. I would recommend it, however you will need to battle through the first half of the book to get to something rewarding.
Rating: 2.5/5
This novella focuses on a conversation between Mr. O'Dwyer and his seventeen-year-old daughter Cassie. It's 2030 and Britain has changed dramatically in the past few years, and Cassie bangs to understand why. People are disappearing and no one is speaking out, even her father has stopped writing his critical political pieces. But why?
Considering we're only exposed to two (three maximum) characters in some detail, I still feel I didn't really make any connections with them. Usually dialogue is a great place to establish a characters personality as a way of showing and not telling, but I didn't really feel as though this happened in this story. You were able to get an understanding that Mr. O'Dwyer is considered a rebel against the government, and that Cassie is a normal, inquisitive teenager. However I really enjoyed seeing Mr. O'Dwyer in the flashbacks, his sarcasm to the workers of The Stability System made me smile and it was nice seeing some kind of personality in this character, that you don't really see in the present day parts.
It's interesting reading something that's nearly entirely in dialogue, however for me it didn't work quite the way I thought it would. There are timed where it worked really well, however when he was explaining certain things to his daughter it did feel like I was back in my A-Level politics classroom. This occurs for most of the first half of the book which made it difficult for me to stick with reading, as much as I enjoyed my politics lessons, I didn't really want to hear some of it again. It's relevant to the story but a bit of a bore to read. When it starts getting into what happened from 2017 and onwards, then it starts to become interesting. Unfortunately that isn't until nearly halfway through. The flashbacks were my favourite parts of the novel, I liked the narration of them and I preferred seeing what happened to being told. Especially when some of the speech isn't convincing.
I would have preferred this book if it was showing Mr. O'Dwyer and his wife living through what he was explaining to his daughter Cassie. It didn't really feel as though there was a plot to this, that it was more of an explanation of events. Although at the end this makes far more sense as I realise that this is the first volume and there is another one to come. The book got better as it went on, but by the time I really got into it, it was over!
I feel as though I will get the second volume when it's released as something was finally happening, and I want to know where it's going to go next. The idea is great and has a lot of potential. Where it's set in the very near future and has relevant information in, it's very unsettling and will stay with me. I would recommend it, however you will need to battle through the first half of the book to get to something rewarding.
Rating: 2.5/5
July 24, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Irish writer Oran Burke pictures a dystopian future for Britain in his short novel Who Owns All The Oranges? The year is 2030 and a journalist is trying to explain to his seventeen-year-old daughter how Britain has ended up being controlled by the government since the death of democracy.
The blurb hints at an exciting tale where the media is forcefully controlled and thousands of citizens are held in detention camps for supposedly being a threat to the government; something which sounds akin to the Nazi dictatorship during the 1930s. Instead of the anticipated adventure story these pages hold a highly political narrative that is basically a dialogue between Cassie O’Dwyer and her father. To begin with it was rather tedious as Mr. O’Dwyer explains how Britain was during the times of well-known figures such as Thatcher and Blair. Although Cassie does not know about the past the readers do and do not really need to sit through all those pages being told about what their lives have been like. Take for instance George Orwell’s 1984: from the political point of view there is no recounting what the government used to be like, only what the situation is at the present time of the novel. It would have been far more interesting if Who Owns All The Oranges? had been written in the moment as opposed to a dreary, monotonous, educational speech.
Burke’s imagination comes into play on reaching the year 2013. Obviously from this point onwards no one knows what changes Britain will face, what political parties will win elections or whether the democratic government will be forced to crumble, foreigners obliged to return to their countries and those that remain have their privacy revoked. Although society would claim they would never let that happen, it is still a possibility, after all Hitler was seen as a decent guy with good policies until he gained any power. This makes the story more shocking and horrifying as Burke highlights just how vulnerable the average person is.
As a story, however, it was not particularly engaging and nothing actually happened in it. Although the dialogue was broken up with a few sections where Mr. O’Dwyer reveals how he has been affected personally as a result of his past controversial newspaper articles labeling him a security risk to the government, the remainder of it is not unlike the type of information in political textbooks, albeit from the future.
Those with a passion for politics may find Who Owns All The Oranges? interesting – and Burke writes impartially so as not to let personal political preferences obscure the historical facts, therefore no one should be insulted – however those expecting a thrilling storyline will be disappointed.
Irish writer Oran Burke pictures a dystopian future for Britain in his short novel Who Owns All The Oranges? The year is 2030 and a journalist is trying to explain to his seventeen-year-old daughter how Britain has ended up being controlled by the government since the death of democracy.
The blurb hints at an exciting tale where the media is forcefully controlled and thousands of citizens are held in detention camps for supposedly being a threat to the government; something which sounds akin to the Nazi dictatorship during the 1930s. Instead of the anticipated adventure story these pages hold a highly political narrative that is basically a dialogue between Cassie O’Dwyer and her father. To begin with it was rather tedious as Mr. O’Dwyer explains how Britain was during the times of well-known figures such as Thatcher and Blair. Although Cassie does not know about the past the readers do and do not really need to sit through all those pages being told about what their lives have been like. Take for instance George Orwell’s 1984: from the political point of view there is no recounting what the government used to be like, only what the situation is at the present time of the novel. It would have been far more interesting if Who Owns All The Oranges? had been written in the moment as opposed to a dreary, monotonous, educational speech.
Burke’s imagination comes into play on reaching the year 2013. Obviously from this point onwards no one knows what changes Britain will face, what political parties will win elections or whether the democratic government will be forced to crumble, foreigners obliged to return to their countries and those that remain have their privacy revoked. Although society would claim they would never let that happen, it is still a possibility, after all Hitler was seen as a decent guy with good policies until he gained any power. This makes the story more shocking and horrifying as Burke highlights just how vulnerable the average person is.
As a story, however, it was not particularly engaging and nothing actually happened in it. Although the dialogue was broken up with a few sections where Mr. O’Dwyer reveals how he has been affected personally as a result of his past controversial newspaper articles labeling him a security risk to the government, the remainder of it is not unlike the type of information in political textbooks, albeit from the future.
Those with a passion for politics may find Who Owns All The Oranges? interesting – and Burke writes impartially so as not to let personal political preferences obscure the historical facts, therefore no one should be insulted – however those expecting a thrilling storyline will be disappointed.
July 11, 2014
The majority of the text in this book is in the form of a conversation between a journalist and his daughter, though the daughter has a limited role in the conversation so it's more of an extended speech/essay by the journalist. This is broken up by flashbacks of certain events in the father's life. There's the beginning of a story right at the end which I believe will be volume 2.
I'm not really sure who the target audience is for this book. Those with a political or historical interest will find the brevity and simplicity irritating, and those with limited political or historical interest will find it dry and dull.
I think the main issue I had with the book is that the change from the present system to the removal of democracy is within the next 15 years. There wasn't enough detail to convince me to buy into the idea and a lot of the statements about particular events or institutions seemed flippant (e.g. describing the European Court as not always logical but nice to have around is bizarre). The interactions between characters were contrived and I didn't connect with any of them.
I particularly struggled with the tone of the lead character. The way the father tells his daughter about past events was so simplistic it left me feeling frustrated. The father criticises the biased history she is taught in school, yet he supplies a similarly biased picture of events in Britain from the 80s onwards. You cannot summarise the governments of Thatcher or Blair in a couple of paragraphs, and the reported legacies of the current coalition and potential future coalition were patronising.
I suppose I must be an optimist. I have far more faith in people than the author has. I do not believe the population at large would allow this to happen. Not every private sector firm is run by greedy devils who'd slice up kittens if it drew them more profit. Not every employee (private or public) would abandon their independent thoughts and morals for a wage. Politicians are not all self-serving power obsessed narcissists. Children's minds cannot be prevented from being inquisitive and challenging the status quo no matter how prescribed the school curriculum becomes.
Also, I really hate the use of 'sweetie'.
I'm not really sure who the target audience is for this book. Those with a political or historical interest will find the brevity and simplicity irritating, and those with limited political or historical interest will find it dry and dull.
I think the main issue I had with the book is that the change from the present system to the removal of democracy is within the next 15 years. There wasn't enough detail to convince me to buy into the idea and a lot of the statements about particular events or institutions seemed flippant (e.g. describing the European Court as not always logical but nice to have around is bizarre). The interactions between characters were contrived and I didn't connect with any of them.
I particularly struggled with the tone of the lead character. The way the father tells his daughter about past events was so simplistic it left me feeling frustrated. The father criticises the biased history she is taught in school, yet he supplies a similarly biased picture of events in Britain from the 80s onwards. You cannot summarise the governments of Thatcher or Blair in a couple of paragraphs, and the reported legacies of the current coalition and potential future coalition were patronising.
I suppose I must be an optimist. I have far more faith in people than the author has. I do not believe the population at large would allow this to happen. Not every private sector firm is run by greedy devils who'd slice up kittens if it drew them more profit. Not every employee (private or public) would abandon their independent thoughts and morals for a wage. Politicians are not all self-serving power obsessed narcissists. Children's minds cannot be prevented from being inquisitive and challenging the status quo no matter how prescribed the school curriculum becomes.
Also, I really hate the use of 'sweetie'.
September 2, 2014
I received my copy of this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway.
Who Owns All the Oranges? is a novella set in 2030, gradually revealing an England in which the population have been suppressed into living in a totalitarian state as a result of increasing privatisation, a gradual removal of human rights, and increased surveillance.
Taking place primarily as a conversation between a father and his daughter, with a handful of flashback scenes following the father’s experiences with the Stability System due to his history as a political journalist, this felt more like a side novella for an existing book/series rather than a standalone. It seems to rely heavily on the reader’s knowledge of what is going on politically and economically in Britain rather than introducing the reader to any of these issues in any great detail. Whilst I most definitely share the majority of views the author clearly has, I found a lot of the explanations overly simplified and somewhat biased; I can only really echo what other reviewers have mentioned in not being sure what kind of audience the book was intended for.
As an example of what could happen in extreme circumstances Burke has shaped a terrifying potential reality, one that should inspire thought and conversation between readers; however, it was difficult for me to truly believe that these changes could be so rapidly introduced in a mere fifteen years, causing me to disconnect further from the text the more I read. There are some moments of brilliance in the writing, but the conversation format was not something I found easy to immerse myself in as it felt more like a lecture than an exploration of ideas.
Who Owns All the Oranges? is a novella set in 2030, gradually revealing an England in which the population have been suppressed into living in a totalitarian state as a result of increasing privatisation, a gradual removal of human rights, and increased surveillance.
Taking place primarily as a conversation between a father and his daughter, with a handful of flashback scenes following the father’s experiences with the Stability System due to his history as a political journalist, this felt more like a side novella for an existing book/series rather than a standalone. It seems to rely heavily on the reader’s knowledge of what is going on politically and economically in Britain rather than introducing the reader to any of these issues in any great detail. Whilst I most definitely share the majority of views the author clearly has, I found a lot of the explanations overly simplified and somewhat biased; I can only really echo what other reviewers have mentioned in not being sure what kind of audience the book was intended for.
As an example of what could happen in extreme circumstances Burke has shaped a terrifying potential reality, one that should inspire thought and conversation between readers; however, it was difficult for me to truly believe that these changes could be so rapidly introduced in a mere fifteen years, causing me to disconnect further from the text the more I read. There are some moments of brilliance in the writing, but the conversation format was not something I found easy to immerse myself in as it felt more like a lecture than an exploration of ideas.
December 28, 2015
The background to this book is the gradual erosion of our rights ultimately by corporations and aquiescent politicians. It's been happening since the eighties and gradually there have been less protesting voices. The future nightmare of a corporate state becomes plausible and this exposition is one of the books major strengths.
It is done by the main character, a journalist, explaining to his daughter why her friends are bundled in to vans on the street, why what she is being taught is but one version of the truth. I thought that the author wrote with a clarity that conveyed his arguments for free speech and journalistic responsibility well. His attempts at understanding voter apathy were cogently argued.
I found that I was more engaged by the real time passages rather than the explanations of history and had the urge to know more about what Britain's future high street and life was like through interactions with others, commentaries on current news stories etc. I had visions of a kind of corporate 1984.
There is a danger of becoming preachy when writing something of this nature, after all it is a warning, but I think that the author has found a good balance in his matter of fact recounting of the events that lead to the situations described in this book and shows plausibly what might happen if we don't stand up for our right to free speech currently enshrined in the Human Rights Act.
It is done by the main character, a journalist, explaining to his daughter why her friends are bundled in to vans on the street, why what she is being taught is but one version of the truth. I thought that the author wrote with a clarity that conveyed his arguments for free speech and journalistic responsibility well. His attempts at understanding voter apathy were cogently argued.
I found that I was more engaged by the real time passages rather than the explanations of history and had the urge to know more about what Britain's future high street and life was like through interactions with others, commentaries on current news stories etc. I had visions of a kind of corporate 1984.
There is a danger of becoming preachy when writing something of this nature, after all it is a warning, but I think that the author has found a good balance in his matter of fact recounting of the events that lead to the situations described in this book and shows plausibly what might happen if we don't stand up for our right to free speech currently enshrined in the Human Rights Act.
August 21, 2014
This is a political novel set in 2030, in which Britain is a dark place which has descended into totalitarianism. It seems far-fetched initially, but as you piece together the chain of events from the dialogue-based chapters the logic makes is suddenly more reasonable.
Privatisations in healthcare and security, Blair's rule and the war on terror, phone-hacking scandals, the GCHQ revelations, the loosening of civil liberties, EU isolationism, the rise of the far-right and public apathy all converge when a grim chain of events leads to the suspension of democracy ,and the characters of the book now speak from a modern re-envisioning of Orwell's 1984.
The author references everything from Thatcherism to the recent EU elections, only months before the book's release, with comfort and familiarity, but this is done in a very accessible way, making it suitable even for young teens learning about our political system. The timescales the author sets in the plot feel too ambitious, with the kind of institutional political changes that normally take a decade or more having occurred in a few short years, but stranger things have happened, and by zooming out from the micro-events to a larger trend he presents a start warning to British society about the natural consequences of the path we're taking if we don't reevaluate. After setting up the story here the second volume will be something to look forward to.
Note: I got the book through Goodreads first reads.
Privatisations in healthcare and security, Blair's rule and the war on terror, phone-hacking scandals, the GCHQ revelations, the loosening of civil liberties, EU isolationism, the rise of the far-right and public apathy all converge when a grim chain of events leads to the suspension of democracy ,and the characters of the book now speak from a modern re-envisioning of Orwell's 1984.
The author references everything from Thatcherism to the recent EU elections, only months before the book's release, with comfort and familiarity, but this is done in a very accessible way, making it suitable even for young teens learning about our political system. The timescales the author sets in the plot feel too ambitious, with the kind of institutional political changes that normally take a decade or more having occurred in a few short years, but stranger things have happened, and by zooming out from the micro-events to a larger trend he presents a start warning to British society about the natural consequences of the path we're taking if we don't reevaluate. After setting up the story here the second volume will be something to look forward to.
Note: I got the book through Goodreads first reads.
August 2, 2014
I think another reviewer hit the nail on the head when they said they didn't know who this book was aimed at - anyone with a reasonable knowledge of politics would find the biased descriptions too simplistic and patronising, and anyone with a limited knowledge of politics would find it mind-numbingly dull.
The book is essentially 162 pages of a journalist speaking from a very biased viewpoint about the past 50 years of UK politics, a speech broken up by fragments of story as well as unnatural-sounding, menial interjections from his 17 year-old daughter.
Although raising some interesting questions about our current political situation (for about a minute), I personally found the whole futuristic political scenario too far-fetched, which was a major flaw for the book.
The book is essentially 162 pages of a journalist speaking from a very biased viewpoint about the past 50 years of UK politics, a speech broken up by fragments of story as well as unnatural-sounding, menial interjections from his 17 year-old daughter.
Although raising some interesting questions about our current political situation (for about a minute), I personally found the whole futuristic political scenario too far-fetched, which was a major flaw for the book.
July 12, 2014
I received this book from a good reads giveaway. This book had so much potential, the idea of what Britian could be like in the near future was fascinating but it also lacked heart. There was very little emotion and at times seemed more like a lecture than a novel which is a shame because I could see how good it could have been if there was more about characters dealing with what was going as opposed to a conversation between father and daughter about a fictitious history of Britian. I see there is a second novel coming next year and I will check it out in the hope there will be character development and story rather than a one sided history lecture because like I said, there is potential.
September 21, 2014
I received this book through Goodreads first reads. Set in 2030 the story centres around two main characters - Mr O'Dwyer a former journalist who is trying to explain to his daughter Cassie about democracy in the past and their present position within the 'Stability System'. The dialogue between the two characters formed the majority of the plot although mainly recounted from Mr O'Dwyer's point of view with his account of past events. The story would have benefitted from further information about each character to provide depth but the ending reveals that there is an upcoming volume which should round the story off and hopefully provide further explanations.
July 19, 2014
Really interesting read. A distopian view of things to come if some of the events of recent years are taken to the extreme. It could be an eye-opener for us to be more watchful about the changes in our society.
The story takes place in a not distant future in the UK (or what it is left of it) but I think it could have been any European country.
Apparenty, there is a second part coming but I am not sure if I'd rather leave the story as it is, not really knowing what is going to happen to the main character or if his history lessons to his daughter may bring some hope and change to the future.
The story takes place in a not distant future in the UK (or what it is left of it) but I think it could have been any European country.
Apparenty, there is a second part coming but I am not sure if I'd rather leave the story as it is, not really knowing what is going to happen to the main character or if his history lessons to his daughter may bring some hope and change to the future.
July 25, 2014
Very different. I started the book optimistically, but found it rather dull and long winded in parts. I found the "conversation" sections something of a lecture - which I suppose was what they were, as he explains the history to Cassie.I think I might have preferred more of the descriptions of the "present", about life in 2020-2030.
I nearly gave up, it wasn't a page turner for me, but persevered to the end, and in away I am glad I read it all, but now need something light and trashy to read
I nearly gave up, it wasn't a page turner for me, but persevered to the end, and in away I am glad I read it all, but now need something light and trashy to read
July 27, 2014
I won this through Good Reads and I was interested in the blurb of the book. However I didn't expect the whole book to be a conversation between him and his daughter an it just felt like I was stuck in a classroom overlooking a class with just a teacher and a pupil. I couldn't really capture the whole book and the essence of the story behind it, I really wanted to know more about the current future state rather than what happened years ago. I think this book was too political for me but I do commend the author for choosing a unique approach and writing to a book.
July 22, 2014
The premis behind the book is all too real and you can see this happening in the UK as the population stumbles blindly towards acceptance of control and autocracy by a political elite bound up in its own unrealistic world of selfish norms and dis-reality.
I found myself shuddering at the narrative as I turned each page and found myself nodding at the steps outlined.
An excellent book that all should read to understand what we are beginning to accept.
I await the next book with interest
I found myself shuddering at the narrative as I turned each page and found myself nodding at the steps outlined.
An excellent book that all should read to understand what we are beginning to accept.
I await the next book with interest
October 15, 2014
I received this book for free through goodreads.
I read this book at the height of the Scottish Independence Referendum, and it was a refreshing change from what was going on around me at the time. Both me and my partner found several parts highly humorous, while others made us stop and discuss topics in more depth than we would usually.
Not what I was expecting from the blurb, but was still highly satisfied.
I read this book at the height of the Scottish Independence Referendum, and it was a refreshing change from what was going on around me at the time. Both me and my partner found several parts highly humorous, while others made us stop and discuss topics in more depth than we would usually.
Not what I was expecting from the blurb, but was still highly satisfied.
July 9, 2014
A very pessimistic, political and reasonably realistic dystopian set in England. It was interesting as a concept, but failed to keep me intrigued and I actually got quite bored. I wish it was written in the present tense instead of being one long-winded explanation of events, as that would have made it far more intriguing.
August 2, 2014
Via Good reads first reads.
This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. Lack of full stops ruined what could have been a semi readable book.
It was one long dreary conversation between a chavy Father who loves to use the word "sweetie" and his delusional daughter.
Avoid!
This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. Lack of full stops ruined what could have been a semi readable book.
It was one long dreary conversation between a chavy Father who loves to use the word "sweetie" and his delusional daughter.
Avoid!
July 17, 2014
I found this book extremely interesting and enjoyable and the story behind it very original.
I particularly enjoyed the writing style as it is mainly dialogue and flashbacks into the past.
I also loved the development of Cassie's character.
I particularly enjoyed the writing style as it is mainly dialogue and flashbacks into the past.
I also loved the development of Cassie's character.
May 19, 2014
Eringe, flerider erns therm
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