Five Escape Brexit Island

Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups

by Bruno Vincent

It's a year after the Brexit vote. The four housemates and Timmy are on a visit to see their evil genius cousin Rupert. Rupert owns a chunk of the Jurassic Coast, part of which he has turned into an island and declared independence from Britain. Its fifteenth-century Dorset castle is a tourist attraction, but a computer hack puts the ancient fortifications into lockdown and plunges the Five into peril. Can our intrepid friends escape to the safety of mainland Europe?

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Young Adult

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2017

About the author

Bruno Vincent was a bookseller and book editor before he was an author. His humour books for grown-ups, co-authored with Jon Butler, were national bestsellers and have been translated into seven languages. The TUMBLEWATER books are his first for children.

Reviews

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Famous Five end up imprisoned on dastardly cousin Rupert’s man-made island, along with about forty men (in yellow jumpsuits) who had been caught trying to leave the country. At first they “think it’s a protoype – for the detention centres they want to set up after Brexit is finished. Protecting the borders from illegal immigrants”, but it turns out to be more that: “the government’s trying to prevent the great post-Brexit brain-drain” as all the yellow suited men were “trying to take jobs abroad”. To be released, the Famous Five will have to pass the “British citizenship test”, full of esoteric and ridiculously difficult questions that would probably even stump an Egghead. In one of the best ideas in the book, the test is administered by another Enid Blyton character: “‘I always knew you were a close-knit secret society’ he (Julian) said to Peter of the Secret Seven”
This book is a bit more like a traditional Famous Five book – with mystery, escape, and danger – but with added Brexit nonsense and swearing, and more than a slight nod to “The Great Escape” with Julian as Steve McQueen. The characters of each of the Five are taken to the extreme, with Julian continuing with his blustering British jingoism , George being aggressively butch, and Anne fainting and crying. Dick fades into the background, except when Julian wants a slice of him.
Not as good as the first Five/Brexit book. Would maybe work better if Brexit left out altogether – but wouldn’t everything.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was relieved to find this wasn't just a rehash of the first Brexit Island book, it still wasn't one of the better books in this spoof series. It did have a few genuinely funny moments, though.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Five on Brexit Island' was one of the biggest sellers last Christmas as part of the first batch of Enid Blyton books for adults.

In the latest batch the inevitable sequel arrives, maybe because it's touching on themes from the first book and the other stories in this set are standalone reads. But I just couldn't connect with the story.

It feels more like a cynical cash grab than a worthy sequel.

[starwolvie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first book I've read from the series. I received this as a Christmas present, and really did not find this humourous at all. I would have dnf ed this book if it wasn't so short.

[Libby Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful Christmas present from my friend! The language innthis book made me laugh - it took me back to my childhood where schools expected you to use stilted English full of adjectives. In this book the five friends and Timmy the dog, are taken to Brexit Island and abandoned by a so called friend. The island turns out to be a prison for British citizens who had accepted jobs abroad. The friends escape and run into Wally who hid on the island whenBritain joined the European Community back in the 70’s. He has a raft and they sail back to freedom!

[DJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruno Vincent is definately back on form with this one - delighted to say. And given a couple of quirks from my own Childhood this one may have an extra place in my heart.

[Richard Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice quick gallop through the complications of Brexit. I can't wait for Rees-Mogg to get his come-uppance.

[Max Lingwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

No words can describe the ridiculous of this book!

As a child, I read the some of the Famous Five books, as well as watching the Tv Show. I always loved their adventures and felt like all the characters were so likeable. So when I heard about this adult version, I had to give it a try and with Brexit currently occurring, this one felt the most likely for me to read. But I would not have expected half of this book.

The gang as well as Timmy, get imprisoned and stuck in a detainment Centre. Inside this centre, there are loads of professors and smart people in general from Britain. Turns out, they tried to leave Britain after Brexit but were captured instead 😂 Also hearing the Famous Five swear is hilarious.

They then do the British Citizenship test which is incredible hard and hardly no British people could do. They finally escape on a boat and land in Weymouth.

Positives about this book is just how ridiculous it is. The whole story was stupid but the conversations between characters just made it an entertaining read. As well as this, it was not very long and had classic Famous Five illustrations in it.

Negatives are that the story was pretty poor. I felt like the book was holding onto more nostalgia than anything else and it brought the whole book down.

3/5 Stars

Quick Note: I love how relatable they are nowadays. I would definitely pop down to the local Weatherspoons as well 😂

[Truehobbit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time their evil cousin Rupert lures the five into his castle on the island declared independent in the previous book. It turns out he is running a Guantanamo-style prison there for people trying to leave or enter post-Brexit Britain without sufficient ID. In addition to some nice satirical comment on immigration procedures, this book has a fair amount of the type of action you remember the original famous five for. Still, one wishes that some of the aspects/plot lines hinted at had been fleshed out a bit more.

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more in this book to remind us of our childhood and our reading of the original Enid Blyton books than in some of the others. It also brings the diabolical Rupert into play again, which adds spice to the tale. Brexit is there, haunting us in the background as it does in reality, and British readers will recognise the wonderful phrases it has coined (strong and stable etc etc). I am not sure how much the book would mean to people who have not been here to enjoy the post-Brexit chaos as Mr Vincent's approach is less of a head-on attack than, for example, his send-up of our modern eating habits in the gluten free experiment or our obsession with body image in the instructions on how to get beach ready. All the books I have read in this series are somewhat similar, so if you like one, you will probably like them all. And vice versa.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2958378.html

An attempt to keep the continuity of the updated Famous Five books from last year, this is not so much a one-joke book as a no-joke book, the Famous Five being kept in a jail which resembles an immigration holding centre by the combination of the Secret Seven and evil cousin Rupert. Not really recommended.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This looked like it would be funny. It wasn't. Five are trapped in a prison on a fictional island off the UK. They escape. There are very few puns or quips. Julian is very self-assured, boisterous and pro Brexit. I didn't feel like continuing with this book, but I did and gained nothing from it. Get 'Alice in Brexitland' instead. MUCH funnier. I've also read the Famous Five Christmas Party one by Bruno Vincent. I wasnt sure what to rate that really. It was a bit random but better than this one.

[heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. There were some funny bits; just not as hilarious or dripping with satire as I expected. What I don't get is why the illustrations were not placed on their proper pages and some of them don't even reflect the actual scenes in the story – not sure if that was on purpose or just bad editing. The illustrations appearing several pages before the actual scenes ruined the jokes and the plot points when I got to them.

[C.L. Spillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want a spiffing adventure in which 5 plucky Brits come up against a dastardly villain? Complete with phrases like "They moved some the rubble aside as quietly as they could, and discovered..." or "'Gosh. This is exciting,' said Anne"?
Will they, their plight apparently hopeless, finally get the better of Evil Cousin Rupert? Or will they be stranded in the Brexit Camp forever..?
Classic old-school adventure with proper 1960s stodgy prose but a wicked topical twist.

[Tommi Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really difficult vocabulary especially in the beginning, but I assume that many inside jokes were dependent on that. And they were part of the characterization of Julian, who occupied the center space throughout. I read Blyton's Five books as a teenager, and this book did not bring back any memories whatsoever (which may be due to my memory or the lack thereof).

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Famous Five embark on an interesting adventure when they attempt to escape their cousin Rupert’s man-made island, only to find themselves imprisoned and in a worse situation than they started! With another tense meeting with the Secret Seven, and tensions also running high with their cousin, the Five have to come up with a drastic escape plan.

[Radhika Gunawardena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to die for, but it's nice to relive those Famous Five days with am adult twist on current issues. Not to be taken seriously, this is good 30 minute light reading. However, the following expression at the end is deep;
".. we managed to escape back to almost exactly where we were in the first place. "

[Edie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Throughout most of the book, Bruno Vincent tries to maintain Enid Blyton's mysterious and adventurous style of writing. There is not much action throughout, and it mainly consists of five arriving and leaving Brexit Island. The intended humor was not humorous. Personally, I would not recommend this book for the reasons discussed.

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another silly Famous Five novel for adults, this one emphasising the UK's immigration policy and possible Brexit outcomes. Reasonably enjoyable but the format is getting a bit tiresome. Some good moments but i keep hoping for more laughs.

[Jennifer Peek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolutely bonkers. Plot makes no sense and is perfectly ridiculous, I suspect as was intended. Had some humour but not enough for me to really enjoy it even for the comic moments. Found it quite a drag really.

[David Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun in places and made me laugh out loud a couple of times, but it wasn't a real pastiche. In bring the characters 'up to date' the author betrayed a lack of understanding of the original characters' approach to life.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apart from the fact that the drawings were on the wrong pages and some of the plot wasn't explained very well, it did make me laugh. May I ask why "George" is a girl?

Conclusion; it's a good coffee table book.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not one of my favourites of this series. I didn't find it as funny as some of the other titles, although there were moments when the characterisation worked well. If you're reading this series and aren't sure if you actually want to read them ALL, this is one you could give a miss.

[Sonja Persch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't expect this to be like the other ones!

When I decided I'd read this like a fantastic adventure, I really enjoyed it a lot. It's completely different from the other books which were more realistic.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't really get into this as much as the other Five for Grown Ups tales. It had its funny moments, yet it didn't seem like the humour was written with that much confidence. I'd say this is worth a read, but do what I did and get it from the library.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Raised a smile but no laughs.

[Adrian Farrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wry and needed to be written, but not laugh-out-loud funny.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this one very much.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as funny as I expected it to be but still good entertainment

[Lady_bercilak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather incoherent plot with not much happening. A few clever jokes, but not enough to warrant a whole book.