Echo Chamber, The
Boyne, JohnThe Cleverleys are the perfect family you love to hate. At first glance, successful and influential and at second glance, well... not quite. George is an obnoxious BBC radio host and Beverley, a romance writer, is a snob of the highest order. And then there are their three adult children, Nelson, Elizabeth and Achilles.
When Elizabeth's latest desperate attempt to be a social media influencer goes awry there is chaos, and as the family's lives unravel, readers have a front row seat to a world controlled by social media.
A thought-provoking and satirical delight.
Pages
420
420
Year
2021
2021
Reviews
16-08-2023
Entertaining. easy to read. Very contemporary theme.
07-08-2023
Half the group enjoyed the book and the other half were irritated by it!
07-08-2023
Most members initially thought they wouldn't like this . Awful characters, every one of them, with few redeeming features. However it became a good commentary on modern life - use of social media, cancelling, political correctness, wokeness - all alive and well in N.Z. Trial by social media is real and is happening everywhere. Very funny book, almost farcical, but also serious. What of the future
10-07-2023
There were mixed reactions to this book. Two started but didn't finish, while four found it a worthwhile read. It certainly stimulated a lot of discussion.
23-06-2023
Made us laugh out loud!
19-06-2023
Very accurate comment on social media in our current world!
07-06-2023
Thoroughly enjoyable, funny, provocative about the power of social media and things that influence us, makes you think! Liked the characters with all their flaws.
06-06-2023
Most enjoyed it, some loved it, one didn't finish - those who loved/liked it enjoyed the humour and found it a fast-paced clever read. It was also a good discussion book as it raised lots of divergent opinions.
22-05-2023
Probably our best book of the year - a brilliant satire, felt like reading 21st century Jane Austen.
11-05-2023
Some of our group found this outrageous and funny verging on black humour. It was obviously a satire based on our ridiculous society addicted to social media. Our members thought it best to have read the notes first to understand why the author wrote the book. Some of our group disliked the book for its graphic content.
30-03-2023
Varying reactions to this book amongst our group. Some appreciated the humour, all considered the ending rather weak.
23-03-2023
We all enjoyed 'The Echo Chamber' as a very clever satire of a family's various connections to social media, and the catastrophic consequences for the five people when everything goes wrong. A timely warning for us all, on the negative consequences of a distorted life in social media, plus the damage done to impressionable young people.
20-03-2023
Very mixed opinions. Too long with rather a lot of social media content. The humour was not a high point. We have enjoyed other books by this author.
08-11-2022
Some of us loved it (mainly the British people!) but some didn't finish it, or thought it fizzled out a bit towards the end. Very funny and interesting commentary on current times, but full of specific references which some of the group wouldn't get.