There was a lot of press about this clever young man when he was chosen as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2003, before he had even been published. (Monica Ali of Brick Lane fame was in the same position.) There was a lot more press and praise when the hardback came out. One thing is for certain, it’s not about politics. It is an extraordinary tale of sex (ménage à trois), fathers and daughters and a lot of philosophical titbits. Full of really good moments, it’s a fine achievement but a bit too clever for me. I felt I was being talked down to a lot of the time. What one might call a challenging read.
Politics tells the story of a father and daughter. It also tells the story of a m-nage - trois. Politics explores crucial domestic problems of sexual etiquette. What should sleeping arrangements be in a m-nage - trois? Is it polite to read while two people have sex beside you? Is it permissible to be jealous? If you have eczema, may you complain that undinism can be painful? Politics is a comedy about kindness. And, at the same time, it is also about Milan Kundera, blow jobs, Chairman Mao's personal hygiene, V-clav Havel, half-Jewishness, Bollywood, shopping, Hitler's sexual fetish, selfishness, Osip Mandelstam, premature ejaculation, the late Queen Mother, thrush, Stalin on the phone, politeness, pink fluffy handcuffs, and Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony.
