Reddit reviews Blast from the Past

Book: Blast from the Past by Ben Elton.

Summary: Polly Slade works in the Office of Equal Opportunity for her town council in Britain. Jack Kent is an American military general. When Polly was 17 and a radical feminist and peace activist camped outside Jack's military base in the 1980s to protest war, she had a brief and passionate relationship with Jack. He turns up at her flat mysteriously at 2 in the morning many years later. This happens to coincide with a period in Polly's life where she's being stalked by a former client from the Equal Opportunity office, who she has nicknamed "The Bug."

Polly has retained most of her left-wing, feminist, pacifist views, while Jack is somewhere to the right of Glenn Beck. They have several intense political spats on equality-related issues, from women in the military to infidelity to sexual assault. At the book's climax, it suddenly becomes clear that Jack didn't come to visit either to get Polly back or to pick up old arguments about feminism--he has another purpose in mind, which creates a rather dramatic conclusion.

Review: I found this book an engaging read but was disappointed in how Jack and Polly never really developed beyond caricatures of their political views. Jack seems to exist primarily as a symbol of American imperialism and patriarchy, while Polly is portrayed as a nutty hippie who hasn't grown up since the age of 17, but has learned to hide her fringe views more skillfully and to accept some of the material trappings of capitalism.

That said, even if neither of the main characters is particularly realistic, Elton does manage to make both somewhat sympathetic. Although Jack comes off as a villain in the end, he's not without honor and it's almost possible to feel some sympathy for his plight despite his commission of two rather heinous acts throughout the story. Polly comes off as foolish and impulsive as Jack is single-minded and calculating, but the reader can understand her motivations and sympathize with them.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book as an enjoyable piece of fiction--the author has done the "left wing chick with a thing for a right wing guy ends up in scary situation" formula before and with more skill in his previous works. However, from an Equality perspective, it would be a very interesting selection either for individual perusal or for a book group or school class to discuss. It opens with a particularly poignant passage on the plight of individuals Polly labels "Sad White Men" who are claiming reverse discrimination and seeking her help, which she provides despite knowing no matter how many lawsuits they file, all they'll get is a lecture on how society at large benefits from positive discrimination on behalf of minorities. Toward the end of the book, a good point is made about political correctness in hiring and promotions, while Polly says a few particularly affecting words about the nature of rape.

Overall, I'd give it only three stars, yet would recommend it particularly for situations where an opportunity exists to discuss the book with someone of differing political views.