BOOK PEOPLE

Author: Paige Nick

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a book by novelist, columnist, advertising copywriter and FMR Book Choice host and editor, Paige Nick so it was with delight that I welcomed her newest novel ‘Book People’. Always up there with current trends Nick takes us into the world of online book clubs. No wine (but some whine!) – it’s all about the books – or is it?

As the founder of the hugely successful Good Book Appreciation Society (GBAS) on Facebook (based in SA) Nick has taken this book club, placed it in the UK and, with her wonderfully humourous pen, written a riotous story around it. I am one of the more than 23 000 members who regularly refer to this page for new reads, soaking up the comments from subscribers. Because there are strict rules to posting I rarely detect dissention and certainly no self- promotion. Yes, I know admins can remove posts if rules are broken…so perhaps it’s those posts that prompted Nick to bring us this hilarious novel? The swiftly whipped away comments that could cause a furore? With tongue firmly in cheek this is a look at how, when folk don’t know when to shut up, social media can ignite a storm, spawning a sizzlingly funny story that we can all easily relate to.

I sailed through it. All the right ingredients for the perfect book club read – along with that glass of wine, Nick has aced it with her imaginative style, irreverence and acute observations. Nothing escapes her sharp eye. Her characters are shaped around their comments, she rounds them out, giving them lives that are slightly larger than life but oh so relatable. She builds the story through their landscapes in a modern, quirky easy-to-read layout. When escalating tempers lead to plots of murderous revenge – there’s no telling where this might go – it’s almost a thriller – with twists and turns, never predictable. It takes a real talent to write humour and Nick has that in buckets!

Hateful Harry Shields (as I dubbed him) is an author who shamelessly self-promotes his books on GBAS. That and having a couple of alter-egos to promote on his behalf. Narcissistic, smug and self-satisfied, married to the long-suffering (but not for much longer) surgeon Victoria. Bookaholic accountant Norma Jacobs started GBAS some years ago and, with a membership of some 13 000, this is her happy place. Boyfriend Steve is a gamer and so-called writer, suffering from writer’s block, he is a sloth of note, living off Norma and thoroughly unlikeable. His reaction when Norma drops a big, ego- deflating bombshell (no spoilers) and that she has changed her well paid job to become the oldest, poorly paid intern in the publishing industry, is less than supportive.

But all hell breaks loose when someone – apparently an elderly member – posts a scathing review of Harry’s crime novels. Unable to ignore this Harry goes into meltdown mode, deranged possibly the better word, and the comments fly. Harry just can’t let go and as membership soars so do tempers, relationships teeter on the brink, revenge plans send Harry down a rabbit hole. The page goes viral, Harry is persona non grata. Cancelled. And when a member ends up in a coma and the cops are brought in – whodunnit? A delightful romp opening up all the pitfalls of airing your views on social media and the calamitous results that could result.

My signs of a good read are my reactions – so when you see me chortling happily, or perhaps (in extreme cases) slamming the book and groaning outwardly at a character’s antics – that my friends, is a recommendation! There were extreme reactions to this one – making it a deliciously satisfying read. So, stop your doom scrolling; pick this up for a respite. I learned a lot about facebook habits, trolling, and the like, adding some potent words to my dictionary – was forced to look at BookTok and am all round aiming to sound smarter about this new ‘speak’. But most of all I ‘get’ what cancel culture really means. Ouch! Book People is a real winner.