This is one of 12 books written in celebration of 150 years of London
Underground - one book for each tube line. They're beautiful volumes,
but I couldn't afford to buy all 12, so after some slightly painful
deliberation I settled for this and the one dedicated to the Central
Line.
And O'Farrell's Jubilee Line offering is a dream - its
title perhaps seems rather dry, but what lies inside is anything but.
However, I don't want to give away any more than the cover already does,
as the realisation of what the plot entails is the book's chief source
of delight. Suffice it to quote O'Farrell's own description of his idea
for the book: 'Das Kapital meets the Poseidon Adventure somewhere in
Zone 2'.
The second greatest source of delight lies in how the
plot unfolds, and the third in the fact that the plot is so dependent,
factually speaking, on the Jubilee Line itself. That the book manages to
be both informative and highly entertaining - the holy grail of reading
- only adds to the pleasure.
I probably shouldn't set
expectations too high, so I'll offset my praise by saying that I found
the sendup of the tube a little cliched, and the comedy a little too
reliant on farce for my personal taste. However, that's your lot: I'll
nitpick no further, as I enjoyed ...Jubilee Line so much. Purchase a
ticket and get on board!
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