2 out of 4 stars
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Iago in the Land of La Mancha: Behind Canberra's smoke and mirrors, is a fictional novel by Michael Funnell. The book has 424 pages in PDF format; it was self-published and released in 2016. Follow the newly elected conservative government and Jeremy Iago, together as they chart the treacherous political landscape in the Land of La Mancha.
After years in the political cold, the conservative Liberal (obvious misnomer) party has just won the elections in Australia. The story begins with the victory party. Peter Hodge, the new Prime Minister is overwhelmed by his new role. He balances loyalties and conflicting policies in his attempt to run a tight ship. Skullduggery takes center stage as party loyalists compete and continuously jostle for power in the new cabinet.Alliances will be made and broken in the crowded contest. Add in conservative old guards, lobby groups, the media, a gullible public, and the stage is set for a contest of Machiavellian proportions.
The typical party hierarchy in this book is in descending order; Prime Minister (PM) – Ministers – Junior Minister– Member of Parliament staff (MOPs). Jeremy Iago is a MOP in the Environment ministry – Rivers and Water Resources section; he served under Barry the minister while in the opposition. Barry assigns him to his subordinate as a spy. His current boss is the junior minister, Richard Moore.
Richard is a political greenhorn and a member of parliament for Venice, Melbourne. He denies Iago the coveted position of Chief of Staff opting for the less privileged media advisor. This earns Richard his wrath and he's now all too happy in exerting his revenge.
Unknown to Iago, he's part of a wider conspiracy by his backers who think lowly of him. It is true when they say that never join politics for the sake of making friends. Watch as the Shakespearian-like Iago plots his many moves against equally cunning foes, will he make it? Or will he end up like the similarly named character in Othello?
I needed a break. For over a month now, I've been reading non-fiction titles for personal improvement purposes. What better way to let loose than a refreshing take on political satire -
served Aussie style. Besides, who can resist Shakespeare? Unless you are Australian, please make sure you go through and continuously reference the glossary section while reading this book--Aussies speak and do things differently. Suffice to say, this book is written in Australian English which is more similar to British English.
Iago in the land of La Mancha has a lot going for it. Both the titles Iago and La Mancha come from 2 very famous books. Attributes of the Machiavellian Iago and the macho-chivalrous La Mancha knight, are exhibited by the characters.
Being a satirical piece, it just had to be funny. The author was creative, especially with the names of the Ministers and their ministries. My favorite was Fred Flintstone, the minister for "Pretending to like Science." There's also Drac Ula and Attila Dogwhistler. The conversations were a riot; my kids thought I was insane when they found me laughing by myself – which never happens. The funniest scene has to be the Soldiers of Vegemite protest march to Parliament buildings. I risk spoiling the experience for potential readers by revealing any more information. Just a learning point; never go protesting half drunk, on foot, in sweltering heat with highly inebriated colleagues. They don't mix well.
The book had multiple errors which include missing punctuations and poor grammar. The worst was on page 81; labor-labour, these words are used interchangeably and repeatedly to refer to the labor (US spelling) party. Missing commas and full stops form the bulk of the rest. This interfered with the flow several times as I struggled to find my bearings and correct.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. There were multiple funny scenes that kept me entertained. But, the book had so many characters, who had long conversations. Some of these conversations were drawn out needlessly, or rather, the joke/satire gets reused enough it becomes stale. I believe this book would have been better if it was a shorter story.
I would recommend this book to lovers of political satire. There's just something about political experiences that are common to everyone no matter your location. Consider the following passage, "Politics is all about appearances not reality…lasting impressions are made by emotions, not facts."
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Iago in the Land of La Mancha
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