Hatchet Job of the Day

Rod Liddle should write more book reviews. Agree with him or not, he is a brilliantly funny writer and a refreshing read in the midst of so much bland politeness. Here’s his take on CHAVS: THE DEMONIZATION OF THE WORKING CLASS by Owen Jones:

The author, an Oxford graduate from Stockport, has based it upon this demonstrably false premise, that working-class equals chav. And that, further to this, the deployment of the word “chav” is part of a conspiracy by the ruling class and especially the Tories to keep the lower orders in their place. And while he concedes that working-class people themselves do sometimes describe those they despise as “chavs”, this is but part of the “divide and rule” strategy employed by the bourgeoisie to maintain their economic and cultural hegemony. Yes, this is a book written by the bastard offspring of Private Eye’s Dave Spart and Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole, a sustained rant devoid of nuance and wit, one part Socialist Worker editorial and one part undergrad history essay.

Jones took to Twitter to protest:

I see Rod Liddle has savaged ‘Chavs’ in the Sunday Times. In the book, I attacked him for this: http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/902601/after-jades-cancer-what-next-im-a-tumour-get-me-out-of-here.thtml … Incredible that he can write columns like that and still be taken seriously by anyone. A total disgrace

You can read all reviews for CHAVS here

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