Owl of the Desert Book

MP Peter Paget has an idea that will solve the drugs crisis in the UK - a very simple one - if we legalise all drugs and set up a licensed supply chain, we could quite literally pull the rug from under the feet of the drug barons. Ben Elton puts this idea forward in a very entertaining, readable way. I found myself having some agreement with him during this read, which I have to say I didn't find particularly laugh out loud funny, but I did really enjoy. It is told in a series of short and sharp chapters featuring a number of characters across a wide spectrum of society, who are all affected by the drugs trade. We had a drug mule stuck in a Bangkok jail, the young couple so obsessed with where their next fix is coming from that their baby son is starving to death, the society "it" girl, so out of her brain that she is putting herself in danger. By far the most moving though is the story of Jessie, young and naïve she is "captured" and forced into a life of prostitution to feed the habit that her pimps have deliberately given her.

One of the main characters is Tommy Hanson, gobby pop star who tells his story at his local AA/NA meetings. I have to say I found him really irritating, cocky and just plain annoying. This was the only real weakness in the story for me, because when he is telling his story he doesn't show many signs of regret, especially at the start where he really comes across as just showing off to the other AA members. Imagine Liam Gallagher posturing at AA/NA and you have the general idea of the image that comes to mind with Tommy Hanson.

It is a dark read, full of unlikeable characters and one that really shows the despair, humiliation and degradation that comes with a drug habit. It is not a pleasant read at all, but is one that is thought provoking. It really did make me think about where I stood in the debate.