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Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain
- Narrated by: Sam Devereaux
- Length: 6 hrs
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Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain
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Summary
A fierce, mordantly funny and perceptive book, from the author of Ship of Fools, about the act of national self-harm known as Brexit.
In exploring the answers to the question 'why did Britain vote leave?', Fintan O'Toole finds himself discovering how trivial journalistic lies became far from trivial national obsessions; how the pose of indifference to truth and historical fact has come to define the style of an entire political elite; how a country that once had colonies is redefining itself as an oppressed nation requiring liberation; the strange gastronomic and political significance of prawn-flavoured crisps and their role in the rise of Boris Johnson; the dreams of revolutionary deregulation and privatisation that drive Arron Banks, Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg; and the silent rise of English nationalism, the force that dare not speak its name.
Critic reviews
"There will not be much political writing in this or any other year that is carried off with such style." (The Times)
What listeners say about Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-03-21
Some cherry picking but good listen
The book was not the same caliber as Ship of Fools (which was phenomenal) but had many useful insights, such as the construction of narrative by politicians and elites from cherry picking through history.
One could argue that O'Toole does much the same here as he provides an overview of the British psyche by referencing new articles, TV shows and the like. While many of his points do seem self evident and resonate, the actual evidence he uses is very thin.
Worth a listen for anyone still interested in Brexit and fully support his conclusion that we need to deal with English Nationalism head on.
Narration was weird at parts but listenable (except for mimicking of a Scottish accent when quoting Pringle)..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 11-03-24
Fascinating and thought provoking as an Irish resident with an English husband whose parents voted Leave
I found the narrator off putting in places in the odd pronunciation of a few words: Wildean, dilettante, Aquitaine, Balliol. These are not especially unusual words and if you are stepping up to a Fintan O’Toole book, you need to expect to put the work in and check pronunciation where you might it be sure…. In my opinion!!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 17-02-21
Agonising account of the wrong solution to the problem
Fintan O’Toole identifies the U.K.’s political leaders and media totally overlooked the growing sense of English nationalism that characterised the Brexit vote in England. There’s nothing substantive on offer in England’s polity to match the unspoken change in the English nation’s mind and sense of identity since 1999, you need to get to the last chapter to understand the evidence for and significance of Brexit as a false solution to a genuine political crisis. Chapter 2 is repetitive and you can skip over bits- that chapter could do with editing.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James Sinclair
- 19-08-19
Probably the best book on Brexit to date
Fintan O’Toole brilliantly deconstructs the English nationalist roots of Brexit and the psychology of the people that led us to this mess. Discovering his work has been one of the very few bright spots in the nightmarish political dystopia that is Brexit.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mats
- 26-07-19
Brexit revisited
An excellent book. It gave me many answers and some new insights on the enigmatic English people and their never ending Brexit.
The narrator is OK; maybe a bit to "upset" now and then. No big problem.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hazel
- 13-06-22
A dissection of England's Brexititis infection
He is such a beautiful thinker. And here he applies his mind to why more than half of English voters chose to believe a fantasy of European (German) domination and English subjugation. The Brexit leaders could lie all they wanted to, as they weren't supposed to win. Once they did, the whole hollow sham was exposed, but to save face, they must cling to the wreckage, while claiming the ship is afloat and seaworthy. It's not. There was never a remote possibility that it could be. And Fintan O'Toole explains the whole sorry tale very well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dog lover
- 12-05-19
Why did the English vote for Brexit ?
An excellent but troubling account about the grievances of the English and the reasons why they voted for Brexit.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MissDemeanour
- 12-04-19
let down by narrator
Great book,
but Sam Deveraux's mid-atlantic accent and mispronunciation of common french words was annoying
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rory Elliott
- 23-03-21
an invitation to have a good look at ourselves
a brilliant book with a message for the English in particular . like marmite you may hate it or love it but if you read it through you can't ignore what is written here. Who are we English in any case
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-07-20
A stylish look at the shattered English psyche
This book offers a fascinating look at how England's fundamental failure to have articulated or politically expressed a national identity led to Brexit. How the self-aggrandizing self-pitty of the English, created a situation where the people with nothing left to lose hitched their wagons to those with nothing on the line.
The performance is competent, though brought down by some slightly cartoonist accents.
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