By Philippa Tracy
The Echo Chamber is a hilarious social satire on the state of contemporary Britain and the dangers of social media. Each character is a parody that exists in their own ridiculous echo chamber. Through the antics of each member of the incredibly privileged Cleverley family and the fall out of one poorly judged tweet, John Boyne guides us through his attack on what one of the characters calls, the Wokesters. By which, he means people who are “constantly alert to every injustice in society, every perceived slight, and who are just desperate to let you know when they’ve found one.”
Boyne has written a number of popular and well-received novels, including The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies. With his 2019 teen novel, My Brother’s Name is Jessica, he was accused of transphobia and misgendering in the book’s title. After initially trying to explain himself he closed down his social media accounts because of the backlash. In an interview at the time, he said, “it must be painful to be so woke all the time.” The response may well be this novel.
It is difficult to say which of the main characters is the least likeable. George Cleverley is a well-known talk-show host with “hard-earned Woke credentials”. He “sponsored 18 goats in Somalia and had attended seven Pride marches in the capital, waving the rainbow flag vigorously.” He also named his eldest son Nelson Fidel. And although he hates to think of himself as unfaithful to his wife Beverley, he has been conducting an affair with a therapist named Angela and is about to become a father again at the age of 60. Beverley is herself a writer of popular fiction, who doesn’t actually write her own books, and is having an affair with a Ukrainian dancer she met on Strictly Come Dancing.
Then there are the obnoxious Gen Z offspring capable of creating chaos in the world without leaving their five-storey mansion in Belgravia. This is particularly true of Elizabeth, representing the worst excesses of social media pile-ons. She is an online troll who enjoys abusing celebrities. Her boyfriend enjoys “educating strangers on how they can live better lives. And making sure that those with the wrong opinions are held to account.” Elizabeth admires his “indestructible conviction in his own moral superiority.” And she seriously considers his suggestion of working with lepers on an obscure Indonesian island because it would be “amazing” for her brand.
By comparison, the brothers are relatively harmless. Nelson suffers from anxiety and is now in therapy with Angela, although he has no idea that she is his father’s lover; his need to dress up in professional uniforms in public, even at a speed-dating event, leads to a number of embarrassing and farcical moments. The youngest son, Achilles, still a teenager, becomes a sugar baby for lonely older men, then blackmails them for huge quantities of money. “There were worse ways to make a living, after all.”
George makes the mistake of tweeting support for his solicitor’s receptionist, who has transitioned from Aidan to Nadia: “Much love to Aidan @AQFC as he continues his transition. Brave, authentic & inspiring. #TransRights #TransPride #BraveNewWorld #TotalSupport.” His daughter, Elizabeth is the first to call out her father’s transphobia, hiding behind her “@TruthIsASword” handle. She responds to say how sickened she is by the deadnaming and misgendering of Nadia. Suffice to say it all unravels from there and you could say that everyone, in the end, gets what they deserve.
When the book was published in 2021, Boyne said he wanted to show up all “the pronouns and the virtue signalling, particularly from heterosexual middle aged men.” It certainly does that and it is a laugh-out-loud great read to boot.
