Not living in the UK, I am not ofay with a level of detail that I would likely need to appreciate, to have lived through, to get the most from this selected collection of Guardian thrice weekly articles written by the author. So whilst I can appreciate some superlative comedic writing, I know that I am in all likelihood missing a key element in truly appreciating the work to its fullest. So much wrong with our politics, but the writer balances her critiques with wit and ridicule too. Ridicule is an excellent way to puncture the pompous. She’s quite good at throwing out phrases describing characters and events too. For example, the tendency of some of our privately schooled politicians to throw Latin phrases, or long anarchic words, into their mundane speeches led her to describe them as posing as the ‘classic stupid-person’s-idea-of-a-clever-person,..’.

What Just Happened?!: Dispatches from Turbulent Marina Hyde – What Just Happened?!: Dispatches from Turbulent

No other writer is more suited to chronicle the absurd and chaotic times we live in. This book - based on Hyde's spectacularly funny Guardian columns - tells the story of the hellscape of the Cameron, May and Johnson eras, Trumpian wtf-ery to celebrity twattery, the Royal soap-opera and the series finale of the United Kingdom. Hyde sees through the looking glass and calls out the utter crap rained down on us from populists, tech billionaires, reality TV monsters, media barons, sporting pundits and Gwyneth Paltrow. If like me you were horrified by the outcome of the 2016 referendum and feel that the country has been on a downward spiral since then, this is the book for you! If however despite the events of the past few years you have continued to put your faith in the Tories then I don’t think it would appeal! I also think it requires a certain amount of knowledge and understanding of British politics, as the columns are written as reaction to events rather than describing them. Apart from the kittens, sometimes the poor waif of the Guardian has to really earn her keep, and they throw her in a big beast from the world of politics , he usually comes with horns, hooves and curly tail intact, and she has to tear him apart with her bare hands herself. These pieces are as you would expect from someone, working themselves into a frenzy over little celebrities, are FROTHY and full of SHOUTY capital letters, sometimes whole sentences, and yups.I’m glad I did in the end as it made me angry! With the amateurish, self centred politics, populist, government that we’ve experienced in the UK over the past few years. Major topics covered included the Brexit nonsense, CoVid responses and the buffoonish Boris Johnson. Even a dash of Trump, to show it’s not just us suffering from an introverted popularism in our politics.

What Just Happened?!: Dispatches From Turbulent Times What Just Happened?!: Dispatches From Turbulent Times

Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe. On a small feed day, its the kittens - usually little celebrities, outré or struggling in someway, with some dubious claim to plausibility or fame, tottering on their high heels these (often) silly girls are delivered though the hatch to the famished she-wolf of the Guardian newspaper.

Some of it is funny, some of it is painfully skewering, some of it is insightful, etc. If you're a fan of essay collections this might be a fun read. If you're someone who reads Hyde regularly or are looking for new material from here, this probably isn't the book for you and would be skippable.