This contemporary family story sets son against parents at opposite ends of the political spectrum. I found the characters credible and interesting apart from that of the mother whose violent acts seemed unrealistic and grating.

It was a light and enjoyable read with humorous parts that I enjoyed reading.

Emma and Eddie Hughes are dyed in the wool Labourites living in the Tory seat of Hastings on Sea. Eddie is a local councillor and Emma works for a non-profit, their sone, Dylan, has just finished studying at Oxford. When Dylan returns home he confesses to his parents that he is actually a Tory and proceeds to join the party. For Emma and Eddie this is a betrayal of all they hold dear but can family love overcome the political divide.
There's no doubting the fact that this is a novel of its time but that doesn't make it any less funny. O'Farrell has tuned into the extremes of British politics and crammed this story full of Brexit, migrants, 'woke' thinking as well as traditional political issues. It's a quick read but is profound for all its lightness and I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates plaques with silly sayings on them!

Satirical genius, hugely quotable mix of two explosive battlegrounds.

My god this was funny. I usually highlight quotes as I go along, to use a few as examples of my points about characters and the humour when I write a review. I highlighted half the book!

This was my first O'Farrell but I'm now determined to read a lot more from him, I can't believe I've been missing out.

Quick summary? Labour activists in Hastings - Mum and Dad - are councillors/local charity workers/lifelong left-wing loyalists. Their son returns home from Oxford having finished his degree ("Prince Hamlet moved back home after university and look how that turned out") and needing somewhere to crash temporarily. Confiding that he has something important to tell them, Dylan reveals... he's a Conservative. Emma tries to work out how this could have happened: "Letting him win at Monopoly, that was another mistake."

We then watch the situation spiral, with Emma and Eddie disbelieving, embarrassed, stunned and ashamed show themselves up in various ways (I really mustn't spoil it) as Dylan tries to start his adult life, having 'come out' to his parents after a (diary entries reveal his teenage agonies) lifetime of socialist events and lectures.

I felt embarrassed for everyone really, and also absolutely delighted at the satirical glee with which O'Farrell uses the microcosm of Hastings in a both family and societal battle for hearts and minds. There's a Farage-like potential candidate for local office with some INCREDIBLE ideas for a new theme park.

There's escalation of the highest order, and unbelievable parenting. I can't quote much more, it's got to be savoured first-hand.

Read it. Anyone who enjoys political commentary/comedy will find much to savour here.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

So you're a socialist to the core. You've struggled to get the best for your son your whole life. You've tried to instil your core Labour values of decency, acceptance, fairness and ... oh yeah, smash the Tories.

So what happens when the apple of your eye comes home from his privileged Oxford University education and tells you -- he's true blue.

Nightmare right? Emma Hughes has no idea just how bad it's going to get. It's a phase surely? It's rebelling against your parents? We've all done it. But when he's already an adult, when will son, Dylan, grow out of it?

John O'Farrell has written a wonderfully funny novel about family rifts, politics, fighting for what you think is right (or maybe just fighting for the sake of it). We've even got a divisive ex-Brexiteer, Norman Skelton who is swooping in to lead the Tories to victory. It's Emma's worst nightmare especially when she's hoping Eddie will be the next MP for Hastings so she can have some peace and quiet.

Finally, a "political" novel I enjoyed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Transworld for the advance review copy.

Emma and Eddie Hughes, staunch Labour party veterans, are shocked when their son Dylan returns home after graduating from university with the news he is a Conservative. The shame of it! John O'Farrell takes us through the council meetings, by-election hustings and how the Hughes family react to having a Tory son.
Peppered with one-liners, at times genuinely laugh out loud, Family Politics sees O'Farrell back at the top of his game. Reading Family Politics is great fun & the best political laughs since Liz Truss resigned...

In this witty and insightful political satire, Emma and Eddie Hughes, staunch left-wingers, are taken aback when their son Dylan returns home after graduating from university with unexpected news.  He’s coming out ..
 
.. as a Conservative.
 
The focus is on the divided family navigating their diametrically opposed political views.  How do you support someone when you’re vehemently against everything they stand for?  It turns out in this family, it’s a real struggle, especially in the face of a local election.  Through Emma's perspective, interwoven with Dylan's old diary entries, the novel explores the complexities of familial support amidst ideological differences.
 
I thought some of the parallels to coming out were brilliant: you’re just experimenting; you’re doing this to hurt us; you’ll bring shame on the family etc.  Whilst the sentiments are utterly repugnant in any setting, the use of wit and irony lets O’Farrell get away with it.
 
Eddie and Emma are deeply flawed and at times not that likeable.  This doesn’t detract from the book, instead it highlights the fundamental issue with the motivations of the many.  To prove they’re right and to be seen being right. The intolerance and bull-headed conviction that ‘my way is the only way’ is prevalent and it’s a lot of fun to see how it plays out.  Ridiculous at times? Absolutely. 
 
I’ve read a half dozen books by O’Farrell – he’s definitely a must read author, when I fancy a change from thrillers!  If you’re new to this author, I would definitely recommend The Man Who Forgot His Wife and The Best A Man Can Get.  Whilst I enjoyed Family Politics, I have enjoyed others more.
 
A huge thanks to Doubleday, Transworld, Random House UK, the author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for review consideration.  All opinions are my own.

High-profile left-wingers Emma and Eddie Hughes, are rocked to the core when son Dylan returns home to live after graduation and reveals he is a Conservative, especially as Eddie standing as the Labour candidate in the upcoming local by-election!

In true John O'Farrell style this novel prickles with biting satire, and the prose rattles with witty one liners and shrewd observations. He gives us lots to laugh at for sure, but, this is also a very timely and salutary read for an election year. Because underneath all the funny there is a very serious message.

Just as the Hughes family is fractured by politics, so too, O'Farrell reminds us, is society.

Views are entrenched, people have forgotten that others may - and are - allowed to hold political opinions contrary to their own. That's democracy after all. But, respect for the contrary view has gone. Cancel culture is rampant.

It's a timely reminder that holding political views is one (very important) thing, but HOW we hold those views is equally important.

This novel is a plea for more tolerance and respect, because "Righteous certainty and vehement intolerance of other views are the enemy of progressive thinking."

It's funny, very funny, but let's not forget that kindness, goodness and tolerance are just as important as political passion. That climbing down from the political barricades of extreme entrenched views, might actually reveal a third way.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

It's seems a while since there has been a John O'Farrell book, and although I was disappointed in "may contain nuts" (but that's a completely different review!) I was interested to know what he was writing now.
I'm so pleased I did! There were some very funny set pieces, often in Council meetings, and great one liners. The author also managed to be nuanced enough in his political arguments to prevent the book becoming a "leftie" rant and the tug between family and political beliefs was well written with shades of Adrian Mole in the diary entries. He provides a stark reminder of the polarisation of opinion which is appearing more often in British society - sadly I don't think this will make an inroad into improving it, but it did cheer me up!
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

Emma and her husband Eddie are active members of the Labour Party and Eddie is hoping to have a shot at becoming MP for Hastings should the opportunity arise (which, in the course of the novel it does, as there’s a by-election).

Meanwhile their son, Dylan, returns home from completing his degree at Oxford University – and his parents are completely aghast when he tells them he plans to vote for the Tories. The story unfolds through the eyes of Dylan’s mother, interspersed with a few entries from the diary Dylan kept when he was younger – usually commenting on how his parents were dragging him along to political events which he found desperately boring.
I normally really like John O’Farrell’s books, and there are some very funny moments in this one, but on the whole it rather dragged for me. The author is making a point - our society has become fractured, people hold so solidly to their own point of view that they become unable to see things from another perspective (they are wilfully blind to even the possibility of other views) – but actually, in the end, we find that even people at the other end of the political spectrum may not be so awful after all, and sometimes the middle ground is a better place to be. At times though the characters (mainly Emma, Eddie and the Tory candidate, Skelton) were like caricatures – Eddie in particular was the epitome of the humourless strident left winger to the extent that I’m surprised Dylan returned home at all.

All in all, a book with a valuable message, sometimes delivered with humour, but definitely not one of the author’s best.

I think we all get sucked into political discourse and black and white standpoints linked to mainstream media or online. Family Politics, therefore, will resonate with everyone.
Lifelong Labour activists Eddie and have their life turned upside down when their son Dylan returns from Oxford to make an announcement. Rather than the “coming out” they were hoping for, Dylan reveals he is now a Conservative.
After initial disbelief and feelings of betrayal and disappointment, home life becomes increasingly difficult, with political arguments and a refusal to compromise causing the parents to set up a separate living area for their son. The scenario is a mirror to online social interaction, where likeminded people stay in their own bubbles of interest and attack those that hold differing views. The support that Dylan provides to his parents, however, from his experiences with the Conservatives, suggests that there are things that can be learned from listening and taking advice on board rather than rejecting anything that comes from “the enemy camp”.
Lots of digs at the Conservatives; the Hastings MP is in a coma and trying to be spurred to waking by someone whispering Black History Month into his ear. The rabid constant counterattacking of the left, however, does not make them appealing either.

The not so subtle message is “Righteous certainty and vehement intolerance of other views are the enemy of progressive thinking” but there is a lot of comedy and laughter to enjoy.

“Doing the right thing by those around you, that's what matters, just being a good person in your everyday life, that is the best first step towards trying to change the world.”

Having never read any of the authors previous novels I went into this blind, now that I have seen I'll be looking for more....

This is such smart writing full of wit, self awareness, satire, and undoubtedly insightful looks at society today.

Told in the first POV with Emma and some diary entries from her son Dylan as teenager we are taken on what is essentially a story about growing up and the ever changing parent and child relationship. This set against the back drop of political differences between the two.

The writer expertly expresses the absurd nature of politics and the trouble it causes. Using extreme versions of what we can all recognise the writer shows the death of nuance in society, the evils of social media and cancel culture, how politics has become something much more that what's right for the people, how we are fractured as a society and everyone is actually a hypocrite if they only closely looked at themselves.

While the story is mainly the lead to a local bi election in the summer that Dylan returns to his family home after university there isn't much actual plot when we get is a journey of discovery for Emma, she starts to question herself and views, she starts to wonder what is means to be a mother, the writer as man writes her character so well he seems to have real insight into the female mind. Using this plot ark of the adult child returning home after a first class university education not only highlights the many issues young people are facing today but also really examines how hard it is for as adult to return home to be a child almost again not only for yourself but your parents also.

While this book is without a darkly comical look at how ridiculous we have became as society it is a heart filled look at family life.

I really loved the ending I felt it showed a message we can all learn from...DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS AND YOURSELF SO QUICKLY

I remember reading 'May Contain Nuts' years ago and absolutely loving it, so I was really looking forward to Family Politics. It didn't quite live up to the humour I was hoping for, but it was still a great read. It's a brilliant look at what happens when a family is split by its politics, but I did feel it fell a bit flat in terms of having more of a plot line than just, 'family split by politics.' It became a bit too samey that every page was about the politics. I would have liked it more if there was more diversity e.g. I found some of the funniest moments to be when Emma chatted with her son's girlfriend.

An enjoyable read and very much of our time, with some interesting and accurate insights into the world of local and party politics. But it felt a little flat/predictable compared to other books he has written (to be fair it's hard to top the brilliant May Contain Nuts).

A middle aged "dyed in the wool" labour supporting couple, on eof whom desperately wants to represent her borough at the next election are totally shocked when their beloved son makes the announcement not that he is gay (as they hap hoped) but.. a Tory!! Their son has followed the middle class parents dream, he is well educated and went to Oxford but the toff friends he has made there have changed his outlook on life and his beliefs. His parents who would "protect freedom of speech at all costs" suddenly want their son to keep his politics a secret and show a united front for electioneering PR and photo opps. I usually really enjoy O'Farrell's work, I loved "May Contain Nuts" ( and I actually knew parents rather like that). However, this one whilst an easy read, fell a little flat for me but it does try to show where Labour have lost ground.

Emma and Eddie are longtime supporters of Labour and well known figures in their hometown, Hastings. When their son Dylan comes home to live after graduating from Oxford University, they expect some disruption to their lives, but not the ultimate hammer blow- Dylan is now a Conservative. Gently humorous, O’Farrell explores how you can love a person while hating what they stand for, although he also makes a good case for trying to be open to other points of view and to see people as individuals rather than just their political views. Dylan’s childhood diary reveals to comic effect the boredom and disillusionment he felt as part of a family committed to promoting their political party and beliefs at the expense of more “fun” activities, while Emma and Eddie’s lives are far removed from any experience of political power and any glamour that might be attached. Not O’Farrell’s best or his most incisive book, but an enjoyable read.

John O'Farrell is a seriously funny writer. I haven't laughed out loud so many times since - well, probably since his last book. Nevertheless there's a serious and timely message herein.

The Hugheses are a staunchly Labour family - Eddie (known to himself alone as Red Ted) is the leader of the Labour group on the council and hoping to be a parliamentary candidate; narrator Emma works for a prisoners' literacy charity and is also an active party member. They loathe and despise the Tories, so it's a hideous shock when son Dylan, moving back home after university, announces that he's now a Conservative. More than that, he becomes an active campaigner, allying himself with some fairly awful people. What on earth is to be done?

John O'Farrell is a longtime Labour man and that hasn't changed, but as well as being a hugely enjoyable read, this book is a call for tolerance and respect, which doesn't have to mean compromising your principles. He hilariously skewers the foibles of both sides (and the rest - "The Liberal Democrats... put out their traditional leaflet saying 'Only the Liberals can win here', with a bizarre bar chart that defied any mathematical analysis." So true.)

Emma's voice is likeable and relatable (I particularly enjoyed her reaction to the prospect of her husband being away in London for most of the week), even if she goes over the top at times.

In today's frequently toxic and polarised political environment, it doesn't hurt to be reminded that "There are your political beliefs, and there is how you hold them. Righteous certainty and vehement intolerance of other views are the enemy of progressive thinking." This book has a sane, humane and sensible message - but it's also very, very funny.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***

John o’ Farrell knows politics, and he knows Labour. Here, wrapped up in a comedic family based story, he posits where it might be that Labour and it’s supporters are going wrong … and where a little compromise might get them where they want to be. A fun book with a narrative that manages to carry the reader along easily whilst dealing with some heavy material at the same time. I enjoyed it.

What would you do if your son suddenly turned into a Tory?
This is the crisis which confronts middle-aged Hastings couple, Eddie and Emma, in this, John O'Farrell's first new novel since 2015.
For Eddie and Emma are both ardent, lifelong card-carrying Labour Party members. Eddie even harbours ambitions of high office: he is already on the local candidate and has high hopes of running for parliament. The news that their son, Dylan, has returned from university, a keen advocate of the party who brought us austerity, Brexit and the disastrous but mercifully brief premiership of Liz Truss.
O'Farrell made his name writing the hilarious comic memoir, Things Can Only Get Better and I suspect Tory supporters (currently something of a minority breed) may enjoy this book less than the rest of us. Otherwise, with the General Election looming, this is a funny, good-natured book, full of solid jokes and with an underlying message emphasing the importance of recognising the importance of tolerance and learning to live with people who have political views different to our own.

I have loved all of John O'Farrell's fiction and non fiction books so was excited to read Family Politics. As soon as I read the synopsis I was laughing as one of our family jokes is how we would deal with the situation if our son became a Tory.
Emma and Eddie are Labour Party activists in Hastings, Eddie is a councillor and leader of the Labour group on the local council. With the incumbent Tory MP in a coma, Hastings is preparing for a by election and Eddie decides to stand for the Labour Party nomination. This coincides with the return of their son Dylan from University and he has shocking news for his parents- he is a Tory!
Family Politics is full of O'Farrell's customary insightful humour and as a Labour Party member I loved all of the references to what happens locally within the party and found the scene regarding the banner hilarious.
A warm and enjoyable read that I would recommend.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

It feels like ages since I've read a John O'Farrell novel so I was worried going into this one that I had somehow overestimated how funny I remember O'Farrell being.

However, after just a few pages of this one I soon remembered why I loved him. Eddie and Emma are members of the Labour party and very left-wing. Buoyed by an upcoming by-election, they are determined to see the seat move from Conservative to Labour. Added to this, they are also excited to welcome home their son Dylan from university, although Dylan has some news he needs to share.....he's a Tory! Cue despair and carnage aplenty.

First and foremost, O'Farrell is hilarious. The biting one liners are just so sharp but added to this humorous story of political differences just make his humour so much better. Behind the witty novel, there is a wider issue about the harshness of politics and the need to be kinder to each other.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review