This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future!

A brilliant read, and an education for those of us who are not au fait with the pitfalls of social media! I have recommended this to several friends.

Another brilliant read by the amazingly talented John Boyne, I loved this book and the narrator was excellent.

I had never tried anything by this author before and so wanted to try. The first few chapters didn't grab me and so I left the audio book for a few weeks and have recently gone back to it. It got a lot better and the satire worked for me together with the audio narration.

So my recommendation is to preserve and it works.

I was given a copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

This book is about a largely dysfunctional high-profile family living in the age of social media. Each member of the family is involved in their own scandals. The writing is witty, and there were many humorous incidents. I laughed out loud on a few occasions.

I've not read or listened to anything by John Boyne before. Would rank this more as a 3.5☆

The book looks at social media in particular twitter. How one tweet can open a huge can of worms. Both from supporters but also objectors.

John Boyne has written this in a more relaxed way with some humour, but i think also having such a dysfunctuonal, detached from 'normal' living (10mil in the bank) family as the main protagonists, although at times annoyed me did make it easier to digest the consequences.

The book also made reference to current events like social distantcing, lockdowns etc which made the book more relevant.

I listened to this as an audiobook and i think it would have taken me longer to read, because Richard E Grants narration did keep me engaged even at bits that was slow or annoying me. Then again I love his voice, though his south african accent did sound more welsh (but that might just be me).

Its a interesting read especially with social media today, especially in the uk.

Thank you to netgalley and to the publishers for proving me with the audiobook for an honest review.

I recognise the premise of this book is to depict many people as ‘fake woke’ and obsessed with their own personal ideologies, but this book was hideous. The way that George and Beverley cleverly conduct their marriage and raise their children Achilles, Elizabeth and Nelson and the way each character is unable to be true to themselves, Elizabeth having fake Twitter profiles. Nelson being unable to conduct his affairs/life without wearing a uniform, and Achilles faking a working class persona to con Sugar Daddies out of large sums of money, meant that these farcical character were not only grotesque, and possibly ‘real’ but they were totally unsympathetic.
I did not actually enjoy it but I can see that it could appeal is a mad sit-com parade of woke/cancel culture.

What a lovely surprise of a book! My expectations were highly succeeded and I am very glad I listened to the audiobook version, the narrator made it even funnier and was often missing wearing a mask as I found myself laughing out loud to the surprise of the people around me. My first John Boyne novel but certainly not the last!

Within moments of listening to Richard E. Grant's narration begin on this audiobook, I knew I was going to love this novel and I was not disappointed! The Echo Chamber follows the lives of the Cleverley family as they navigate scandal and calamity as a result of trial by social media.

The cast of characters consist of George Cleverley, a 60-something journalist/broadcaster (and self-professed national treasure) who has just found out he is to become a father for the fourth time and his wife Beverley (yes, Beverley Cleverley), an author who is pet-sitting her lover's tortoise and training up her latest ghost writer. Their eldest son, Nelson, is chronically shy, whilst daughter Elizabeth is desperate to become Insta-Famous. Youngest child, Achilles, has several catfishing scams on the go in-between classes at sixth form college. This dysfunctional family is supported by a flamboyant array of other misfit characters as they all attempt to navigate social media, political correctness and the destruction of carefully constructed public personas. The Echo Chamber is a cautionary tale indeed...

Boyne's writing is intelligent, unflinching and deeply scathing but so funny - honestly, I have laughed out loud (actual LOLS) and nodded my head in agreement several times already. It's such a departure from The Heart's Invisible Furies that I almost can't believe it's the same author! I liked how the main narrative storyline was interspersed with vignettes from the family's past (life pre-smart phone) and with snapshots of social media history, e.g. the invention of Facebook and the launch of Instagram. This is a very 'now' novel, there are references to the pandemic ("I've got some face masks left over from last year") and other celebrities and some other news events that make this book feel very 2021 so I don't know how much longevity it will have before feeling dated in that respect, but the longer term messages about chasing likes and validation from strangers on the internet will resonate for a while to come.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy.

Hilarious and on-the-nose satire. Neither Boomers, Millennials nor Gen-Zers escape unscathed. But it's also more than just obvious stereotypes and cheap shots, there are real characters that i surprised myself by caring about!

This book was a satirical masterpiece, really reminiscent of Johnathan Coe and bery fun. Although the Cleverley Family are all terrible people, there is something amazingly loveable about this book. The characters are full of life and humour (often unintentionally) and although they arent a family I would be drawn to in real life (or even on their blessed social media) reading about them is rather a treat.

The Cleveleys's have lived a charmed life. George, TV host and father, self proclaimed national treasure, lives in the glare of publicity but always has the goodwill of the public on his side. His wife, Beverly, mother of 3, juggles family life with being a successful novelist – a gruelling task, even if she writes none of the books herself. Their 3 children, almost grown, Noah, anxious teacher, Elizabeth, self obsessed influencer and Achilles, schoolboy con-artist and idiot, have problems of there own. Social media threads through the fabric of their lives and everything looks rosy. They are rich, beautiful and successful, but when the massed ranks of twitter turn against them, even they are in danger of being knocked from their pedestal.

This was a fun read, once I got past the dry, urban, emptiness of there existence I began to enjoy it. It is more silent smirk than laugh out loud. Some of the jokes really do hit the mark, but other wear out quite fast and yet the author continues to flog them to death. There and many many paragraphs devoted to draining every ounce of humour from the misgendering of a trans-sexual. These passages felt like they were played for laughs, but just weren't funny. I did wonder if this might be intentional, given the plot. It seemed very blunt-axish to me.
The tone of the book, although dealing with some very 'adult' themes, struck me a cross between Paddington bear and a sitcom cringe fest. This is helped along in no small part by the excellent narrator. Richard E. Grant gives us his best Jackanory voice, which is exactly what this book deserves.
A large part of this book feels like a diatribe against the 'woke' wagon jumpers of twitters. It is a bit extreme. Like the fantasy conversations that you have in your head with people who have crossed you, where they inadvertently reveal their nasty wrongness for everyone else to see, thus exonerating you. It is indulgent. There is no hint of impartiality here, the people of twitter are a ridiculously stupid slow moving mass who delight in destroying the innocent. They are self centred, self righteous and permanently offended. It is too much, it feels personal, the author has an axe to grind and we are his captive audience. I hope he has got it out of his system now.

Lately I find I am listening to audiobooks more and as John Boyne is one of my favorite authors I was delighted to see this book dropping onto my NetGalley Shelf! The story is set around one family, the Cleverlys, and their need for attention - social media having a huge part to play in this. Definitely a family of quirky narcissists, their outward characters are not what they really are deep down. They don't even realise this themselves for a long time. This book is full of laugh out loud moments and highlights how using an off the cuff remark or just not thinking before you speak/post can affect your life. I finished this book in two days. Richard E Grant is an excellent narrator which adds to the enjoyment of The Echo Chamber. Thanks to Penguin Random House UK Audio and NetGalley

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Echo Chamber’ by John Boyne in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is narrated by Richard E. Grant and has a running time of 14 hours, 38 minutes at 1x speed.

This is the sharpest, most wickedly funny satire that I have ever read. John Boyne has social media in his sights and is taking no prisoners. I won’t go into the controversy that inspired ‘The Echo Chamber’ as information is readily available. There is also no doubt that feathers will be ruffled by this novel. Boyne’s particular targets are the ‘Permanently Outraged of Twitter’ (POOTs) and the ‘Woke’ Left. Still, he is happy to poke fun at many aspects of modern life, far too many to mention.

Central to the novel is the Cleverley family. George is the patriarch: a BBC chat-show host, a total lovey and self-proclaimed national treasure. His wife, Beverley, writes popular romance novels, though for years her publishers have provided her with a ghostwriter, known throughout the novel only as The Ghost. Both George and Beverley are having affairs. Beverley’s is with Pylyp Tataryn, her ‘Strictly’ dance partner who leaves his pet tortoise, Ustym Karmaliuk, in her care when he returns to Ukraine to visit his family. This is the tortoise depicted on the front cover.

Then there’s their young adult offspring: Elizabeth, 21, is addicted to social media and covets a blue tick; Nelson, 22, is a socially awkward teacher, and finally Achilles, 17, is extremely handsome and has used his looks and wit to find a rather unorthodox way of earning money.

Of the three, I found Elizabeth the most relatable. She often uses her fake account @TruthIsASword, to spend “a very pleasant hour abusing complete strangers on Twitter.” At one point she decides to troll herself with hilarious results as she switches back and forth between accounts. It reminded me of the pre-Twitter days of sock puppets.

‘The Echo Chamber’ is not only very funny but also highlights the current obsession with ‘cancel culture’ and how things can easily snowball on social media. The novel opens with two relevant quotes. Umberto Eco referring to social media as the ‘invasion of the idiots’ and Jon Ronson from ‘So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed’: “The snowflake never needs to feel responsible for the avalanche.”

With respect to the audiobook, Richard E. Grant was the perfect narrator. The novel was already funny on the printed page but hearing Grant’s crisp, crystal-cut voice reading the passages elevated it to new heights of hilarity.

I consider ‘The Echo Chamber’ a satirical masterpiece. Farcical in places but the Cleverley family are intentionally so. It is also very different from John Boyne’s other novels. Will it cause outrage? I expect that it will in some quarters but good satire always does. I saw this novel praised as ‘Hogarthian’ and I felt that this is a fair description.

Overall, I loved it from start to finish and quickly purchased its hardback edition.

Very highly recommended.

For apstarters, Richard Grant’s narration is superb. He seems to capture every nuance intended in the writing to perfection. As for the story, it’s entertaining and often clever satire. My reservation is that it’s almost too clever at times and seems to try just a little too hard to make the rather obvious point.

Boyne uses the Cleverley family as vehicles for his put downs. They’re all fairly obnoxious and at times I was rather hoping they’d be taken down a peg or two. There are numerous almost standalone pastiches which reflect the vagaries and falseness of our society. Obsession with media, fame, self image and with little empathy for other people, Boyne gives the listener much food for thought. Overall, a rather generous 4* because 3 would be mean.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

#TheEchoChamber by #JohnBoyne is a total departure from his usual style. The family, the Cleverley’s, who the story is centered around are not designed to be likeable in any way, shape or form and are in fact vacuous, self-centred, entitled hideous people. I found it irksome that there were actually no redeeming characteristics at all. It does raise the issue of intolerance and the lack of awareness that does indeed spark campaigns such as BLM such as ‘ I can’t be racist/homophobic etc I know so and so’ and that is ultimately the unravelling of George.
However this story is readable, certainly pokes at social media and the cancel culture. There were times whilst listening that I did laugh out loud. John Boyne did what he does best and wove a story with wit, humour and a whole lot of satire. #RichardEGrant was the perfect narrator.
Many thanks to #Netgalley for gifting me this #arc in exchange for an honest review.
#NetgalleyUK #PenguinRandomHouseAudio #GeneralFiction

This is a really farcical ride which I enjoyed a lot. It took me a while to warm to some of the characters but the dry, witty comments and the down to earth approach had me listening more. Whatever could go wrong, did go wrong! You could just see what was going to play out which made it even more enjoyable.

Hilarious, such up to date clever writing and observations on modern life. So it has a structure, it is based around a infamous family with grown up children, dad is On TV, mum is a writer of sorts, kids well not really developed careers but are finding their way. Life revolves around likes, insta posing, the place to be seen & people to be seen with, blue ticks, a tortoise and a couple of extra martial affairs. Loved it, narrated well. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

John Boyne broke my heart a little bit many years ago with "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and has touched me with his beautiful writing since then. In fact, I awarded 5 stars to both of his other novels I read, and my friends know that I am anything but generous with my star ratings, so even though there is still a long backlist of his work for me to discover, it's fair to say that he is one of my favourite novelists. "The Heart's Invisible Furies" was like a masterpiece to me, even if it had flaws and too many neat coincidences, but the characters were alive and real to me; I couldn't stop thinking about them long after I finished reading.

"The Echo Chamber" has many qualities of his fabulous writing (fun yet real characters, a sharp eye for what is and has been going on in the world, engaging writing, witty dialogue), and yet it felt as though it was written by someone else. I think it's the overall tone of the novel that stopped me from fully engaging - I am aware that this is satire, but at times the characters' thoughts, actions and behaviours were so over the top that I caught myself rolling my eyes more than once. I enjoyed the humour, and I appreciate a satirical angle, but there was an almost slapstick element to the story that I did not enjoy.

The intensity of social media and general mobile phone addiction has become an increasingly alarming issue among Gen X members, Millenials and the latest Gen Z, and Boyne does a good job of demonstrating in a humorous way how bad it can get.... BUT.... when it's done purely as a caricature of keyboard warriors and advocates of "wokeness", I don't feel enlightened let alone encouraged about our life with technology. It's here to stay, we need to learn to live in this digital world but remember that human relationships are more important than any number of followers on social media. Boyne tried to address exactly that point, but I feel that he didn't fully succeed in showing us how it's done.

3.5 stars - rounded up to 4 because despite its flaws and shortcomings, I did really enjoy this time with the not so clever Cleverley family and their antics.

Ah I just loved this book (listened to the audio which was superbly narrated). A very dry and witty story which was a perfect reflection of the modern affliction of SoMe! The story made me laugh aloud at times and I really looked forward to my commutes to get to listen to another chapter. The characters are big and bold and although could be quite stereotyped, that seemed to be the purpose of the story so was entirely appropriate. I think this book will appeal to anyone who has an eye roll at the ever invasive presence of mobiles, likes and followers! A definite 10/10 for me!