Timur Vermes is clearly not a man to shy away from controversy. His sharp, very funny satire, Look Who’s Back, nailed the internet’s potential for political manipulation with admirable, if unsettling, prescience when Hitler wakes up with a bad headache in 2011 and quickly becomes a YouTube star. The Hungry and the Fat takes on the refugee crisis and Europe’s failure to deal with it in similar blistering style, following hundreds of thousands of refugees as they march towards Germany, all broadcast on prime time TV.
It begins with a new pair of shoes, a joke in a bar and the decision to stage a TV reality show finale in the world’s biggest refugee camp. The hugely popular Angel in Adversity is filmed in a German refugee centre where its star endears herself to viewers by helping with whatever’s needed. It’s an advertiser’s dream: a beautiful woman with a colourful life apparently empathising with others in desperate straits. Not being the sharpest tool in the box, Nadeche doesn’t entirely understand what her producer’s plans will entail, planning her wardrobe for the camp as meticulously as she always does. Off she goes with her entourage to sub-Saharan Africa where she spends the first day sulking in her plush trailer. The TV crew sets about finding her a guide, plumping for the man with the new shoes who they dub Lionel. Ratings shoot up even further as this handsome pair become a couple. When Lionel ‘s hopes of accompanying Nadeche back to Germany are dashed, he comes up with a plan. Perhaps that joke he’d cracked about walking to Germany in his new shoes wasn’t so ridiculous after all. Led by Nadeche and Lionel, three hundred thousand refugees begin making their way towards Europe, moving like a well-oiled machine thanks to Lionel’s enterprising skills. Meanwhile, the audience at home is watching, the politicians amongst them aghast. Surely the marchers won’t make it to Germany.
Just as he did with Look Who’s Back, Vermes takes swipes at the ridiculousness of many of our Western preoccupations and the perniciousness of others. He’s careful to avoid caricature – for all her self-absorption and manipulation Nadeche has a healthy streak of empathy. The politicians’ dismay and alarm at the smartly organised, cooperative operation that is the march and its relentless advance is well done. There are many funny, almost slapstick moments but it’s a novel with a message. Europe’s inability to address the refugee crisis in a humane and fair manner is lamentable. While some countries have offered a welcome, others – including my own – have been parsimonious with their generosity to say the least. When Minister Leubl offers his solution to the impending problem I wanted to punch the air – it’s a wonderful moment – but we know it’s no more than that. As with Look Who’s Back, Vermes’ novel is a little too long but that said it makes its sober point loud and clear while having a great deal of fun doing so.
MacLehose Press: London 2020 9781529400557 576 pages Hardback
Gosh, this really sounds like a novel for now. I can really imagine someone coming up with an idea for that TV show.
Only too true! It’s a brave subject to satirise but it’s done very well.
Thanks for presenting this book. I found Look Who’s Back brilliant, so I want to read this one
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it. It’ll be interesting to see what he has in his sights next.
Brave of him to tackle this subject but if anyone could, it would be this guy. I loved Look Who’s Back and am looking forward to reading this one.
Brave, indeed. Not a man to duck an issue. I wonder what he’ll do next.
This sounds sharp and funny! I have Look Who’s Back and have been meaning to read it for so long now! Have you seen the Netflix adaptation?
I hadn’t spotted that. My TV time is spent buried in Walter Presents! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Cathy.
He’s definitely not a timid writer! I enjoyed Look Who’s Back and this sounds similarly incisive.
No one could accuse him of that, for sure!
Great review. I have this one in the stack (as well as Look Who’s Back, which I still haven’t read!).
Thanks, Kate. He’s a fearless satirist.
He sounds wickedly clever. At nearly 600 pages, did you ever find your attention flagging, or does he hold it throughout?
I think he’s fearless in the subjects he tackles. I’d say it’s a wee bit too long, a critism I’d also make of Look Who’s Back.