The Echo Chamber

By: John Boyne

Narrated by: Richard E. Grant

Brought to you by Penguin.

What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds - and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept.

The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words), his wife Beverley, a celebrated novelist (although not as celebrated as she would like), and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen.

Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant. Along the way they will learn how volatile, how outraged, how unforgiving the world can be when you step from the proscribed path.

Powered by John Boyne's characteristic humour and razor-sharp observation, The Echo Chamber is a satiric helter skelter, a dizzying downward spiral of action and consequence, poised somewhere between farce, absurdity and oblivion. To err is maybe to be human but to really foul things up you only need a phone.

© John Boyne 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critic reviews

The funniest book I've read in ages. Savage but compelling

An uproariously funny novel... John Boyne skilfully skewers the cruelties of social media and the absurdities of wokeness ... a brave and timely foray into the contemporary culture wars.

A fearless romp with big laughs along the way

A comedy of manners and lack of manners ... good fun and cheeky as hell

His relish is infectious

Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian

A blisteringly funny and razor sharp satire about social media, celebrity and political correctness. I laughed SO much

Sharp, funny, and beautifully written, but it's also a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in

Great rollicking story-telling ... a terrific novel for our times.

'Hugely enjoyable'

LOL

An extraordinarily current book about the dilemmas of the digital, gender-fluid, cancel-culture world. I laughed out loud A LOT.
An exquisite read from Richard E.Grant. A genuine pleasure.
Very, very clever.

Thoroughly entertaining!

The Echo Chamber depicts a family caught up in their obsession with social media and cancel culture.

Let’s introduce you to the Cleverley family -

Father George is a TV chat show host, a self declared ‘national treasure’…

Mother Beverley is an ‘author’, however these days she has a ghost writer write all her books…

And their three extremely dysfunctional children - Nelson, Elizabeth and Achilles…

Full of self-absorbed characters, who are all unwittingly interconnected, The Echo Chamber was thoroughly entertaining!

John Boyne is one of my favourite authors & Richard E. Grant was the most perfect choice as the narrator.

Hilarious

The narrator is brilliant. All the quirky characters are uniquely enjoyable. Not the usual fare from John Boyne but I loved it.

Thought provoking

A good story of modern family breakdown due to money technology and selfishness, and with a happy ending.

Absolutely hilarious!

The Heart’s Invisible Furies is probably my very favorite book…it took me through the full range of emotions from laughing to ugly crying. The Echo Chamber is all comic satire. I would recommend this book for anyone trying to sort out the ways society has changed in the social media era.