Review: Silly British Political Commentary
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2011
Royally Screwed is a tome from top to bottom of dry and occasionally raunchy British humor. Will everyone find it funny? No. Does everybody find Monty Python's Flying Circus Funny? Also no, but that doesn't mean there isn't a little bit of genius in it all.All institutions, especially those graced by royalty (or "royalty" when it comes to certain members of the club, according to Flax), deserve to be poked fun at and Flax uses most of her book to do that without restriction. Her objective is to show that Prince Charles' wife Camille does not have the moral capacity to become the future Queen of England.It all begins with a little HIStory (as Flax calls it) which I, as an American, was slightly aware of due to three semesters of Shakespeare in college. Flax lets her distaste with authority flow with vitriol throughout the section and if you are not a fan of the monarchy, you're bound to feel a connection and a desire to cheer.There are clever turns of phrase or silly asides in nearly every sentence, which would disrupt the flow if that was what Flax was going for. But instead, she is trying to elicit as many laughs from you as there were shady royal affairs in the last several hundred years (which by Flax's account, could have been unlimited).Now don't get me wrong. This is an extremely biased account of royal history from Flax's perspective. If you're looking to hear an argument from both sides, you may be disappointed. Flax has a great moral at the end of the story: ask questions and don't assume that just because somebody is royal and in power that what he or she is doing is right.If you like a good conspiracy yarn, a political rant or two, and some humor that would make the Queen blush, you're in for a treat.