The Paper Eater

After reading Liz Jensen's most recent novel, "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax", I was avid to read her earlier works. All are wonderful social satires, and several are also "speculative fiction" about dystopic societies. "The Paper Eater" tells of one such dystopia, an island called Atlantica where the inhabitants are kept happy with shopping and aromatherapy while the very land beneath them erodes away from toxic waste. The corporation that runs the island decides to blame the ecological failures on terrorists. An amazing thing about this about this novel is that it was written BEFORE 9/11 and yet explores the use of fear to control, as well as the willingness of a society to trade rights for safety. In short, I highly recommend all of Liz Jensen's wonderful stories. She can be favorably compared to Britain's other great social satirist, Fay Weldon.