Book review: Pussy

Word has it that Howard Jacobson, the Booker-winning author was so infuriated by the rise of Donald Trump he abandoned his current book project and rose at dawn every day for weeks to rush out this short, angry book. 

Howard Jacobson

Jonathan Cape, £12.99; ebook £9.49

In common with many a classic satire, Pussy is written as a fable.

It tells the story of one Prince Fracassus, heir presumptive to the Duchy of Origen, a land of casinos and gilded skyscrapers.

Fracassus is a spoilt lonely child, who spends his time watching reality TV and fantasising about prostitutes. He emerges as a populist force on a promise to make his country great.

It’s all great fun — especially spotting the many thinly disguised real-life figures who feature, from Farage to Putin — and no doubt it felt good to get all that off the chest too.

Jacobson is very good on the nuances of the Trump phenomenon, both in terms of what’s alarming about it and why it has struck such a resonant chord.

It may spread comfort in some quarters, and vexation in others.