Well, what a disappointment that was. I blame Mike Pesca’s interview with Jesse Armstrong on The Gist which made Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals sound a shitload more interesting and funnier than it turned out to be. Armstrong is a comedy writer known for his work on shows like Peep Show, The Thick of It and Fresh Meat.  In other words a person who has written some of my favorite TV. That knowledge and the lively interview with Mike Pesca created expectations (possibly of the unrealistic variety) that were dashed against the rocks of mediocrity. Or maybe I simply didn’t get the jokes.

In the novel a group of activists head off to the former Yugoslavia during the height of the Bosnian War smitten with the idea that their theatrical production about peace will save lives in the region. Our narrator, Andrew, while somewhat knowledgeable in the conflict is really only going along so he can be closer to Penny, one of the activist and the author of the play. To ensure he gets a place on the “peace bus” Andrew has lied to the group telling them that (a) his grandfather was born in the region and (b) he can speak the language.

Andrew is as hapless and annoying as he sounds. Yes, Armstrong generates comedy from Andrew’s fear of being found out – there’s one very funny scene where he attempts to communicate with a Serbian soldier at a border crossing mostly through gibberish – but overall he’s the Woody Allen noodnik with a distinct creepy streak. He’s constantly unsure of himself and yet he’s quite happy to manipulate events so he can be closer to Penny. It’s all very off-putting and it’s not helped by the fact that the rest of the cast is so broadly characterized – the drug addled brother, the idealistic group leader, the old hippie, the in your face lesbian – that it’s hard to see any of them as real people.

Armstrong has clearly done his research and there’s a level of sensitivity and awareness in how he describes the War with its complex internal conflicts and internecine battles. But for a book that is meant to be funny, poking fun at the idealistic hippie type trying to save the world through poetry and song, Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals is horribly short on laughs.

Mike Pesca’s interview with Jesse Armstrong can be found here.  Differing tastes aside, The Gist is great – I listen to Pesca everyday.  And if you’re looking for a second opinion, Zoe Williams from The Guardian clearly liked the book a shit load more than I did.  She describes one scene – involving our hapless narrator and a land mine – as achieving ‘structural perfection’ and got a kick from Armstrong’s ‘mordant wit’ that’s sustained even when the narrative gets a bit dark and violent.