This is the kind of dystopian satire that you read wondering, "oh my, can this get any more absurd and horrifying"? I do admit to getting very bogged down in the middle and even considering not finishing it (so many books, so little time) but I stuck through it and I'm glad I did. Although this book is similar in some ways to others I have already read, I like to be reminded of the horrors of a totalitarian state every so often.