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One of the best pieces of journalism I've read in years, this book really opened my eyes to the shambolic care system we have in this country. Winston Smith says a lot of the stuff he has to do is actually counter productive, as it exacerbated the problems they were designed to solve. The aim is to get kids who have been in care ready for independent living, but the kids are so indolent, violent, stupid and ignorant that Smith feels like he's helping create a generation of crooks and scroungers. He even vents spleen on the "service users" in a chapter on an annual survey:
"Do the staff understand your needs?
See, 'need' has a different meaning in here to the meaning it has outside....For instance, here are a few things I feel the residents need.
Bianca needs not to have got pregnant, as she can't look after herself, never mind an infant.
Kenny needs not to have knocked up his ex-girlfriend twice 'by accident' , and now that he has, he needs to man up and provide for the kid and the mother.
Perry neeeds to stop smoking dope all day, as well as stealing; actually, this goes for quite a few of our residents.....
A few need to be locked up."
It's also bloody funny, even down to a Pol Pot joke:
"What's your goal, Pol? Restarting civilisation at year zero? That's good. Now, how are we going to achieve your goal? Shall I put, 'Agrarian socialism achieved by relocating city-dwellers to collectivised forced-labour farms?' OK, excellent. Now let's have a look at your Housing Benefit claim."
It's not a review, but a personal reccomendation.
