When a 110-empty-pager titled, 'Why Salvini Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration', made it to the bestseller list

As readers of this column well know, empty pages make the most noise.

By ET Bureau | Dec 16, 2020, 08.50 AM IST

In the 1880 British elections, William Scott, the Earl of Dalkeith, was in for a nasty surprise when the pamphlet ‘Political Achievements of the Earl of Dalkeith’ was circulated in Scotland. On opening it, a prospective voter would find 32 blank pages. Almost a century-and-a-half later, the joke still hasn’t got old.

Matteo Salvini of the right-wing Italian party Northern League was a recent victim of this ‘novel’ prank, when a 110-empty-pager titled, Why Salvini Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration, written by ‘Alex Green’, the pseudonym of a ‘political analyst’, began climbing the bestseller list this month.

‘Years of research’ apparently went into its writing, which many readers found ‘lengthy, difficult, yet fulfilling’ to read. So, yet another masterpiece in blank prose.

Why Salvini… also joins Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide by Michael J Knowles, the 226-blank page-turner, Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration, by David King, and the 200-page void, Everything Obama Knows About the Economy, by Jimmy Moncrief.

In India, a healthy start to analytical blankness could be the election manifestoes of political parties, complete with blank footnotes. What could possibly out-satirise these gems of emptiness, you ask? Well, watch this space, for more quality vacuousness coming to a column near you.

Lockdown Reading: It's The Perfect Time To Pick Up 'Les Miserables', Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Series

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You know those fat books that have forever been on your reading list and shelf, but end up collecting dust due to your busy schedule. There's no time like the present to go back and finish those long reads.

The lockdown has left many of us with more time on our hands than we'd like, so why not make the most of it and turn the pages of a worthwhile read.