A very interesting premise, at times very enjoyable and even engrossing, but just not executed well enough.

My biggest issue was Self's misogyny. Dave, voice of much of The Book of Dave, is a misogynist. He is a racist, a xenophobe, and a general bigot to boot. It is a cartoonish, all-encompassing bigotry and Will Self recognises that Dave's bigotry makes him a worse person. However, Self is unable to recognise his own misogyny seemingly because it is not so cartoonishly obvious. It comes across is the women in the novel, all of whom are two-dimensional and written to type. They are poorly motivated (where they are motivated at all) and in contrast to the much more complex male characters, easily reduced to simple tropes. Not that the novel focuses much on any women.

It's very much about men, about what it means to be a father or a son, and what is (or should be) expected of a man in society. That is an interesting concern, and the book does explore some very interesting material. For example, Self's depiction of the ways in which far right wing grifters leverage men's failures under patriarchy to manipulate and radicalise them; the ways in which patriarchy is not merely a tool for controlling women. However, most of the novel is simply not that interesting. Its exploration of religion is shallower and less engaging than the premise of the book would suggest, and despite some very interesting and enjoyable world-building its post-apocalyptic society often feels artificial and brittle. So often, it felt as though Self was writing what he a book like Book of Dave should be, and not something with a life of its own. Spoilers for the arcs of the book:

In modern (well, early 2000s) England, Dave Rudman is a miserable, hateful man. A bad husband and father, a bigot, slowly being consumed by his own worst impulses. Despite some unconventional writing, his arc is a very staid three act structure which has him end the novel happier, more self-aware, and trying to make up for the consequences of his consumptive hatred. The scenery is different, but the path is very well-trod. Meanwhile, in post-apocalyptic "Ing", Carl Devush goes on an equally conventional hero's journey. The setting is strange, and the writing is sometimes very compelling weird fantasy, but once again the story is cookie-cutter. If slightly jumbled, Carl gets all the features of the hero's journey: he has his own wise older mentor,  crossing of the various thresholds, atonement with the father, and return home changed by his journey.

Add to this that the book drags a little too much in both of its stories, and the clever premise or occasionally engrossing writing just isn't enough to keep it all together. If you aren't so put off by a very conventional narrative, then you might quite enjoy this book. But I found it mostly just "alright". A somewhat laclustre execution on a clever idea.