Middle England
Book - 2019
"From the acclaimed author of The Rotters' Club and The Closed Circle comes the novel for our strange contemporary times. Beginning nine years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by chain retail, and London, where both frenzied riots and Olympic fever plague the streets, Middle England tracks a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through the transformation of their society. There are newlyweds Ian and Sophie, who disagree about England's future and, possibly, their relationship; Doug, the political commentator who writes impassioned columns about austerity from his Chelsea townhouse while his radical, teenage daughter undertakes a relentless quest for universal justice; Benjamin Trotter, who embarks on an apparently doomed new career in middle age, and his father Colin, whose last wish is to vote LEAVE in the Brexit referendum. Through all these lives we see this very tentatively united kingdom itself: a place of nostalgia and delusion, bewilderment and barely suppressed rage. As acutely alert to the absurdity of the political classes as it is compassionate about those left behind by elites of all sorts, this is a novel only Jonathan Coe could have written"--
Publisher:
New York, NY :, Alfred A. Knopf,, 2019
Copyright Date:
©2018
ISBN:
9780525656470
Branch Call Number:
FIC COE J


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Add a CommentVery well written; UK centric.
Very, very funny in places, with well-drawn, complicated characters throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but at first had been reluctant to give it a try, thinking it would be heavily political regarding British politics, including Brexit. While politics and Brexit form a part of the story, they act more as background to the lives of regular people trying their best to earn a living, live with dissenting voices of (mostly elderly) relatives and work at making their relationships work in today's world. Loved it and had a hard time putting it down!
Costa prize. This is the Brexit novel, set from 2010 to 2018. It is a sweeping story told by a journalist, a politician, a university lecturer and a driving instructor. It is often funny, sometimes awkward and covers all points of view. However, it did not lead me to a deeper understanding of Brexit. Overall, it projects a feeling of sadness.