Middle England: Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2019 (The Rotters' Club, 3) - Softcover

Coe, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241309476 ISBN 13: 9780241309476

Publisher: Viking, 2018

Synopsis

'THE BOOK EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT' THE TIMES

'It was tempting to think, at times like this, that some bizarre hysteria had gripped the British people'

Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by Poundland, and London, where frenzied riots give way to Olympic fever, Middle England follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense change.

There are newlyweds Ian and Sophie, who disagree about the future of the country and, possibly, the future of their relationship; Doug, the political commentator who writes impassioned columns about austerity from his Chelsea townhouse, and his radical teenage daughter who will stop at nothing in her quest for social justice; Benjamin Trotter, who embarks on an apparently doomed new career in middle age, and his father Colin, whose last wish is to vote in the European referendum. And within all these lives is the story of modern England: a story of nostalgia and delusion; of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.

Following in the footsteps of The Rotters' Club and The Closed Circle, Jonathan Coe's new novel is the novel for our strange new times.

'From post-industrial Birmingham to the London riots and the current political gridlock, [Middle England] takes in family, literature and love in a comedy for our times' Guardian

'Coe shows an understanding of this country that goes beyond what most cabinet ministers can muster . . . his light, funny writing makes you feel better' Evening Standard

'Middle England is a full-blooded state of the nation novel, and it brings us bang up-to-date' Sunday Times

Coe is an extraordinarily deft plotter...the book zips along...he tackles big ambitious themes, in this case the effect of politics on people's lives, and political opinions on personal relations' Mail on Sunday

'What is striking about Coe is not so much his flight from Enghlishness as his ambivalent embrace of it ' Financial Times

'Slick . . . stylishly engineered . . . you'll marvel at the extraordinary attention to detail' Spectator

'Coe's comic critique of a divided country dazzles . . . Properly laugh-out-loud funny . . . it is also incisive and brilliant about our divided country and the deep chasms revealed by the vote to leave. Do not miss' The Bookseller

About this title

Review

Brilliantly funny . . . a compelling state of the nation novel, full of light and shade, which vividly charts modern Britain's tragicomic slide (Economist)

Expansive and often very funny . . . Coe - a writer of uncommon decency - reminds us that the way out of this mess is through moderation, through compromise, through that age-old English ability to laugh at ourselves (Observer)

A pertinent, entertaining study of a nation in crisis ('Books of the Year' Financial Times)

His affectionately witty attitude to our human foibles is always uplifting . . . Superb (The Times)

In Middle England, Coe shows an understanding of this country that goes beyond what most cabinet ministers can muster . . . he subtly builds a picture that exposes the cracks in society . . . he is a master of satire but pokes fun subtly, without ever being cruel, biting or blatant . . . his light, funny writing makes you feel better (Evening Standard)

Tackling his characters' opposing points of view, he draws a portrait of a recognisable Britain baffled by its loss of industry and jobs, and of everyday people shocked by a rise of acceptable racism and xenophobia. It's also very, very funny (Stylist)

Millions of words have been and will be written on Brexit but few will get to the heart of why it is happening as incisively as Middle England (John Boyne Irish Times)

This is a picture of England that comes from a place of compassion and understanding (inews)

Coe is as funny and tender as ever, restoring some humanity to the tumultuous societal backdrop (Grazia)

Middle England combines top-class soap opera storytelling with melancholy insight into what it means to be English (Metro)

From the Back Cover

Set in the Midlands and London over the last eight years, Jonathan Coe follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense change and disruption in Britain. There are the early married years of Sophie and Ian who disagree about the future of Britain and, possibly, the future of their relationship; Sophie's grandfather whose final act is to send a postal vote for the European referendum; Doug, the political commentator, whose young daughter despairs of his lack of political nous and Doug's Remaining Tory politician partner who is savaged by the crazed trolls of Twitter. And within all these lives is the story of England itself: a story of nostalgia and irony; of friendship and rage, humour and intense bewilderment. As acutely alert to the absurdity of the political classes as he is compassionate about those who have been left behind, this is a novel Jonathan Coe was born to write.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0241309476
• ISBN 13: 9780241309476
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432