Middle England
Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2019
(Author) Jonathan CoeBeginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by Poundland, and London, where frenzied riots give way to Olympic fever, Middle England follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense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.
Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe is a British author known for his humorous and satirical take on contemporary society and politics. His most notable works include "What a Carve Up!" and "The Rotters' Club," which explore themes of family, class, and the changing landscape of British society. Coe's writing style is characterized by sharp wit, clever wordplay, and keen observations of human behavior. He has been praised for his ability to blend comedy with social commentary, creating works that are both entertaining and thought-provoking. Coe's impact on the literary genre can be seen in his ability to capture the complexities of modern life with humor and insight. His most famous work, "What a Carve Up!," is a satirical novel that critiques the excesses of the 1980s and 1990s in Britain, and has been hailed as a modern classic.