Jonathan Coe is a British novelist and writer known for his satirical and often politically charged works. Born on 19 August 1961 in Birmingham, England, Coe has garnered acclaim for his ability to blend humour with incisive social commentary.
One of Coe’s most acclaimed novels is ‘What a Carve Up!’ (also known as ‘The Winshaw Legacy’), which is a satire of 1980s Britain. The book intertwines the lives of several characters, exposing the greed and corruption of the era. It sounds like fun and there are supposed to be cross threads with this book.
One of the main themes in Jonathan Coe’s ‘Bournville’ is the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity. The novel explores how the village of Bournville, with its roots deeply embedded in traditional values and community spirit, grapples with the changes brought about by modernisation and globalisation. This theme is reflected in the evolving landscape of the village and the lives of its inhabitants, who must navigate the tension between preserving their heritage and adapting to new societal norms.
The book opens with a chapter about the impact of Covid. It is good but the thing that struck me is how dated it felt for something that only happened a few years ago and hasn’t even completely finished yet. Our brains work in odd ways.
It is undeniably a good book, and very entertaining. I enjoyed it as a story. The characters are quite good. The plot is less appealing, but this is largely because it is supposed to be a story of a family and their acquaintances over multiple decades. If you want a slightly better than average soap opera style novel it’s pretty much spot on. The reason I was dissappointed with it was that I had someone expected rather more. I thought I would get an investigation of Britishness and how the post-war years had panned out. It is certainly well structured for that. But I never really felt it ever moved beyond an account of a typical Midlands family. But if you want to look into the everyday, it is pretty good.
