• Features
  • New Books
  • Biggest New Books
  • Fiction
  • Non-Fiction
  • All Categories
  • First Readers Club Daily Giveaway
  • How It Works
 
 
 
Features
New Books
Biggest New Books
Fiction
Non-Fiction
All Categories


Middle England

Jonathan Coe

Buy Now

Publisher
Viking
Date
February 19, 2019
Fiction
Literary
Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by Poundland, and London, where frenzied riots give way to Olympic fever, Middle England follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense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.

Embed our reviews widget for this book

What is this?
Positive
Based on 7 reviews

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

What The Reviewers Say
Rave Melissa Katsoulis,
The Times (UK)
Tragicomedy is perhaps the only viable medium for a novel about Brexit, and Jonathan Coe brings his usual lightness of touch to a subject that could make an author come over bitter and humourless. His affectionately witty attitude to our human foibles is always uplifting, even when the politically divisive subject matter is morbidly depressing ... easily the most digestible contribution to Brexit-lit so far ... It takes an author with some neck to create a character so similar to himself, but just a bit worse in every way. Whether Coe’s self-satire is arrogant or a witty, postmodern trick only God and Larry David know ... Coe’s unflagging commitment to recording British life as it really is combines with his sensitive evocation of middle-aged angst, to make this an absorbing homage to things that change and things that stay the same.
Read Full Review >>
Rave John Boyne,
The Irish Times
Rather than writing a diatribe against the likes of Farage or Johnson, [Coe] uses the novel to try to understand why people voted as they did and the historic prejudices that led to such an unexpected result ...Readers of Coe’s earlier books The Rotter’s Club and The Closed Circle will be pleased to be reintroduced to Benjamin Trotter ... Each character is so credible and so vile that the question is not why it took England so long to leave the EU, but why the EU didn’t kick them out years ago. ... Coe is a deft comic writer, probably Britain’s finest, and there are dozens of laughs along the way ... 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.
Read Full Review >>
Positive Susannah Butter,
The Evening Standard
A state-of-the-nation novel, blending real events with fiction to compelling effect ... What makes Middle England stand out is that it isn’t a knee-jerk response. It goes further back ... speaks to the 700,000 people who marched for a People’s Vote this month ... both a wry, topical take on our times and an engaging story ... For anyone left feeling adrift and isolated by politics, Middle England provides solace.
Read Full Review >>
See All Reviews >>

SIMILAR BOOKS
Coming Soon

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Women Talking
Miriam Toews
Rave

Fiction

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

The Peacock Feast
Lisa Gornick
Positive

Fiction

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Peach
Emma Glass
Rave

Fiction

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Good Riddance
Elinor Lipman
Positive

Essays

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Notes from a Black Woman's Diary: Selected Works…
Kathleen Collins
Rave


What did you think of Middle England?
  • About
    • Get the Book Marks Bulletin

  • Categories
    Fiction
    Fantasy
    Graphic Novels
    Historical
    Horror
    Literary
    Mystery, Crime, & Thriller
    Poetry
    Romance
    Speculative
    Story Collections
    Non-Fiction
    Art
    Biography
    Criticism
    Culture
    Essays
    Film & TV
    Graphic Nonfiction
    History
    Investigative Journalism
    Memoir
    Music
    Nature
    Politics
    Religion
    Science
    Social Sciences
    Sports
    Technology
    Travel
  • Lithub Daily

      February 19, 2019

      • Bestselling author Andrea Levy has died at 62.
      • Ann Petry has entered the Library of America series.
      • The power of Andrea Dworkin’s rage.
      • Ron Charles' favorite last lines.

© LitHub