When Phyl, a young literature graduate, moves back home with her parents, she soon finds herself frustrated by the narrow horizons of English country life. As for her plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere. But the chance discovery of a forgotten novelist from the 1980s stirs her into action, as does a visit from her uncle Chris - especially when he tells her that he’s working on a political story that might put his life in danger.
There’s a lot going on, and Coe marshals it all with ingenious ease ... Coe’s subject may be inertia and nostalgia, but The Proof of My Innocence is full of energy. It’s a madcap caper, a sideways memoir, a tricksy jeu d’esprit that is also a quiet defence of fiction in a post-truth age, and enormous fun to read.
One of the many pleasures of reading Jonathan Coe derives from his skill in organizing a large cast of characters, whose activities can sound congested in summary, but never seem so on the page. The Proof of My Innocence, Coe’s fifteenth novel, is an excellent example. The prose strides along with a mature confidence, combining level-headed analysis and droll satire with a strong narrative drive as it both celebrates and investigates distinct fictional genres. The result is an intriguing whodunnit that marries literary/philosophical speculations about the nature of reality with a condemnation of recent right-wing shenanigans.
Coe has written a typically astute, state-of-the-nation tale and fused it with, of all things, a murder mystery ... Coe transforms his narrative and ingeniously and entertainingly serves up three novels for the price of one ... There is so much going on that, by rights, it shouldn’t work. In fact, this brilliant novel works wonders.
