Coe is no stranger to writing epic state-of-the-nation novels. It is his forte, and to capture the changing fabric of the UK from VE Day in 1945 through to its 75th anniversary in the midst of COVID-19 is no trivial task. Coe combines his typical satire with poignancy. Of course, his point seems to be: the world's changing, and there is no point in being too rooted in the past — we aren't going back there — but it is not always changing for the better. Much of his ire is reserved, unsurprisingly, for Boris and his cavalier approach both to Brexit and the pandemic. The world Coe wants is a more humane one, with less bigotry and more tolerance. An older patriarch's disdain for one son's marriage to a lady of a different ethnicity and another son's homosexuality are cases in point. Reading this work, it is impossible not to get some shivers down one's back, recalling how the country changed, particularly when Diana died — almost a bringing together, and a contrast to the now more divided country. Enjoyment of Bournville was only heightened by reading it in one sitting on a flight between London and San Francisco: ten out of ten.
By Jonathan Coe