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The Proof of My Innocence
A blisteringly funny political critique wrapped up in a murder mystery, from one of Britain’s most beloved novelists
Post-university life doesn’t suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to tourists at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere.
That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that’s finally poised to put their plans into action. But speaking truth to power can be dangerous—and power will stop at nothing to stay on top.
As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
Darting between decades and genres, The Proof of My Innocence is a wickedly funny and razor-sharp new novel from one of Britain’s most beloved novelists, showing how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.
Post-university life doesn’t suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to tourists at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere.
That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that’s finally poised to put their plans into action. But speaking truth to power can be dangerous—and power will stop at nothing to stay on top.
As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
Darting between decades and genres, The Proof of My Innocence is a wickedly funny and razor-sharp new novel from one of Britain’s most beloved novelists, showing how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2024
637 people are currently reading
8432 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Coe
82 books2,607 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Jonathan Coe, born 19 August 1961 in Birmingham, is a British novelist and writer. His work usually has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, What a Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name, in the light of the 'carve up' of the UK's resources which some felt was carried out by Margaret Thatcher's right wing Conservative governments of the 1980s. Coe studied at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Trinity College, Cambridge, before teaching at the University of Warwick where he completed a PhD in English Literature. In July 2006 he was given an honorary degree by The University of Birmingham.
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Retrieved 10:55, February 2, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan...
Jonathan Coe, born 19 August 1961 in Birmingham, is a British novelist and writer. His work usually has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, What a Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name, in the light of the 'carve up' of the UK's resources which some felt was carried out by Margaret Thatcher's right wing Conservative governments of the 1980s. Coe studied at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Trinity College, Cambridge, before teaching at the University of Warwick where he completed a PhD in English Literature. In July 2006 he was given an honorary degree by The University of Birmingham.
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Retrieved 10:55, February 2, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 752 reviews
July 30, 2024
I really liked this for the most part. There were a few chapters that would have been better left on the cutting room floor, some of the characters were less well-drawn than they could have been, and the ending was a little frustrating. But the writing was great, and the mystery remained fun up to the 85% mark, so it's a fairly easy four stars from me.
August 4, 2024
See it. Say it. Sorted.
Phyl returns to her parents home from university with little idea of next steps beyond that she’d like to write. She’s interested in the Dark Acadia genre but her mother’s old friend, Christopher Swann, interests her in the cosy mystery world and also that of auto-fiction. Christopher is very concerned about a shadowy right wing think tank, The Processus Group which has links back to his days at Cambridge and in his blog he puts forward his conspiracy theories. He fears this group will have influence over the incoming and ultimately ill fated government of Liz Truss. Christopher will attend TrueCon, a right wing conference in order to pursue his story and hopefully reveal the groups real intentions. This is part state of the nation satire, part cosy mystery, part autofiction, all wrapped up in Coe’s bang on point humour whilst casting an incisive eye over the absurdity and havoc caused by the few weeks of the Truss regime.
Well, you’d think think this latest novel from Jonathan Coe would be a right old mess given the ambitious premise. It’s absolutely not but I think few writers could handle the concept with the aplomb of this author. He entertains me from start to finish, making me laugh out loud at some of the clever humour but also leaves you in no doubt of the sinister undertones. There’s quite a cast of characters yet I have no trouble distinguishing them at all. I love DI Prue Freeborn (so clever!) whose staying power is admirable and Phyl and Rashida, Christopher’s adopted daughter, who hang the whole thing together. There’s lively dialogue throughout with multiple colourful and highly entertaining scenes.
The book is very well crafted in several layers and I like how the author weaves actual events seamlessly into the narrative creating an air of authenticity. Conversely there’s a lot of mind bending so you aren’t sure what’s real and what’s not. There are twists and turns right to the very end. Is it sorted? Who knows.
I enjoy the spotlight on the influence of conservative elements especially that which emanates from elite universities and the impact they may or may not have on governments. The thrill when they think they have one in their own image in La Truss. Look how well that went. 🥬
I do find the constant repetition of See it, say it, sorted as tedious as the rail announcements which is probably the authors intention but it does get too much. It falls a bit flat in a couple of occasions but soon picks up again and then it dawns on the relevance of those sections.
Overall, it’s very engaging, quirky, satirical and funny novel which makes me think. Can’t be bad then!!
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
Phyl returns to her parents home from university with little idea of next steps beyond that she’d like to write. She’s interested in the Dark Acadia genre but her mother’s old friend, Christopher Swann, interests her in the cosy mystery world and also that of auto-fiction. Christopher is very concerned about a shadowy right wing think tank, The Processus Group which has links back to his days at Cambridge and in his blog he puts forward his conspiracy theories. He fears this group will have influence over the incoming and ultimately ill fated government of Liz Truss. Christopher will attend TrueCon, a right wing conference in order to pursue his story and hopefully reveal the groups real intentions. This is part state of the nation satire, part cosy mystery, part autofiction, all wrapped up in Coe’s bang on point humour whilst casting an incisive eye over the absurdity and havoc caused by the few weeks of the Truss regime.
Well, you’d think think this latest novel from Jonathan Coe would be a right old mess given the ambitious premise. It’s absolutely not but I think few writers could handle the concept with the aplomb of this author. He entertains me from start to finish, making me laugh out loud at some of the clever humour but also leaves you in no doubt of the sinister undertones. There’s quite a cast of characters yet I have no trouble distinguishing them at all. I love DI Prue Freeborn (so clever!) whose staying power is admirable and Phyl and Rashida, Christopher’s adopted daughter, who hang the whole thing together. There’s lively dialogue throughout with multiple colourful and highly entertaining scenes.
The book is very well crafted in several layers and I like how the author weaves actual events seamlessly into the narrative creating an air of authenticity. Conversely there’s a lot of mind bending so you aren’t sure what’s real and what’s not. There are twists and turns right to the very end. Is it sorted? Who knows.
I enjoy the spotlight on the influence of conservative elements especially that which emanates from elite universities and the impact they may or may not have on governments. The thrill when they think they have one in their own image in La Truss. Look how well that went. 🥬
I do find the constant repetition of See it, say it, sorted as tedious as the rail announcements which is probably the authors intention but it does get too much. It falls a bit flat in a couple of occasions but soon picks up again and then it dawns on the relevance of those sections.
Overall, it’s very engaging, quirky, satirical and funny novel which makes me think. Can’t be bad then!!
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
December 13, 2024
This is a book – from an author new to me – that surprised and delighted me. It’s a cleverly constructed, satirical novel focused on far right politics at the time of the disastrous (and very brief) reign of Liz Truss as British prime minister
Phyl has returned home after graduating from university. She doesn’t quite know what to do with her life now. In fact she’s bored and treading water, preparing food for a Japanese restaurant at Heathrow Airport. Perhaps she’ll write a book – but about what, and how would go about constructing it? But luck is on her side, because a friend of her mother’s is staying at the house and his daughter has also come to join him. She’s about Phyl’s age, and they quickly forge a friendship. Maybe they can work something out between them.
Her mother’s friend is a political blogger and planning to attend a far-right conference, an act he’s mysteriously nervous of. In fact, he’s iterated vague warnings concerning his fears that harm may come to him. How things play out from here is both intriguing and often highly amusing. But it’s the way that the story is told – the cleverness of it – that struck me the most. Multiple styles are employed with the point of view changing a number of times. This might sound a little weird and confusing, but in practice, I found that it worked really well. In fact, it added to my enjoyment of this strangely compelling novel.
The only issue I had is that I found it a little hard to keep track of the action – perhaps because of the book's structure or maybe because I’m just not very good at following complex tales. Either way, the intelligence of the whole piece and it’s up to the minute relevancy was something I found very appealing. I’ll certainly look out more of Mr Coe’s work.
My thanks to Penguin for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review
Phyl has returned home after graduating from university. She doesn’t quite know what to do with her life now. In fact she’s bored and treading water, preparing food for a Japanese restaurant at Heathrow Airport. Perhaps she’ll write a book – but about what, and how would go about constructing it? But luck is on her side, because a friend of her mother’s is staying at the house and his daughter has also come to join him. She’s about Phyl’s age, and they quickly forge a friendship. Maybe they can work something out between them.
Her mother’s friend is a political blogger and planning to attend a far-right conference, an act he’s mysteriously nervous of. In fact, he’s iterated vague warnings concerning his fears that harm may come to him. How things play out from here is both intriguing and often highly amusing. But it’s the way that the story is told – the cleverness of it – that struck me the most. Multiple styles are employed with the point of view changing a number of times. This might sound a little weird and confusing, but in practice, I found that it worked really well. In fact, it added to my enjoyment of this strangely compelling novel.
The only issue I had is that I found it a little hard to keep track of the action – perhaps because of the book's structure or maybe because I’m just not very good at following complex tales. Either way, the intelligence of the whole piece and it’s up to the minute relevancy was something I found very appealing. I’ll certainly look out more of Mr Coe’s work.
My thanks to Penguin for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review
February 22, 2025
This is a wonderfully entertaining and easy to read novel which is almost impossible to describe without making it sound forbiddingly complicated, self-referential, and just a bit too clever for its own good. It combines cosy crime, politics, dark academia and autofiction. Some of the story is set during Liz Truss’s disastrous blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 45-day reign as British Prime Minister, but we also head back to Cambridge University in the early years of Thatcherism. Characters from Coe’s satire of Thatcherism, What a Carve Up!, are dropped into the narrative, as is Coe himself as hapless Cambridge undergraduate Tommy Cope who later enjoys modest success with his satirical novel Quite the Mash-Up. It has a punning title and features a rather fiery novelist called Peter Cockerill who, having decided that telling stories is nothing more than telling lies, endeavours to tell the literal truth about his own life in novel form (shades of the late great B. S. Johnson about whom Coe wrote an excellent biography).
The main engine of the narrative, or perhaps that should be narratives, is provided by cosy crime. Coe observes the conventions of the genre while also gently sending them up. So we get a country house complete with secret passages, an unctuous aristocrat, an eccentric elderly female detective, the obligatory corpse who has obligingly left a cryptic clue, and a gaggle of suspects standing around trying to look innocent. To these ritual elements he adds a sinister right-wing think tank involved in a plot to privatise the National Health Service.
Cosy murder, I must confess, isn’t really my preferred cup of poison, but Coe soon had me not only wanting to know whodunnit but actually caring. Pastiche and metafictional games aside The Proof of My Innocence works splendidly as a thrilling murder mystery. It’s stuffed to the gunnels with satisfying twists and turns and never surrenders all of its many secrets until the very final page. It’s also peppered with deliberately corny jokes - straight out of the seventies sitcoms Coe loves - that are so bad they’re hilarious.
But this is Jonathan Coe, sharp-eyed observer of British society, and there is certainly more going on here than is apparent at first glance. It’s a Russian doll of a novel: books within books and stories within stories. Coe sets an interrelated set of short fictions within the context of the all-encompassing fiction that is contemporary politics. The self-enclosed world of cosy crime opens out onto the genuinely terrifying world of post-truth politics. As reality begins to look increasingly unreal and untrustworthy where do we find the factual? Autofiction? Perhaps not. After all, we only have the nonfiction novelist’s word that he or she isn’t making it all up. Coe seems to be suggesting, in this exuberantly inventive and playful example of the storyteller’s art, that it is in the compact between writer and reader called fiction that we might still catch a glimpse of the truth in these mendacious times.
The main engine of the narrative, or perhaps that should be narratives, is provided by cosy crime. Coe observes the conventions of the genre while also gently sending them up. So we get a country house complete with secret passages, an unctuous aristocrat, an eccentric elderly female detective, the obligatory corpse who has obligingly left a cryptic clue, and a gaggle of suspects standing around trying to look innocent. To these ritual elements he adds a sinister right-wing think tank involved in a plot to privatise the National Health Service.
Cosy murder, I must confess, isn’t really my preferred cup of poison, but Coe soon had me not only wanting to know whodunnit but actually caring. Pastiche and metafictional games aside The Proof of My Innocence works splendidly as a thrilling murder mystery. It’s stuffed to the gunnels with satisfying twists and turns and never surrenders all of its many secrets until the very final page. It’s also peppered with deliberately corny jokes - straight out of the seventies sitcoms Coe loves - that are so bad they’re hilarious.
But this is Jonathan Coe, sharp-eyed observer of British society, and there is certainly more going on here than is apparent at first glance. It’s a Russian doll of a novel: books within books and stories within stories. Coe sets an interrelated set of short fictions within the context of the all-encompassing fiction that is contemporary politics. The self-enclosed world of cosy crime opens out onto the genuinely terrifying world of post-truth politics. As reality begins to look increasingly unreal and untrustworthy where do we find the factual? Autofiction? Perhaps not. After all, we only have the nonfiction novelist’s word that he or she isn’t making it all up. Coe seems to be suggesting, in this exuberantly inventive and playful example of the storyteller’s art, that it is in the compact between writer and reader called fiction that we might still catch a glimpse of the truth in these mendacious times.
September 5, 2025
9 livres en un frère mais super intéressant et j’ai beaucoup aimé le commentaire politique
May 4, 2025
"See It! Say It! Sorted! When everyone sees the world differently, how do you find the truth? See It. How do you tell the truth? Say It. How do you agree on the truth and what isn't? Sorted "
Once again Jonathan Coe shines the spotlight on the English political system and Englishness in this razor sharp dissection of recent events and current attitudes. Make no bones, this story takes place around the rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss and explores a forty year pathway of extremism within the right since the arrival of Thatcher; the demise of community and the rise of the self.
This is a multi-layered novel that plays tricks on the reader - what is the reality, what is the truth, who can we trust? In a world where the smart phone and social media seem to be confusing and dividing Jonathan Coe explores the impact upon truth through a murder mystery story.
Phyl is living with her parents post-uni and is making sushi at Heathrow- not what she had planned. Things change with the arrival of Christopher Swann - a blogger who focuses attention on right wing think tank politics and tries to reveal the 'truth' about the bigger plans these people have- i.e. bringing down the NHS and privatising it, lowering taxes etc...
But events take a darker turn when Swann attends a conference organised by such a group ... Phyl, Swann's daughter Rash and DI Pru Freeborne endeavour to find the truth behind events
Reflecting upon current publishing trends and using them as devices to plot the narrative; Cosy Crime; A Dark Academia Tale; Autofiction. Jonathan Coe takes us on a unique read; the world of Friends the TV show and its impact, the divisions between Gen Z and Baby Boomers and the world of publishing and machiavellian events
This is a complex novel - so much to digest and consider during the read and after - sharp , pertinent and relevant.
Another winner from the master of contemporary English fiction
Highly recommended .
Favourite interesting quotes :
What can we all agree on? What is our common ground? Proof /Reality
The thing that struck her about the conference was angry everybody seemed. For forty years the country's been shaped in their image and now they look around and even they don't like what they see.The world they see and the world that Rash and I see bear no reaction to each other. We see different worlds.
What is the word 'instagrammable' , after all, if not today's version of picturesque ?
Any act of writing must also by definition, be an act of selection; therefore distortion; and therefore invention
Once again Jonathan Coe shines the spotlight on the English political system and Englishness in this razor sharp dissection of recent events and current attitudes. Make no bones, this story takes place around the rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss and explores a forty year pathway of extremism within the right since the arrival of Thatcher; the demise of community and the rise of the self.
This is a multi-layered novel that plays tricks on the reader - what is the reality, what is the truth, who can we trust? In a world where the smart phone and social media seem to be confusing and dividing Jonathan Coe explores the impact upon truth through a murder mystery story.
Phyl is living with her parents post-uni and is making sushi at Heathrow- not what she had planned. Things change with the arrival of Christopher Swann - a blogger who focuses attention on right wing think tank politics and tries to reveal the 'truth' about the bigger plans these people have- i.e. bringing down the NHS and privatising it, lowering taxes etc...
But events take a darker turn when Swann attends a conference organised by such a group ... Phyl, Swann's daughter Rash and DI Pru Freeborne endeavour to find the truth behind events
Reflecting upon current publishing trends and using them as devices to plot the narrative; Cosy Crime; A Dark Academia Tale; Autofiction. Jonathan Coe takes us on a unique read; the world of Friends the TV show and its impact, the divisions between Gen Z and Baby Boomers and the world of publishing and machiavellian events
This is a complex novel - so much to digest and consider during the read and after - sharp , pertinent and relevant.
Another winner from the master of contemporary English fiction
Highly recommended .
Favourite interesting quotes :
What can we all agree on? What is our common ground? Proof /Reality
The thing that struck her about the conference was angry everybody seemed. For forty years the country's been shaped in their image and now they look around and even they don't like what they see.The world they see and the world that Rash and I see bear no reaction to each other. We see different worlds.
What is the word 'instagrammable' , after all, if not today's version of picturesque ?
Any act of writing must also by definition, be an act of selection; therefore distortion; and therefore invention
April 1, 2025
Ποτέ δεν κατάλαβα τη μαζική εμμονή τόσα χρόνια με τα Φιλαράκια. Κι αυτό που δεν περίμενα ήταν ότι την πιο πειστική απάντηση για το φαινόμενο θα την έβρισκα σε ένα βιβλίο του Τζόναθαν Κόου. Αυτή, όμως, δεν είναι η μοναδική έκπληξη που ο Άγγλος συγγραφέας, σε μεγάλα και δαιμονικά κέφια, επιφυλάσσει στον αναγνώστη, ακόμα και στο δέκατο πέμπτο βιβλίο του, το οποίο επιβεβαιώνει, αλλά και ξεπερνά τις προσδοκίες.
Αδυσώπητος και βιτριολικός απέναντι στη Λιζ Τρας και την κουστωδία των Συντηρητικών που οδήγησαν στο πολιτικό και οικονομικό φιάσκο της χώρας του, ο Κόου χρησιμοποιεί ως εφαλτήριο τη δολοφονία ενός εμμονικού με την άνοδο της Ακροδεξιάς δημοσιογράφου με τον όνομα Κρίστοφερ Σουάν (μία από τις πολλές και απολαυστικές διακειμενικές αναφορές του βιβλίου) για να μιλήσει με το χαρακτηριστικό φλεγματικό χιούμορ, αλλά και τη δριμύτητα του κριτικού του πνεύματος για τη μεγαλύτερη εικόνα της κοινωνικής, πολιτικής και πολιτιστικής εξέλιξης της Βρετανίας από την εποχή της Θάτσερ κι ύστερα.
Το Η Απόδειξη της Αθωότητας μου είναι ένα φιλόδοξο και περίτεχνό αμάλγαμα από λογοτεχνικά είδη κι εγκιβωτισμένες αφηγήσεις που ξεκινούν από την πολιτική σάτιρα για να καταλήξουν, μέσα από μια διαδρομή που εξερευνά τη φύση της αλήθειας σε μια post truth εποχή, στο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, στο campus novel, στην αυτομυθοπλασία και να συνθέσουν εν τέλει μια πολυφωνική και παιγνιώδη τοιχογραφία της βρετανικής κοινωνίας στη μετα-Brexit εποχή, όπου τίποτε δεν γλιτώνει και κανένας δεν μένει αλώβητος από το στόχαστρο του συγγραφέα.
Ούτε καν η ίδια αλήθεια.
Ό,τι κι αν αυτή σημαίνει πια για τον καθένα.
Αδυσώπητος και βιτριολικός απέναντι στη Λιζ Τρας και την κουστωδία των Συντηρητικών που οδήγησαν στο πολιτικό και οικονομικό φιάσκο της χώρας του, ο Κόου χρησιμοποιεί ως εφαλτήριο τη δολοφονία ενός εμμονικού με την άνοδο της Ακροδεξιάς δημοσιογράφου με τον όνομα Κρίστοφερ Σουάν (μία από τις πολλές και απολαυστικές διακειμενικές αναφορές του βιβλίου) για να μιλήσει με το χαρακτηριστικό φλεγματικό χιούμορ, αλλά και τη δριμύτητα του κριτικού του πνεύματος για τη μεγαλύτερη εικόνα της κοινωνικής, πολιτικής και πολιτιστικής εξέλιξης της Βρετανίας από την εποχή της Θάτσερ κι ύστερα.
Το Η Απόδειξη της Αθωότητας μου είναι ένα φιλόδοξο και περίτεχνό αμάλγαμα από λογοτεχνικά είδη κι εγκιβωτισμένες αφηγήσεις που ξεκινούν από την πολιτική σάτιρα για να καταλήξουν, μέσα από μια διαδρομή που εξερευνά τη φύση της αλήθειας σε μια post truth εποχή, στο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, στο campus novel, στην αυτομυθοπλασία και να συνθέσουν εν τέλει μια πολυφωνική και παιγνιώδη τοιχογραφία της βρετανικής κοινωνίας στη μετα-Brexit εποχή, όπου τίποτε δεν γλιτώνει και κανένας δεν μένει αλώβητος από το στόχαστρο του συγγραφέα.
Ούτε καν η ίδια αλήθεια.
Ό,τι κι αν αυτή σημαίνει πια για τον καθένα.
September 13, 2024
What a very odd book! I have never been a fan but actually loved this book as it started off. I was quickly drawn in and was keen to get back to it each time. Then there was a sort of diversion as we had a book within a book. Later it feels like we have another book within that book but it really isnt clear as you read whether this is part of the first book or a different book until you get to the end and its explained. I am still not sure what I read? Was it a detective mystery? Or a state of the nation novel about people who went to Cambridge? Or just about two young women who may or not be romantically linked. It all feels a bit insubstantial now I have finished it and so I am disappointed again. And I am sure he inserts himself in every novel. Isnt that narcissism? Just a weird book with a strange composition. Why not just write it as a straight story?? I have no idea. It started as potentially 5 stars but is now down to 3 as it got progressively less clear as it went on. And some of the clues are so obvious its insulting.
May 18, 2025
This is the first time I've read Jonathan Coe, and I'm really impressed by this. For one thing, it's extremely clever—but in a delightful and not show-offish way. The framing story sets up three parts, each in a different genre: cosy crime, dark academia, and autofiction (autobiography + fiction). I wouldn't call them parodies, but more like light caricatures—their features are slightly exaggerated, but still each is still a legitimate story, representative of its genre.
The mystery established in the first part flows across all three, and it's a good one; Coe clearly loves puzzles and wordplay. The book's title, for example, takes on a completely different meaning than you would expect. And the ultimate explanation of the "8/2" clue was one of the best setups and reveals I've read in a long time.
Coe also has interesting things to say about politics and society. The murder takes place at a Conservative political conference, then flashes back to a Conservative student group in the '80s. At fist I was mildly conflicted about reading this, mainly because I'm tired of politics and would be all too happy if I never again heard the word "woke" used as an adjective. But in the end, I think Coe's commentary was astute enough and compassionate enough that it won me over.
He's rightly critical of the selfishness of Britain's Conservatives and the legacy they've left for younger generations, but he's not an extremist. Many of his non-Conservative characters still love the Queen, enjoy quintessential British institutions, and can acknowledge that services like the National Health have their problems. They don't hate their country, but they're nostalgic for a post-war Britain where it felt like people had a shared goal.
Again, Coe is clever in the way he inverts political stereotypes. It's the Conservatives, not the radicals, who actually want to tear it all down. They've had ample chance to do so over the years, and their chronic dissatisfaction with the results is ironic and a little sad. Toward the end, the murderer is confronted, a moment that brilliantly highlights the story's political parallels and the book's themes:
The mystery established in the first part flows across all three, and it's a good one; Coe clearly loves puzzles and wordplay. The book's title, for example, takes on a completely different meaning than you would expect. And the ultimate explanation of the "8/2" clue was one of the best setups and reveals I've read in a long time.
Coe also has interesting things to say about politics and society. The murder takes place at a Conservative political conference, then flashes back to a Conservative student group in the '80s. At fist I was mildly conflicted about reading this, mainly because I'm tired of politics and would be all too happy if I never again heard the word "woke" used as an adjective. But in the end, I think Coe's commentary was astute enough and compassionate enough that it won me over.
He's rightly critical of the selfishness of Britain's Conservatives and the legacy they've left for younger generations, but he's not an extremist. Many of his non-Conservative characters still love the Queen, enjoy quintessential British institutions, and can acknowledge that services like the National Health have their problems. They don't hate their country, but they're nostalgic for a post-war Britain where it felt like people had a shared goal.
Again, Coe is clever in the way he inverts political stereotypes. It's the Conservatives, not the radicals, who actually want to tear it all down. They've had ample chance to do so over the years, and their chronic dissatisfaction with the results is ironic and a little sad. Toward the end, the murderer is confronted, a moment that brilliantly highlights the story's political parallels and the book's themes:
You murdered a man to get what you wanted. You murdered another man in order to keep your secret safe. And yet the good fortune that it's brought you still isn't enough. You remind me of the people at that conference. Remaking the world in their own image and still not liking what they see.
January 27, 2025
Just exactly what I would want to read at any time of my life
May 14, 2025
Όποιος έχει ταξιδέψει με τρένο στη Βρετανία την τελευταία δεκαετία θα έχει κουραστεί, αν όχι ενοχληθεί, από την πανταχού παρούσα ανακοίνωση «See it - Say it - Sort it»· «Δες το. Πες το. Κανονίστηκε» είναι μια σύσταση της Βρετανικής αστυνομίας των Μέσων Μαζικής Μεταφοράς προς τους πολίτες να αναφέρουν τυχόν ύποπτες συμπεριφορές και κινήσεις κατά τη διάρκεια του ταξιδιού τους. Ο πιο «βρετανικός» από τους σύγχρονους Βρετανούς συγγραφείς – οξυδερκή χρονικογράφο της «βρετανικότητας» τον χαρακτηρίζουν τα μέσα- διοχετεύει αυτό το αίσθημα όχλησης (αν όχι κραυγή οργής για το ότι δεν μπορεί πλέον ένας ταξιδιώτης να απολαύσεις ένα ήρεμο ταξίδι με το τρένο), που προκαλούν οι επαναλαμβανόμενες υπενθυμίσεις του μηνύματος σε ένα μυθιστόρημα στο οποίο σατιρίζει, όπως συμβαίνει στα έργα του, τη σύγχρονη πραγματικότητα στη χώρα του και συνάμα στοχάζεται επάνω σε ένα από τα μείζονα ερωτήματα με τα οποία έρχονται αντιμέτωποι κάποια στιγμή της ζωής τους οι συγγραφείς: γιατί γράφουμε;
Ο Κόου σκηνοθετεί την ιστορία του με φόντο μια ιδιαίτερα δύσκολη στιγμή της σύγχρονης ιστορίας του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου που δεν είναι άλλη από την καταστροφική της διακυβέρνηση της Λιζ Τρας, ηγέτιδας του Συντηρητικού Κόμματος, η άνοδος της οποίας στην εξουσία συνέπεσε σχεδόν με τον θάνατο της βασίλισσας Ελισσάβετ και το «τέλος μιας Εποχής» (8 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022). Μάλιστα, η δράση του μυθιστορήματος διαρκεί όσο οι επτά εβδομάδες της σύντομης (6 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022 -25 Οκτωβρίου 2022) Πρωθυπουργίας της Τρας, βασικής εκπροσώπου της ριζοσπαστικοποίησης του βρετανικού συντηρητικού κινήματος τα τελευταία χρόνια. Η Φιλ, μια εικοσιτριάχρονη κοπέλα, μετά το πέρας των σπουδών της επιστρέφει απρόθυμα στο πατρικό της, αναγκάζεται να συμβιώσει με τους γονείς της και να εργαστεί σε μια ιαπωνική αλυσίδα fast food στο αεροδρόμιο του Χίθροου, ένα επάγγελμα παντελώς άσχετο με την Αγγλική Φιλολογία, το αντικείμενο των σπουδών της. Παρότι φιλοδοξεί να γίνει συγγραφέας ξεκινώντας από το «εύκολο» είδος του αστυνομικού μυθιστορήματος (ή μήπως να στραφεί στο σκοτεινό ακαδημαϊκό [dark academia] ή μήπως στην «πολύ της μόδας» αυτομυθοπλασία, προβληματίζεται η Φιλ), η έμπνευση δεν της χτυπά την πόρτα και περνά τον ελεύθερο χρόνο της παρακολουθώντας επαναλήψεις της αμερικανικής τηλεοπτικής σειράς των 90s Φιλαράκια. Η μονότονη καθημερινότητά της αποκτά χρώμα και σασπένς χάρη στην απροσδόκητη επίσκεψη του Κρίστοφερ Σουάν, δημοσιογράφου και στενού φίλου της μητέρας της κατά τη διάρκεια των σπουδών τους στο Κέιμπριτζ, ο οποίος συνοδεύεται από την υιοθετημένη κόρη του Ρασίντα. Ο Κρίστοφερ έρχεται στην πόλη τους για να παρακολουθήσει ένα τριήμερο συνέδριο με τίτλο TrueCon (δηλαδή TrueConservative, επινόηση του συγγραφέα), πίσω από τη διοργάνωση του οποίου κρύβεται ένα αμφιλεγόμενο think tank group που ωθεί συστηματικά την κυβέρνηση της Αγγλίας προς ακροδεξιές και απομονωτιστικές πολιτικές.
Ο ιστορικός και δημοσιογράφος, ο οποίος ασχολείται συστηματικά με την καταγραφή στο blog του της συντηρητικής πολιτικής από την εποχή της Θάτσερ στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο και του Ρέιγκαν στις ΗΠΑ, της τελευταίας δηλαδή τεσσαρακονταετίας, εγκαθίσταται στην εξοχική έπαυλη στα βάθη του Κότσγουολντς όπου διεξάγεται το συνέδριο στο οποίο πρωταγωνιστικό ρόλο έχει ένας άλλος παλιός συμφοιτητής του. Το δεύτερο μόλις βράδυ ο μαχητικός δημοσιογράφος που έχει ήδη καταφέρει να ταράξει τα νερά βρίσκεται νεκρός στο δωμάτιό του, ενώ με μια πρώτη ματιά δεν φαίνεται να υπήρχε τρόπος για τον δολοφόνο του να μπει ή να βγει από το δωμάτιο. Η επιθεωρήτρια Προύντενς Φρίμπορν, παρότι έτοιμη να συνταξιοδοτηθεί, καταφθάνει με σκοπό τη διαλεύκανση του φόνου και, παράλληλα, η Φιλ αντί (;) για συγγραφέας μετατρέπεται σε ντεντέκτιβ, καθώς μαζί με τη Ρασίντα παίρνουν την πρωτοβουλία να εξιχνιάσουν το έγκλημα, το οποίο, όπως γρήγορα διαπιστώνουν, σχετίζεται άμεσα με τη σκοτεινή υπόθεση της προ δεκαετιών αυτοκτονίας του Πήτερ Κόκεριλ, ενός ξεχασμένου λογοτέχνη των ‘80s.
Το κατά δύναμη χωρίς προκαταλήψεις και ενδοιασμούς, επιστρατεύοντας το χαρακτηριστικό αιχμηρό του χιούμορ και την γνώριμη από τα προηγούμενα έργα του αφηγηματική του δεξιοτεχνία, ο Κόου σκιαγραφεί αριστοτεχνικά τη σύνθετη τοιχογραφία της σύγχρονης βρετανικής κουλτούρας μέσα από μεγάλες ή μικρές στιγμές όπως είναι η λατρεία προς το πρόσωπο της βασίλισσας Ελισσάβετ Β΄ ή την προσφιλή στους Βρετανούς υπομονετική παραμονή στην ουρά (εδώ για το προσκύνημα στην θανούσα εστεμμένη). Έξυπνο, σπιρτόζικο, πολυδιάστατο, νοσταλγικό, γλυκόπικρο και αστείο Η απόδειξη της αθωότητάς μου είναι μέχρι στιγμής, δηλαδή μέχρι την έκδοση του επόμενου έργου του, ό,τι καλύτερο έχει χαρίσει ο Κόου στους αναγνώστες του μετά το Τι ωραίο πλιάτσικο!
Τα υπόλοιπα στο κείμενό μου στο Books' Journal Μαϊου 2025.
Ο Κόου σκηνοθετεί την ιστορία του με φόντο μια ιδιαίτερα δύσκολη στιγμή της σύγχρονης ιστορίας του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου που δεν είναι άλλη από την καταστροφική της διακυβέρνηση της Λιζ Τρας, ηγέτιδας του Συντηρητικού Κόμματος, η άνοδος της οποίας στην εξουσία συνέπεσε σχεδόν με τον θάνατο της βασίλισσας Ελισσάβετ και το «τέλος μιας Εποχής» (8 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022). Μάλιστα, η δράση του μυθιστορήματος διαρκεί όσο οι επτά εβδομάδες της σύντομης (6 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022 -25 Οκτωβρίου 2022) Πρωθυπουργίας της Τρας, βασικής εκπροσώπου της ριζοσπαστικοποίησης του βρετανικού συντηρητικού κινήματος τα τελευταία χρόνια. Η Φιλ, μια εικοσιτριάχρονη κοπέλα, μετά το πέρας των σπουδών της επιστρέφει απρόθυμα στο πατρικό της, αναγκάζεται να συμβιώσει με τους γονείς της και να εργαστεί σε μια ιαπωνική αλυσίδα fast food στο αεροδρόμιο του Χίθροου, ένα επάγγελμα παντελώς άσχετο με την Αγγλική Φιλολογία, το αντικείμενο των σπουδών της. Παρότι φιλοδοξεί να γίνει συγγραφέας ξεκινώντας από το «εύκολο» είδος του αστυνομικού μυθιστορήματος (ή μήπως να στραφεί στο σκοτεινό ακαδημαϊκό [dark academia] ή μήπως στην «πολύ της μόδας» αυτομυθοπλασία, προβληματίζεται η Φιλ), η έμπνευση δεν της χτυπά την πόρτα και περνά τον ελεύθερο χρόνο της παρακολουθώντας επαναλήψεις της αμερικανικής τηλεοπτικής σειράς των 90s Φιλαράκια. Η μονότονη καθημερινότητά της αποκτά χρώμα και σασπένς χάρη στην απροσδόκητη επίσκεψη του Κρίστοφερ Σουάν, δημοσιογράφου και στενού φίλου της μητέρας της κατά τη διάρκεια των σπουδών τους στο Κέιμπριτζ, ο οποίος συνοδεύεται από την υιοθετημένη κόρη του Ρασίντα. Ο Κρίστοφερ έρχεται στην πόλη τους για να παρακολουθήσει ένα τριήμερο συνέδριο με τίτλο TrueCon (δηλαδή TrueConservative, επινόηση του συγγραφέα), πίσω από τη διοργάνωση του οποίου κρύβεται ένα αμφιλεγόμενο think tank group που ωθεί συστηματικά την κυβέρνηση της Αγγλίας προς ακροδεξιές και απομονωτιστικές πολιτικές.
Ο ιστορικός και δημοσιογράφος, ο οποίος ασχολείται συστηματικά με την καταγραφή στο blog του της συντηρητικής πολιτικής από την εποχή της Θάτσερ στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο και του Ρέιγκαν στις ΗΠΑ, της τελευταίας δηλαδή τεσσαρακονταετίας, εγκαθίσταται στην εξοχική έπαυλη στα βάθη του Κότσγουολντς όπου διεξάγεται το συνέδριο στο οποίο πρωταγωνιστικό ρόλο έχει ένας άλλος παλιός συμφοιτητής του. Το δεύτερο μόλις βράδυ ο μαχητικός δημοσιογράφος που έχει ήδη καταφέρει να ταράξει τα νερά βρίσκεται νεκρός στο δωμάτιό του, ενώ με μια πρώτη ματιά δεν φαίνεται να υπήρχε τρόπος για τον δολοφόνο του να μπει ή να βγει από το δωμάτιο. Η επιθεωρήτρια Προύντενς Φρίμπορν, παρότι έτοιμη να συνταξιοδοτηθεί, καταφθάνει με σκοπό τη διαλεύκανση του φόνου και, παράλληλα, η Φιλ αντί (;) για συγγραφέας μετατρέπεται σε ντεντέκτιβ, καθώς μαζί με τη Ρασίντα παίρνουν την πρωτοβουλία να εξιχνιάσουν το έγκλημα, το οποίο, όπως γρήγορα διαπιστώνουν, σχετίζεται άμεσα με τη σκοτεινή υπόθεση της προ δεκαετιών αυτοκτονίας του Πήτερ Κόκεριλ, ενός ξεχασμένου λογοτέχνη των ‘80s.
Το κατά δύναμη χωρίς προκαταλήψεις και ενδοιασμούς, επιστρατεύοντας το χαρακτηριστικό αιχμηρό του χιούμορ και την γνώριμη από τα προηγούμενα έργα του αφηγηματική του δεξιοτεχνία, ο Κόου σκιαγραφεί αριστοτεχνικά τη σύνθετη τοιχογραφία της σύγχρονης βρετανικής κουλτούρας μέσα από μεγάλες ή μικρές στιγμές όπως είναι η λατρεία προς το πρόσωπο της βασίλισσας Ελισσάβετ Β΄ ή την προσφιλή στους Βρετανούς υπομονετική παραμονή στην ουρά (εδώ για το προσκύνημα στην θανούσα εστεμμένη). Έξυπνο, σπιρτόζικο, πολυδιάστατο, νοσταλγικό, γλυκόπικρο και αστείο Η απόδειξη της αθωότητάς μου είναι μέχρι στιγμής, δηλαδή μέχρι την έκδοση του επόμενου έργου του, ό,τι καλύτερο έχει χαρίσει ο Κόου στους αναγνώστες του μετά το Τι ωραίο πλιάτσικο!
Τα υπόλοιπα στο κείμενό μου στο Books' Journal Μαϊου 2025.
January 2, 2025
I’m increasingly impressed by Jonathan Coe and have enjoyed everything I’ve read by him. I really must hoover up those books I’ve yet to read by him.
He's on top form here and there’s plenty to ponder on completion of The Proof of My Innocence. The punning title also refers to proof as in the text of a book prior to printing, and as correctable copy. Likewise innocence refers to both a lack of guilt and naivety.
There's a murder, a political mystery, a literary mystery, observation on literary trends, a satire of extreme Conservative thinking, and an affectionate look back at Britain prior to Thatcher.
Here Jonathan Coe employs autofiction, personal accounts, memoir, and the draft of a mystery novel and, underneath the narrative, is an examination of the strength and limitations of writing to reach a deeper truth.
Despite its ambition and serious themes - among then amorality, corruption, individualism, free-market greed - it's a lot of fun for the reader
4/5
Oh, and Jonathan Coe gives himself a cameo appearance as Tommy Cope, an ineffectual English student at Cambridge who had a reputation for bad poetry yet later confounds his peer group by modest success with the mildly satirical novel “Quite the Mash-Up”
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.
Chris has been following the careers of a group of students, all present at Cambridge University in the 1980s, now members of a think-tank which has been quietly pushing the British government towards extremism. And now, after years in the political wilderness, they might be in a position to put their ideas into action.
As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a mysterious conference taking place deep in the Cotswolds. When Phyl hears that one of the delegates has been murdered, she begins to wonder if real life is starting to merge with the novel she’s been trying to write. But does the explanation really lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
Darting between decades and genres, The Proof of My Innocence reimagines the coming-of-age story, the cosy crime caper and the state-of-the-nation novel with Coe’s trademark humour and warmth. From one of Britain’s finest living novelists, this is a witty, razor-sharp novel which explores how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.
He's on top form here and there’s plenty to ponder on completion of The Proof of My Innocence. The punning title also refers to proof as in the text of a book prior to printing, and as correctable copy. Likewise innocence refers to both a lack of guilt and naivety.
There's a murder, a political mystery, a literary mystery, observation on literary trends, a satire of extreme Conservative thinking, and an affectionate look back at Britain prior to Thatcher.
Here Jonathan Coe employs autofiction, personal accounts, memoir, and the draft of a mystery novel and, underneath the narrative, is an examination of the strength and limitations of writing to reach a deeper truth.
Despite its ambition and serious themes - among then amorality, corruption, individualism, free-market greed - it's a lot of fun for the reader
4/5
Oh, and Jonathan Coe gives himself a cameo appearance as Tommy Cope, an ineffectual English student at Cambridge who had a reputation for bad poetry yet later confounds his peer group by modest success with the mildly satirical novel “Quite the Mash-Up”
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.
Chris has been following the careers of a group of students, all present at Cambridge University in the 1980s, now members of a think-tank which has been quietly pushing the British government towards extremism. And now, after years in the political wilderness, they might be in a position to put their ideas into action.
As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a mysterious conference taking place deep in the Cotswolds. When Phyl hears that one of the delegates has been murdered, she begins to wonder if real life is starting to merge with the novel she’s been trying to write. But does the explanation really lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
Darting between decades and genres, The Proof of My Innocence reimagines the coming-of-age story, the cosy crime caper and the state-of-the-nation novel with Coe’s trademark humour and warmth. From one of Britain’s finest living novelists, this is a witty, razor-sharp novel which explores how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.
January 7, 2025
I thought the concept of this book was better than the execution. I found Phyl and Rash to be quite two dimensional and uninteresting, and although parts of the book gripped me, much of it was tedious. Every character seems to wear their viewpoints on their sleeves and all lack depth or real development.
The end of the book attempts to excuse some of the shabby writing as a sort of a sort of meta in-joke, but to me it didn’t really make up for large swathes of the book being rather dull. Essentially about 80% of the book is actually a rather predictable murder mystery despite the unusual narrative structure.
I found the incessant political commentary to be not particularly engaging or original and felt that it added very little to the narrative. I respect that Coe doesn’t feel the need to shy way from politics but it could have been used more cleverly, and because of the lack of depth in many of the characters the politics wasn’t really explored in any meaningful way.
Overall, some of the themes explored were interesting, but nothing was really expanded to a point where it felt fresh or original. Coe seemed to have a very specific idea of what he wanted the book to be about and most of the prose revolved around shoehorning references to those themes (libertarianism, literature, class politics and the fact he is Oxbridge educated) into almost any sentence uttered by any character throughout.
As for the supposed satire in this book, perhaps I am missing something that more attentive readers are picking up on but I didn’t find it to contain much of the stuff.
The end of the book attempts to excuse some of the shabby writing as a sort of a sort of meta in-joke, but to me it didn’t really make up for large swathes of the book being rather dull. Essentially about 80% of the book is actually a rather predictable murder mystery despite the unusual narrative structure.
I found the incessant political commentary to be not particularly engaging or original and felt that it added very little to the narrative. I respect that Coe doesn’t feel the need to shy way from politics but it could have been used more cleverly, and because of the lack of depth in many of the characters the politics wasn’t really explored in any meaningful way.
Overall, some of the themes explored were interesting, but nothing was really expanded to a point where it felt fresh or original. Coe seemed to have a very specific idea of what he wanted the book to be about and most of the prose revolved around shoehorning references to those themes (libertarianism, literature, class politics and the fact he is Oxbridge educated) into almost any sentence uttered by any character throughout.
As for the supposed satire in this book, perhaps I am missing something that more attentive readers are picking up on but I didn’t find it to contain much of the stuff.
April 4, 2025
Jonathan Coe is one of my favourite contemporary novelists, and this doesn't disappoint.
It opens with 22-year-old Phyl, recently graduated in English and now enduring a drudge job at a sushi restaurant at Heathrow Airport. An old university friend of her mother, Christopher Swann, a left-wing blogger, comes to stay and we hear about some old mutual Cambridge friends and acquaintances before the novel switches genres to resemble a cosy murder mystery. Just as that has got us nicely hooked, it changes again to something resembling dark academia via the memoir of another old Cambridge friend. This though, is not the last of the genre-switching.
So it's all very tricksy and meta, but somehow Coe pulls it off, and I really wanted to know how it was all going to end. Also very funny and with a few deserved jabs at the loony right, which is always fun.
It opens with 22-year-old Phyl, recently graduated in English and now enduring a drudge job at a sushi restaurant at Heathrow Airport. An old university friend of her mother, Christopher Swann, a left-wing blogger, comes to stay and we hear about some old mutual Cambridge friends and acquaintances before the novel switches genres to resemble a cosy murder mystery. Just as that has got us nicely hooked, it changes again to something resembling dark academia via the memoir of another old Cambridge friend. This though, is not the last of the genre-switching.
So it's all very tricksy and meta, but somehow Coe pulls it off, and I really wanted to know how it was all going to end. Also very funny and with a few deserved jabs at the loony right, which is always fun.
March 18, 2025
Ο Τζόναθαν Κόου είναι ένας από τους σημαντικότερους, σύγχρονους Βρετανούς συγγραφείς, που αγαπώ να διαβάζω. Τον ακολουθώ πιστά σε κάθε του νέο μυθιστόρημα, τι κι αν σε μερικά από αυτά δεν τα βρίσκουμε πάντα. Παρόλα αυτά τον θαυμάζω απεριόριστα για τον ιδιαίτερα ευφυή τρόπο, που ασκεί κριτική στα κακώς κείμενα της βρετανικής κοινωνίας, για τον απολαυστικά σατυρικό τρόπο που ρίχνει φως στις παθογένειες της πολιτικής σκηνής και της βρετανικής κυβέρνησης ειδικότερα, καθώς και για την αδιαμφισβήτητη συγγραφική του δεινότητα, μιας και δεν έχει υπάρξει δικό του μυθιστόρημα, από αυτά που με κέρδισαν ως αναγνώστη, που να μην διαβάστηκε σχετικά γρήγορα!
Πριν λίγες μέρες κυκλοφόρησε από τις εκδόσεις Πόλις το νέο του μυθιστόρημα, με τίτλο Η ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΘΩΟΤΗΤΑΣ ΜΟΥ, σε μετάφραση της κυρίας Άλκηστις Τριμπέρη. Χρειάστηκα μονάχα 2-3 μέρες για να το ολοκληρώσω. Ήταν ομολογουμένως μία άκρως απολαυστική αναγνωστική εμπειρία, που δυστυχώς κράτησε λίγο! Πρόκειται για ένα λογοτεχνικό μείγμα που συνδυάζει ποικίλα λογοτεχνικά είδη, ενώ ταυτόχρονα συνυφαίνονται μεταξύ τους και ποικίλες αφηγηματικές προσεγγίσεις, οι οποίες είναι σοφά διαμοιρασμένες στα τρία βασικά μέρη του βιβλίου! Συγκεκριμένα, τα λογοτεχνικά είδη που θα συναντήσει ο αναγνώστης στο μυθιστόρημα του Κόου είναι το «cozy crime», το «dark academia», η αυτομυθοπλασία, μοιρασμένα σκόπιμα ώστε να εξυπηρετείται επιτυχώς η εξέλιξη της πλοκής και φυσικά να δίνεται τελικά η λύση της πλοκής, η οποία θα έλεγα ότι κλείνει παιχνιδιάρικα το μάτι στον αναγνώστη!
Αρχικά, ο αναγνώστης συναντά την Φιλ, η οποία έχει μόλις λάβει το πτυχίο της στην αγγλική φιλολογία, έχει επιστρέψει στο πατρικό της και εργάζεται σε ένα ιαπωνικό «fast food» στο Heathrow, μέχρι να αποφασίσει τι θέλει να κάνει από εδώ και μπρος στη ζωή της. Την ανιαρή καθημερινότητα της έρχεται να ταράξει η επίσκεψη ενός φίλου της μητέρα της. Ο Κρίστοφερ Σουάν, που διατηρεί ένα διαδικτυακό «blog» όπου στηλιτεύει τις πολιτικές ενέργειες του κυβερνώντος κόμματος και γενικότερα τα πολιτικά τεκταινόμενα, που από ότι φαίνεται οδηγούν την βρετανική κυβέρνηση προς την Άκρα Δεξία, θα τους επισκεφθεί για λίγες μέρες, μέχρι να ξεκινήσει το συνέδριο των Συντηρητικών, το οποίο και θα παρακολουθήσει. Την επίσκεψη του Κρίστοφερ θα ακολουθήσει αυτή της υιοθετημένης κόρης του, της Ρασίντας. Η Φιλ και η Ρας έρχονται κοντά. Μοιράζονται σκέψεις, συναισθήματα, καθώς και την κοινή τους αγάπη για τα «Φιλαράκια». Η Φιλ της εξομολογείται την επιθυμία της να ασχοληθεί με τη συγγραφή και ίσως με το είδος του «cozy crime». Ο Κρίστοφερ φεύγει για το συνέδριο, το οποίο και ξεκινά ομαλά μέχρι τη στιγμή που διαπράττεται ένας φόνος. Ο φόνος του Κρίστοφερ Σουάν. Τότε η επιθεωρήτρια Πρου Φρίμπορν λαμβάνει δράση, για να βρει τον δολοφόνο!
Ο Τζόναθαν Κόου με διάθεση άκρως παιχνιδιάρικη ανακατεύει τα πρόσωπα και τις καταστάσεις, τα λογοτεχνικά είδη και τις αφηγηματικές τεχνικές και συνθέτει ένα γοητευτικό μυθιστορηματικό κράμα, μέσα από το οποίο «παίζει» με τον αναγνώστη. Προσωπικά, φτάνοντας προς το τέλος του βιβλίου, όπου όλα ξεκαθαρίζουν και τα κομμάτια του μυθιστορηματικού παζλ μπαίνουν στη σωστή θέση, όπου έρχεται η συνειδητοποίηση του τι πραγματικά συνέβη, χαμογέλασα αυθόρμητα γιατί ο Βρετανός συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με «κοροϊδέψει», να «παίξει» μαζί μου καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια της αφήγησης και τελικά να με αφήσει με το στόμα ανοιχτό, γιατί ανέτρεψε ολοκληρωτικά κάθε βεβαιότητα μου…
Μέσα από το ευφάνταστο και αναγνωστικά ευχάριστο μυθιστόρημα του, ο Βρετανός συγγραφέας για άλλη μία φορά καταφέρνει να θίξει μία πληθώρα κοινωνικών ζητημάτων, ξεκινώντας από ένα έξυπνο σχόλιο στην ποπ κουλτούρα και τα νέα λογοτεχνικά είδη, που τα τελευταία χρόνια γνωρίζουν μαζική δημοφιλία. Εκτενείς αναφορές στα «Φιλαράκια», σε μία από τις πιο εμβληματικές, τηλεοπτικές σειρές σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, διατρέχουν επίσης το μυθιστόρημα του Κόου, καθώς και αναφορές κινηματογραφικού χαρακτήρα!
Φυσικά, από το μυθιστόρημα του Τζόναθαν Κόου δεν θα μπορούσε να απουσιάζει το πολιτικό σχόλιο, το οποίο είναι διάχυτο σε όλη την έκταση του μυθιστορήματος του. Πολυάριθμες αναφορές στη Liz Truss, τη νέα ηγέτη του Συντηρητικού Κόμματος και στη βραχύβια θητεία της ως Βρετανίδα πρωθυπουργός, η οποία μέσα σε τόσο λίγο χρονικό διάστημα κατάφερε να αποδιοργανώσει και να διχάσει την Βρετανία, να εφαρμόσει επικίνδυνες πολιτικές, που οδήγησαν σε ολέθριες οικονομικές και όχι μόνο συνέπειες, οι οποίες συνεχίζουν να επηρεάζουν τον βρετανικό λαό.
Μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον έχουν και οι αναφορές του Βρετανού συγγραφέα σε εκείνες τις πολιτικές που εφαρμόζονται υποδόρια από τους έχοντες την εξουσία σε βάρος των αδυνάμων, με αποτέλεσμα να διαιωνίζεται το κοινωνικό πρότυπο όπου επιβιώνει ο ισχυρότερος. Πολιτικές, όπως ο συντηρητικός εξτρεμισμός, που πηγαίνουν κόντρα σε κάθε ίχνος ηθικής και ανθρωπιάς, πολιτικές ενέργειες που πραγματοποιούνται στα σκοτεινά, εξαπλώνονται και τελικά καταφέρνουν να εδραιωθούν οδηγώντας σε τραγικές συνέπειες!
Ολοκληρώνοντας, Η ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΘΩΟΤΗΤΑΣ ΜΟΥ του Τζόναθαν Κόου είναι ένα φρέσκο, βαθιά ειρωνικό, μα και διασκεδαστικό συνάμα μυθιστόρημα, που διαβάζεται ειλικρινά με μία ανάσα! Ένα μυθιστόρημα που μέσα από την ευφάνταστη λογοτεχνική προσέγγιση του Βρετανού συγγραφέα υπογραμμίζεται χωρίς τυμπανοκρουσίες και τρόπους βαρύγδουπους η επικινδυνότητα εφαρμογής εξτρεμιστικών πολιτικών ενεργειών, οι οποίες αντιβαίνουν μία από τις βασικότερες ανθρώπινες αξίες, αυτή της ελευθερίας! Αξίζει να το αναζητήσετε!
Πριν λίγες μέρες κυκλοφόρησε από τις εκδόσεις Πόλις το νέο του μυθιστόρημα, με τίτλο Η ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΘΩΟΤΗΤΑΣ ΜΟΥ, σε μετάφραση της κυρίας Άλκηστις Τριμπέρη. Χρειάστηκα μονάχα 2-3 μέρες για να το ολοκληρώσω. Ήταν ομολογουμένως μία άκρως απολαυστική αναγνωστική εμπειρία, που δυστυχώς κράτησε λίγο! Πρόκειται για ένα λογοτεχνικό μείγμα που συνδυάζει ποικίλα λογοτεχνικά είδη, ενώ ταυτόχρονα συνυφαίνονται μεταξύ τους και ποικίλες αφηγηματικές προσεγγίσεις, οι οποίες είναι σοφά διαμοιρασμένες στα τρία βασικά μέρη του βιβλίου! Συγκεκριμένα, τα λογοτεχνικά είδη που θα συναντήσει ο αναγνώστης στο μυθιστόρημα του Κόου είναι το «cozy crime», το «dark academia», η αυτομυθοπλασία, μοιρασμένα σκόπιμα ώστε να εξυπηρετείται επιτυχώς η εξέλιξη της πλοκής και φυσικά να δίνεται τελικά η λύση της πλοκής, η οποία θα έλεγα ότι κλείνει παιχνιδιάρικα το μάτι στον αναγνώστη!
Αρχικά, ο αναγνώστης συναντά την Φιλ, η οποία έχει μόλις λάβει το πτυχίο της στην αγγλική φιλολογία, έχει επιστρέψει στο πατρικό της και εργάζεται σε ένα ιαπωνικό «fast food» στο Heathrow, μέχρι να αποφασίσει τι θέλει να κάνει από εδώ και μπρος στη ζωή της. Την ανιαρή καθημερινότητα της έρχεται να ταράξει η επίσκεψη ενός φίλου της μητέρα της. Ο Κρίστοφερ Σουάν, που διατηρεί ένα διαδικτυακό «blog» όπου στηλιτεύει τις πολιτικές ενέργειες του κυβερνώντος κόμματος και γενικότερα τα πολιτικά τεκταινόμενα, που από ότι φαίνεται οδηγούν την βρετανική κυβέρνηση προς την Άκρα Δεξία, θα τους επισκεφθεί για λίγες μέρες, μέχρι να ξεκινήσει το συνέδριο των Συντηρητικών, το οποίο και θα παρακολουθήσει. Την επίσκεψη του Κρίστοφερ θα ακολουθήσει αυτή της υιοθετημένης κόρης του, της Ρασίντας. Η Φιλ και η Ρας έρχονται κοντά. Μοιράζονται σκέψεις, συναισθήματα, καθώς και την κοινή τους αγάπη για τα «Φιλαράκια». Η Φιλ της εξομολογείται την επιθυμία της να ασχοληθεί με τη συγγραφή και ίσως με το είδος του «cozy crime». Ο Κρίστοφερ φεύγει για το συνέδριο, το οποίο και ξεκινά ομαλά μέχρι τη στιγμή που διαπράττεται ένας φόνος. Ο φόνος του Κρίστοφερ Σουάν. Τότε η επιθεωρήτρια Πρου Φρίμπορν λαμβάνει δράση, για να βρει τον δολοφόνο!
Ο Τζόναθαν Κόου με διάθεση άκρως παιχνιδιάρικη ανακατεύει τα πρόσωπα και τις καταστάσεις, τα λογοτεχνικά είδη και τις αφηγηματικές τεχνικές και συνθέτει ένα γοητευτικό μυθιστορηματικό κράμα, μέσα από το οποίο «παίζει» με τον αναγνώστη. Προσωπικά, φτάνοντας προς το τέλος του βιβλίου, όπου όλα ξεκαθαρίζουν και τα κομμάτια του μυθιστορηματικού παζλ μπαίνουν στη σωστή θέση, όπου έρχεται η συνειδητοποίηση του τι πραγματικά συνέβη, χαμογέλασα αυθόρμητα γιατί ο Βρετανός συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με «κοροϊδέψει», να «παίξει» μαζί μου καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια της αφήγησης και τελικά να με αφήσει με το στόμα ανοιχτό, γιατί ανέτρεψε ολοκληρωτικά κάθε βεβαιότητα μου…
Μέσα από το ευφάνταστο και αναγνωστικά ευχάριστο μυθιστόρημα του, ο Βρετανός συγγραφέας για άλλη μία φορά καταφέρνει να θίξει μία πληθώρα κοινωνικών ζητημάτων, ξεκινώντας από ένα έξυπνο σχόλιο στην ποπ κουλτούρα και τα νέα λογοτεχνικά είδη, που τα τελευταία χρόνια γνωρίζουν μαζική δημοφιλία. Εκτενείς αναφορές στα «Φιλαράκια», σε μία από τις πιο εμβληματικές, τηλεοπτικές σειρές σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, διατρέχουν επίσης το μυθιστόρημα του Κόου, καθώς και αναφορές κινηματογραφικού χαρακτήρα!
Φυσικά, από το μυθιστόρημα του Τζόναθαν Κόου δεν θα μπορούσε να απουσιάζει το πολιτικό σχόλιο, το οποίο είναι διάχυτο σε όλη την έκταση του μυθιστορήματος του. Πολυάριθμες αναφορές στη Liz Truss, τη νέα ηγέτη του Συντηρητικού Κόμματος και στη βραχύβια θητεία της ως Βρετανίδα πρωθυπουργός, η οποία μέσα σε τόσο λίγο χρονικό διάστημα κατάφερε να αποδιοργανώσει και να διχάσει την Βρετανία, να εφαρμόσει επικίνδυνες πολιτικές, που οδήγησαν σε ολέθριες οικονομικές και όχι μόνο συνέπειες, οι οποίες συνεχίζουν να επηρεάζουν τον βρετανικό λαό.
Μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον έχουν και οι αναφορές του Βρετανού συγγραφέα σε εκείνες τις πολιτικές που εφαρμόζονται υποδόρια από τους έχοντες την εξουσία σε βάρος των αδυνάμων, με αποτέλεσμα να διαιωνίζεται το κοινωνικό πρότυπο όπου επιβιώνει ο ισχυρότερος. Πολιτικές, όπως ο συντηρητικός εξτρεμισμός, που πηγαίνουν κόντρα σε κάθε ίχνος ηθικής και ανθρωπιάς, πολιτικές ενέργειες που πραγματοποιούνται στα σκοτεινά, εξαπλώνονται και τελικά καταφέρνουν να εδραιωθούν οδηγώντας σε τραγικές συνέπειες!
Ολοκληρώνοντας, Η ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΘΩΟΤΗΤΑΣ ΜΟΥ του Τζόναθαν Κόου είναι ένα φρέσκο, βαθιά ειρωνικό, μα και διασκεδαστικό συνάμα μυθιστόρημα, που διαβάζεται ειλικρινά με μία ανάσα! Ένα μυθιστόρημα που μέσα από την ευφάνταστη λογοτεχνική προσέγγιση του Βρετανού συγγραφέα υπογραμμίζεται χωρίς τυμπανοκρουσίες και τρόπους βαρύγδουπους η επικινδυνότητα εφαρμογής εξτρεμιστικών πολιτικών ενεργειών, οι οποίες αντιβαίνουν μία από τις βασικότερες ανθρώπινες αξίες, αυτή της ελευθερίας! Αξίζει να το αναζητήσετε!
September 11, 2024
This started off well and I enjoyed the set up of the story. However, the story became rather messy and disappointing. It was far from being the funny satire I was expecting. Each section of the book had a different focus and perspective. It turned out to be a book within a book but there were also other books within these books. There were so many seemingly unrelated aspects of this book that it seemed to change direction with each new section. The characters weren't particularly well drawn. The whole book seemed to drag and could have been considerably shortened. By the last 75% I just wanted it to end.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.
December 28, 2024
чистое наслаждение: мало того, что Джонатан - на�� современный Дикенз, к романам которого приникаешь для отдохновения и самоулучшения, так и тут он вернулся к гениальной закрученности, интрижности и многослойности повествовательных метароманных лабиринтов "Надувательства" (в отличие от многих других своих романов попроще). кроме того, это книжка о книжках, а мы такие любим. в общем, прекрасное завершение профессионального года.
July 20, 2024
I admire Jonathan Coe’s writing and have read several of his novels. This is the first one I have not really enjoyed.
It varies between different forms of writing. I enjoyed the first part but then it went into ‘cosy murder mystery’ format and I liked this less. It was tedious in parts. The part written as a memoir was better and especially about student life at Cambridge.
I liked Phyl the main recurring character. Less well drawn was Rash, a shame as they finish the story together.
The story also self references at the end. Previously aposiopesis has been explained as breaking off the story in the middle of a sentence. In this case the sentence is finished but the novel is left hanging at the end.
I am sure I will read and enjoy Coe in the future. This one just disappointing.
I read a proof copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher.
It varies between different forms of writing. I enjoyed the first part but then it went into ‘cosy murder mystery’ format and I liked this less. It was tedious in parts. The part written as a memoir was better and especially about student life at Cambridge.
I liked Phyl the main recurring character. Less well drawn was Rash, a shame as they finish the story together.
The story also self references at the end. Previously aposiopesis has been explained as breaking off the story in the middle of a sentence. In this case the sentence is finished but the novel is left hanging at the end.
I am sure I will read and enjoy Coe in the future. This one just disappointing.
I read a proof copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher.
July 23, 2024
Jonathan Coe is my favourite contemporary British novelist. I love how his state of the nation novels go beyond satire and draw out the human costs of political actions. His characters are very well drawn - we care what happens to them and we share in their tragedies and disappointments.
‘The Proof of My Innocence’ focuses on those surreal few weeks in 2022 when Liz Truss crashed the economy. It incorporates a cosy crime mystery, a memoir and a work of autofiction. There’s shadowy right wing conspiracies at play that can be traced back to Cambridge in the 1980s and popular conservative forces at work that are willing to resort to murder to protect their interests. Such things may have sounded far fetched a few years ago, but not any more! It’s ambitious and multi layered but very readable.
‘The Proof of My Innocence’ focuses on those surreal few weeks in 2022 when Liz Truss crashed the economy. It incorporates a cosy crime mystery, a memoir and a work of autofiction. There’s shadowy right wing conspiracies at play that can be traced back to Cambridge in the 1980s and popular conservative forces at work that are willing to resort to murder to protect their interests. Such things may have sounded far fetched a few years ago, but not any more! It’s ambitious and multi layered but very readable.
March 21, 2025
Absolutely brilliant! How else can you describe a novel within a novel that offers such great characters, such depth of political and social analysis, a satire on real historical events as well as on the literary establishment, eye-opening insights into what brought about the creation of some of the world's most burning issues we're all dealing with right now, and on top of all this - an engaging, funny and suspenseful read with twists and turns at every turn? More than anything, it proves in a very clever way why, contrary to the latest trends adopted by literary academia, fiction is still so, so necessary and important. Enjoyed it immensely and recommend sticking with it at first - it will be worth it, promise!
May 13, 2025
3.5, rounded up.
I had never read Coe before (...and may not again!), but his connection to B. S. Johnson, one of my faves, made me want to sample this, his latest novelistic offering. Their styles are somewhat similar, and for the most part I enjoyed this for its humo(u)r and the quite clever way it keeps twisting its plot with multiple meanings/interpretations - but since I know next to nothing about the political shenanigans of the UK, much of this was lost on me. Had I read it quicker, I might also have been able to follow the convoluted plot a bit easier also, but unfortunately, trudging through it in six days meant I had to backtrack quite a few times to remember who was who, and where we were in the story.
I had never read Coe before (...and may not again!), but his connection to B. S. Johnson, one of my faves, made me want to sample this, his latest novelistic offering. Their styles are somewhat similar, and for the most part I enjoyed this for its humo(u)r and the quite clever way it keeps twisting its plot with multiple meanings/interpretations - but since I know next to nothing about the political shenanigans of the UK, much of this was lost on me. Had I read it quicker, I might also have been able to follow the convoluted plot a bit easier also, but unfortunately, trudging through it in six days meant I had to backtrack quite a few times to remember who was who, and where we were in the story.
November 21, 2024
I heard Jonathan Coe interviewed on the radio and bought the book immediately. He sounded so convincing: it was going to be a murder amid present-day politics in Britain, I couldn't go wrong. However, the further into the story I got my ardour was cooling rapidly. It became a chore. I did not finish.
Coe's prose is clear but reminds me of the stuff that newspapers write about, the dialogue bored me, the murder I was promised took ages to come, then followed a tedious book within a book. Altogether the novel felt unfunny and unamusing although it's full of heavy irony. And I did not care for any of the characters.
However, I loved "What a Carve-Up!" - not the ending though.
Coe's prose is clear but reminds me of the stuff that newspapers write about, the dialogue bored me, the murder I was promised took ages to come, then followed a tedious book within a book. Altogether the novel felt unfunny and unamusing although it's full of heavy irony. And I did not care for any of the characters.
However, I loved "What a Carve-Up!" - not the ending though.
November 12, 2024
This is a kind of literary whodunnit. A murder investigation told from multiple viewpoints which ranges across the Cotswolds, Cambridge University and the south of France and is set against the backdrop of the death of the Queen and Liz Truss’s premiership. Coe has such fun playing with all the familiar elements of the detective novel; the country hotel, the secret passage, the eccentric detective, the blood-stained handwritten clue left by the victim. It’s part send-up but also a very clever reinvention of the format and hugely enjoyable and entertaining.
May 23, 2025
4/5
Για άλλη μια φορά ο Κόου παρουσιάζει ένα αξιόλογο βιβλίο. Εστιάζοντας στην άνοδο της Άκρας Δεξιάς σήμερα, μέσω της πορείας των Συντηρητικών σε Βρετανία και ΗΠΑ από τη δεκαετία του '80 και έπειτα, ο Κόου, με το καυστικό του χιούμορ, πλέκει ένα πολυεπίπεδο μυθιστόρημα, με πολλαπλές αφηγηματικές φωνές και εγκιβωτισμό. Ευφυές και τεχνικά άρτιο, χάνει μόνο σε ορισμένα στοιχεία της αφήγησης, τα οποία ίσως να ήθελαν περισσότερη φροντίδα, κυρίως στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
Για άλλη μια φορά ο Κόου παρουσιάζει ένα αξιόλογο βιβλίο. Εστιάζοντας στην άνοδο της Άκρας Δεξιάς σήμερα, μέσω της πορείας των Συντηρητικών σε Βρετανία και ΗΠΑ από τη δεκαετία του '80 και έπειτα, ο Κόου, με το καυστικό του χιούμορ, πλέκει ένα πολυεπίπεδο μυθιστόρημα, με πολλαπλές αφηγηματικές φωνές και εγκιβωτισμό. Ευφυές και τεχνικά άρτιο, χάνει μόνο σε ορισμένα στοιχεία της αφήγησης, τα οποία ίσως να ήθελαν περισσότερη φροντίδα, κυρίως στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
March 5, 2025
I am outraged that I did not come up with the concept for this book nor do I have the skills to write it because I can’t describe how much I enjoyed this. It angers me for some reason. Please read it
February 8, 2025
Think of this book like an onion - layers and layers and layers!
It is clever, witty, and a bit confusing but worth sticking with.
I loved the variety of the book, the complex plot intertwined with dark humour, and also having the different genres was a clever touch.
Phyl and Rash are exceptional characters, and I'd love to see them solving crimes with the help of DI Freeborne.
It is clever, witty, and a bit confusing but worth sticking with.
I loved the variety of the book, the complex plot intertwined with dark humour, and also having the different genres was a clever touch.
Phyl and Rash are exceptional characters, and I'd love to see them solving crimes with the help of DI Freeborne.
October 25, 2025
J'oscille entre le 3 et le 4/5. Sur la fond, très sympa, c'est intelligent, fin, l'auteur est railleur, politique etc. Sur la forme, bonne idée mais mal exploitée: la fin gâche un peu le tout. J'ai trouvé que les trois genres qu'il essaie (cozy murder, Dark academia et autofiction) sont longs à démarrer à chaque fois et ajoutent des longueurs au roman, qui ne sont pas nécessaires. Je relirai l'auteur par contre car j'aime bien son ton et son humour et malgré les longueurs, ça se lit facilement et avec plaisir.
April 13, 2025
The Proof of My Innocence feels like a return to form for Jonathan Coe, whose career I have followed since I read What a Carve Up! back in the early Nineties. His last novel, Bournville, was a little disappointing, but this latest book really shows what he can do. Like Carve Up!, it’s a multi-stranded affair, featuring books within books, several unreliable narrators, and a madcap plot firmly rooted in popular culture and politics. Coe is the biographer of the great experimental novelist, B. S. Johnson, and his best books seem to be those where he has been able to give his creative instincts free rein and that’s certainly the case here. The story is bookended by the beginning and end of the disastrous Liz Truss premiership and digs deep into the lurch to the right of the Conservative Party and the shadowy ultra-conservative think tanks and funding organisations behind it, while at the same time being an entertaining and gripping murder mystery.
November 20, 2024
Jonathan Coe is so clever - he writes thoroughly entertaining books, of seemingly any genre he chooses to turn his hand to, woven with acute political and social insights.
This novel was very meta, with a book within a book structure, riffing with murder mystery, dark academia and autofiction genres.
The commentary on right wing extreme Conservatism and it's relationship with flagship educational institutions was terrifying.
Above all I enjoy Coe's accurate, insightful descriptions of people and society and the backdrop of Liz Truss's brief leadership and the death of Queen Elizabeth were very well drawn.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
This novel was very meta, with a book within a book structure, riffing with murder mystery, dark academia and autofiction genres.
The commentary on right wing extreme Conservatism and it's relationship with flagship educational institutions was terrifying.
Above all I enjoy Coe's accurate, insightful descriptions of people and society and the backdrop of Liz Truss's brief leadership and the death of Queen Elizabeth were very well drawn.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
August 14, 2024
For my money Coe’s most consistently funny - and therefore most penetrating - book since What A Carve Up!
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