Bournville: From the bestselling author of Middle England

Product Information

Perhaps the weakest point of the novel is that at times it can feel a little predictable – as in fact can be seen in the choice of epochal events which rather inevitably leads to fairly predictable discussions around UK/EU and German relations (which anyway are even more strongly emphasised by having a German branch to the family), and about the changing attitudes to the monarchy. the best fictional portrayal of lockdown that I've read * Irish Times * Told with compassion, steadiness, decency and always a glint in the eye, this is a novel that both challenges and delights.

It is also a sort of social history of the UK, reminding us of how much things have changed since the war (World War 2, of course, which in the UK is often known just as ‘the war’). They make absolutely no difference to the plot and seem to be nothing but background noise (in most cases). Per contro assumono un rilievo considerevole i fatti della famiglia reale, dall’incoronazione di Elisabetta al matrimonio di Carlo al funerale di Diana, vere e proprie cerimonie nazionali che trascinano l’intera popolazione e creano dolorose fratture ed insanabili incomprensioni anche fra tranquilli consanguinei. Coe's interwoven paeans to the lives of those rooted in the very centre of the UK - The Rotter's Club and Moddle England among them - blend comedy, tragedy and social commentary in enjoyably memorable fashion, and his latest, Bournville , is no exception .The title is Bournville because Bournville is the suburb of Birmingham where the Cadbury factory was built, and which provided employment for generations of Bournville residents. Coe couldn’t have known how closely the publication of his novel would follow the death of the Queen, but it gives added poignancy to the way the book is structured. The last part of the novel, featuring the death of the family matriarch during lockdown, isolated from those who love her, is the most personal (for the author) and pointed – although I was slightly unsure where the anger is directed as while the author’s note finished with a reference to following the rules “unlike the occupiers of number 10 Downing Street” the 2020 sections seems to feature numerous examples of rule breaching including by characters to who we are sympathetic.

We have the King’s speech on VE Day; the next time we visit the family in Bournville is for the coronation in 1953.Mary will go on to live through the Coronation and the World Cup final, royal weddings and royal funerals, Brexit and Covid-19. Several big milestone events for the monarchy in the 20th century - the Queen's coronation, Charles and Diana's wedding, Diana's death - are titles of sections of the book and feature quite heavily, and I get that Coe was trying to say that whilst the lives of the characters moved on and these big events happened things didn't really change that much for the lives of ordinary people of the UK. Attorno a lei ruotano tutti gli altri familiari, per lo più racchiusi nel distretto di Bournville, sobborgo di Birmingham noto per la fabbrica di cioccolato. It just feels a little empty, like a collage of very different things that don’t necessarily make a sound, finished plot.