Middle England wins at the Costa Book Awards
Middle England by Jonathan Coe (published in Italy by Feltrinelli) wins the Costa Book Award 2019 for ‘perfect’ Brexit novel.
As stated by Costa judge and novelist John Boyne: “if people are serious about healing the country and bringing it back together, this [book] can help do that because it presents in a careful, thoughtful way both sides of a debate”.
Here are some of the many quotes:
‘Excellent, superb, always uplifting. Coe’s comic set pieces come thick and fast’ The Times
‘From post-industrial Birmingham to London riots and political gridlock, it takes in family, literature and love in a comedy for our times’ Guardian
‘A pertinent, entertaining study of a nation in crisis’ Financial Times, Books of the Year
‘Very funny. Coe – a writer of uncommon decency – reminds us that the way out of this mess is through moderation, through compromise, through that age-old English ability to laugh at ourselves’ Observer
‘A master of satire. Coe’s light, funny writing makes you feel better’ Evening Standard
‘Brilliant’ Nicola Sturgeon
‘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’ John Boyne, Irish Times
‘Brilliantly insightful on the times we are living in’ Mishal Husain, Big Issue, Books of the Year
‘Very funny. Exceptionally good. Delightful’ BBC Radio 4, Saturday Review
‘Let me add to the chorus of praise for Middle England. Easily my favourite of his since What a Carve Up! which did for Thatcherism what Middle England does for Brexit’ John Crace
‘Brilliantly funny, tragicomic. A compelling state of the nation novel, full of light and shade’ Economist
‘Sublimely good. State of the nation novel to end them all, but also funny, tender, generous, so human and intelligent about age and love as well as politics’ India Knight
‘Hilarious’ Oldie
‘An astute, enlightened and enlightening journey into the heart of our current national identity crisis. Both moving and funny. As we’d expect from Coe’ Ben Elton
‘Tackling his characters’ opposing points of view, he draws a portrait of a recognisable Britain baffled by its loss of industry and jobs, and of everyday people shocked by a rise of acceptable racism and xenophobia. It’s also very, very funny’ Stylist
‘This is a picture of England that comes from a place of compassion and understanding’ inews
‘Coe is as funny and tender as ever, restoring some humanity to the tumultuous societal backdrop’ Grazia
‘Middle England combines top-class soap opera storytelling with melancholy insight into what it means to be English’ Metro
‘Takes all that is memorable and moving about Coe’s body of work and throws it at the present emergency’ Alex Clark, The Times Literary Supplement
‘A full-blooded state of the nation novel, and it brings us bang up-to-date’ Sunday Times
‘Coe is an extraordinarily deft plotter. He tackles big ambitious themes, in this case the effect of politics on people’s lives, and political opinions on personal relations’ Mail on Sunday
‘The beauty of Middle England is the way it tracks the seemingly unconnected moments that brought Britain to its knees – and with devastating delicacy, too’ Eva Wiseman, Observer
‘The great chronicler of Englishness’ Independent
‘A copper bottomed masterpiece’ Barney Norris
‘Coe’s comic critique of a divided country dazzles. Properly laugh-out-loud funny. It is also incisive and brilliant about our divided country and the deep chasms revealed by the vote to leave. Do not miss’ Bookseller
‘The first great Brexit novel’ Sathnam Sanghera
‘Coe can make you smile, sigh, laugh; he has abundant sympathy for his characters’ Scotsman
