state of the nation novel

Cover image for Fulfillment by Lee Cole

Fulfillment by Lee Cole: ‘Despair and Late Capitalism’ or ‘The Hero’s Journey’

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Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping was one of my books of the year back in 2022 raising my expectations for his second. Fulfillment sees two half-brothers returning to Kentucky, one with his hopes dashed and in debt, the other married and apparently successful, teaching for a term at a local university. For anyone discomfited by that extra […]

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Cover image for The Proof of My Innocence

The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe: More than one way of telling a story

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Despite a slightly patchy experience with Jonathan Coe’s novels over past few years, I couldn’t resist The Proof of My Innocence when it was pitched to me, particularly as I’d very much enjoyed Bournville, his last novel. There’s always a thread of state-of-the-nation running through his fiction, sometimes more overt than others. This one opens

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The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig: Something nasty in the woodshed…

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There’s something irresistible about a state-of-the-nation novel, even if that nation has shifted cataclysmically since the novel was conceived. This isn’t the first book in that vein Amanda Craig has written – I remember enjoying Hearts and Minds which explored the lives of immigrants in London a few years back. Two characters from that novel

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