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Today, "The Disunited Kingdom" by Jonathan Coe, published on November 11, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard.
Emily Café Powell, contributor to the 20 Minutes reading group, recommends “The Disunited Kingdom” by Jonathan Coe, published on November 11, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard.
His favorite quote:
Like the murmur of a river, like the sound of the rising tide, a distant counterpoint to the hiss of his broom on the steps, a disembodied voice whispering in his ear, over and over, the same mantra: The more it changes, the more it is the same thing.
Why this book?
Because this English novel, as its title suggests,
brilliantly pays tribute to the recent history of the United Kingdom.
Jonathan Coe uses the major events that have marked British history in recent decades as a backdrop, thus painting a complete and uncompromising portrait (a certain “Boris” takes it for his rank) of his country.
It is a great, an immense English novel.
Because it's a family fresco as we like them.
Opening with a generous family tree, the novel shows no less than five generations of the same family, which the reader follows over the decades with great affection.
Although the novel makes many leaps in time, the reader becomes very attached to this family, even if he does not follow it on a daily basis.
Because it is an extremely brilliant historical novel,
which associates the great history with that more modest of its characters.
The impact of major events, the repercussions they have on daily life: all this is shown with great talent by the author.
Because it is also a novel that smells of chocolate
, and which will make you want to eat it throughout your reading.
You will learn more about the little-known "chocolate war" that pitted us French against the British...
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
Jonathan Coe unfolds the story of an English family from the end of World War II to Covid, in the small working-class village of Bournville, known for being the headquarters of Cadbury chocolate.
Characters.
The central protagonist is undeniably Mary Lamb.
Child on May 8, 1945, she grows up over the chapters: the story details her life as a woman, that of her children Martin, Peter and Jack, of her granddaughter Lorna.
Places.
Bournville: this small British town located near Birmingham probably does not speak to you.
It is a workers' village built for the employees of the Cadbury factory.
Chocolate is in fact at the center of the story!
The time.
The construction of the novel highlights the major milestones in British history from the end of the Second World War: the coronation of Elizabeth II, the victory at the World Cup in 1966, the death of Lady Diana to only cite a few…
The author.
Jonathan Coe is a great British author.
He was born in 1961 in Birmingham.
This book was read with a
lot of empathy and the impression of knowing the characters personally
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Book sheet 20 Minutes
Books
UK
Chocolate