“Something has gone a bit wrong in the relationship between our famous British sense of humour and our politics. They have become too entangled and our politics has become unserious” 🟠 susiemesure interviews jonathancoe
. “I’m not in any way trying to keep up with events, because that would just be impossible at the moment,” he interjects at one point when we chat over video.)Coe’s third novel in four years, opens with Lorna Lamb, a Birmingham-based receptionist by day and gigging guitarist by night, arriving in Austria for her first European tour just as Italy is locking down. At a post-gig dinner, her host grills her about the state of British politics.
In March 2020, Coe, who has two grown-up daughters, was on his own European tour for his previous novel,, being asked the same question. “My hosts were talking to me as if they were concerned friends staging an intervention. They kept asking, ‘What is going on in the UK because we’ve always looked up to your country culturally and politically and you seem to be in a bit of a mess,’” he says.
He was stuck for a concise answer but thought he might find one if he wrote a book about the end of theAnd then his mother, Janet, died at the end of the first lockdown. “I immediately felt I wanted to write something about her. And I realised that also took me back to the end of the Second World War and would bring me up to the end of her life, and I thought maybe the two novels should be the same,” says Coe, who lives with his wife, Janine, in Earl’s Court, in west London.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'The government cannot do everything,' Rishi Sunak tells British people as the country plunges into recessionRishi Sunak has warned that 'the government cannot do everything', while pledging to get a grip on inflation, as the UK faces its longest-ever recession,
Read more »
British tourist taken hostage by Amazon tribe on riverboat in Peru releasedTourists including at least three Britons held hostage overnight on a riverboat in the Amazon river in Peru by an indigenous tribe have been released
Read more »
British steelmakers urge government to close Russian sanctions loophole\n\t\t\tExpert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends,\n\t\t\trisks and opportunities.\n\t\t\n\t\tJoin over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.
Read more »
10 British Politicians Who've Done Reality TV, As Matt Hancock Signs Up For I'm A CelebrityAs Matt Hancock signs up for I'm A Celebrity, which other politicians have taken on reality TV – and how did they do?
Read more »
Carmen Callil changed British reading habits for everThe Australian-born founder of Virago Press died on October 17th, aged 84
Read more »