Grand Guignol Satire - Rated 
Having previously read "The Rotter's Club", I started reading this expecting it to be a novel in the same style and was startled by the change. The book veers between the every-day and poignant (in its description of Fiona's illness and the incompetence of the NHS) and the Grand Guignol satire of its finale. The plot is elaborate and has some well constructed twists which I didn't see coming and usually I spot them a mile off.
I am puzzled by the reviewers who say that this is not as book for Tories to read. Surely its targets of City whizz kids who destroy people's pensions, dodgy dealings with Iraq, art dealers obsessed with money and sex and a corrupt metropolitan clique who feel they have a right to rule are still there to be attacked? It stands as a critique of New Labour as well as Thatcherism.
A jolly good read! - Rated 
Reviewer Ross is the best on this one. There are umpteen levels to this book and it is the nearest one will get to a modern English picaresque novel. I think some of the other reviewers have missed the point (even though they have given it 5 stars, rightly) perhaps they lack the necessary biro - it is meant to be cartoon like, didactic on a 6th form level, etc etc. It s meant to be Dickensian. This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Above all, it is very funny in an Evelyn Waugh kind of way (another touchstone in the novel); figuring out the levels and references is half the fun.
Interesting idea - Rated
On the whole i quite enjoyed this book but i did find it a bit long - the chapters that tell the narrator's story are the best because he is a real person with problems, whereas the other sections focus on increasingly despicable characters and are quite difficult to read, i refer particularly to the section about Dorothy - vegetarians be warned it does not make for comfortable reading.
the idea behind the text is interesting as Coe uses different forms of text to build up the story. I would definitely recommend it, if only for the last part which reads like a cheesy horror film - good fun though!
Surprisingly Good - Rated
I've read one other Jonathan Coe book, and was not impressed. However, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book immensely, despite the fact that I was prepared not to.
Coe's story surrounds the protagonist, a reclusive author with much emotional baggage, and his research into the aristocratic Winshaw family. The novel is both a stark political comment on Thatcherite Britain as well as a very well-woven story.
The Winshaws are a caricature of themselves in attitude and behaviour and whilst they plunder the country under conservative policy, they represent Coe's social comment. Although Coe's criticism of conservatism does risk being crudely didactic (in a sixth-form politics type-of-way), it doesn't seem to be out of place within the context of the plot. The story itself, which keeps the politics on the ground, is in itself excellent, springing colourful characters and twists with every turn.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was highly engaging and although probably not quite worthy of the prefix "classic", gets pretty close. For this reason, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, but because I can't and because I enjoyed it so much, "What a Carve Up" gets 5 stars.
Surprisingly Good - Rated
I've read one other Jonathan Coe book, and was not impressed. However, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book immensely, despite the fact that I was prepared not to.
Coe's story surrounds the protagonist, a reclusive author with much emotional baggage, and his research into the aristocratic Winshaw family. The novel is both a stark political comment on Thatcherite Britain as well as a very well-woven story.
The Winshaws are a caricature of themselves in attitude and behaviour and whilst they plunder the country under conservative policy, they represent Coe's social comment. Although Coe's criticism of conservatism does risk being crudely didactic (in a sixth-form politics type-of-way), it doesn't seem to be out of place within the context of the plot. The story itself, which keeps the politics on the ground, is in itself excellent, springing colourful characters and twists with every turn.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was highly engaging and although probably not quite worthy of the prefix "classic", gets pretty close. For this reason, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, but because I can't and because I enjoyed it so much, "What a Carve Up" gets 5 stars.
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