The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe
'The premier satirist of great British crapness is on killer form in this gag-a-minute mystery' Observer
'A new Jonathan Coe is always a treat... Coe is a master at exploring the pains of modern life' The Times
---
Post-university life doesn’t suit Phyl. Time passes slowly, living with her parents and working a zero-hours contract at Heathrow Airport, while her budding plans of becoming a writer are going nowhere.
That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been investigating a radical think tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in an ever more extreme direction. When he follows this story to a conference in a rambling old hotel deep in the Cotswolds, events take a bizarre and sinister turn. Soon he is caught up in a world of cryptic clues, secret passages and, eventually, murder.
In the end, despite the efforts of a suitably eccentric detective, it falls to Phyl herself – ably assisted by Chris’s outspoken adopted daughter Rashida - to look for answers to the fatal mystery. But will they lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
---
'Full of energy... a madcap caper, a sideways memoir, a tricky jeu d'esprit that is also a quiet defence of fiction in a post-truth age, and enormous fun to read' Guardian
'Deeply pleasurable, and a lot of fun. You emerge from it glowing' iPaper
'Fantastic, wickedly funny and gripping. Coe has written a beautifully crafted mystery that dovetails as a sharp, smart, state of the nation' Simon McCleave
'I was delighted... it's clever and political - while also being very funny' John Self
A brilliant, shrewd, satirical novel – gimlet-eyed, funny, very clever and a searchingly profound look at the state of this strange country of ours. -- William Boyd
The premier satirist of great British crapness is on killer form in this gag-a-minute mystery - who but Coe would think to structure a book around the abysmal transport police mantra “See It. Say It. Sorted”? * Observer *
Coe channels his anger and frustration at the direction his country has taken, as well as his abiding love for it, into prose of enduring beauty * Guardian *
The funniest serious novelist practising in this country * Independent *
A funny, smart and innovative exploration of contemporary British political dynamics -- Nussaibah Younis
A wonderfully farcical and absurd book that puts into perspective the political chaos of post-Brexit Britain * Foyles *
Full of energy... a madcap caper, a sideways memoir, a tricksy jeu d’esprit that is also a quiet defence of fiction in a post-truth age, and enormous fun to read * Guardian *
Deeply pleasurable, and a lot of fun. You emerge from it glowing -- iPaper
A new Jonathan Coe is always a treat . . . Coe is a master at exploring the pains of modern life -- Rosamund Urwin * The Times *
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780241678428 |
| ISBN 10 | 0241678420 |
| Title | The Proof of My Innocence |
| Author | Jonathan Coe |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2024-11-07 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |