Caledonian Road by Andrew O'hagan
A Finalist for the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political FictionA Best Book of the Year for the Independent, London Standard, Sunday Times, Guardian, Spectator, Times Literary Supplement, Scotsman, and Snack Mag
“[A] satirical delight.… [R]ich, moving.” —Francesca Peacock, New York Times Book Review
A biting portrait of British class, politics, and money told through five interconnected families and their rising—and declining—fortunes.
"An addictively enjoyable yarn; a state-of-the-nation social novel with the swagger and bling of an airport bestseller and an insider’s grasp on the nuances of high culture… [O’Hagan’s] prose is nimble, lively and sure-footed." -- Xan Brooks - Guardian
"Andrew O’Hagan, with his new two-fisted, triple-decker, four-on-the-floor magnum opus has made more than a great book—he has made a social miracle." -- Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Netanyahus
"A pitch-perfect send-up of London’s dirty rich and their many hangers-on, O’Hagan’s latest is an absolute joy to read.… [T]he story is impossible to put down." -- James Tarmy - Bloomberg
"Sprawling.… Blends a disparate cast of Londoners, from oligarchs and politicians to drill artists and people smugglers, in a complex fable of greed and avarice." -- Laura Battle, Financial Times, “Best Summer Books: Fiction”
"[A] pitch-perfect tragicomedy of manners.… A book—it’s hard to resist the word Dickensian—that feels as near an authentic slice of contemporary London life as any packed tube carriage." -- Tim Adams, Observer, “Book of the Week”
"A searing Dickensian portrait of modern Britain.… Gloriously ambitious." -- Johanna Thomas-Corr, Sunday Times (UK), cover of the Culture section
"Capacious.… Caledonian Road is wildly readable, brimming with energy and filled with enjoyable contemporary detail. Brash, prating characters stalk its pages, demanding attention and understanding; yet, in Andrew O’Hagan’s redistributive narrative justice, the most heartfelt, and heart-rending, moments tend to involve those whose fate is to lurk on the periphery." -- Suzi Feay, Times Literary Supplement (UK)
"A hugely enjoyable read, all delivered in O’Hagan’s customarily stylish prose.… A book that will get people reading—and talking." -- Susie Mesure - i news
"Remarkable.… A novel on a scale which is rare today, and one which makes you think and feel at the same time." -- Allan Massie - Scotsman
"Caledonian Road is a brilliant, barnstorming state-of-the-nation novel that blasts the doors off shady workplaces, pulls down the facades of high society, and knocks over the ‘good liberal’ house of cards. But Andrew O’Hagan is not only a peerless chronicler of our times. He has other gifts—of generosity, humor, and tenderness—which make this novel an utter joy to read." -- Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane and Love Marriage
"It’s a masterpiece. Not only his biggest book, but the best and biggest novel anyone has written in this country for a long time. I wolfed it down in three long sessions. Flynn is such a powerfully complete portrait of a person, a wonderfully rounded and compelling character and I deeply felt for him. And the comedy! Not just line by line but page by page are laugh-out-loud funny. Amazing. Caledonian Road is extraordinary." -- John Lanchester, author of The Wall, Capital, and The Debt to Pleasure
"I loved this novel—loved its ambition and scale and scope and certainty—its panache and brio and the joy in the writing. It’s Dickens and Wolfe and Thackeray and Hogarth and Amis. By the end I felt like I’d hurled myself off a skyscraper called London 2022 and as I fell I managed to snatch a precious glimpse into each different apartment and life, interconnected and separate, with people of different hues and accents, dreaming or wishing they were someone else, or just trying to survive another day in this torrid and glorious mess we call now." -- Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown and Frost/Nixon
"What a stupendous phenomenon! State of the nation to end all state of the nation books, wicked and lacerating satire, forensic class analysis, full of rage and wit, but also profoundly touching on children and parents, friendships and loss—and the idea of what and where is HOME. All those astonishing details of the underworld and the overworld! Breathtaking. And the whole thing—as in Campbell’s Dutch painters—a ‘reflection of reality, plus the compositional method, a matter of almost infinite deliberation and refinement.’" -- Hermione Lee, author of Edith Wharton
"An epic way-we-live-now social novel set in a rapidly corroding London.… O’Hagan shares [Tom] Wolfe’s gift for delivering a panoply of unique characters.… There’s no doubting the scope of [O’Hagan’s] ambition; when future generations seek to understand post-pandemic Britain, this will be one of the first places they look. A sprawling critique of so-called polite society." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Sweeping.… In this Jonathan Franzenesque tale (this is a social realist novel with a moral core), O’Hagan explores the vacuous attempts of the British aristocracy to maintain their wealth and prestige at the expense of others in this kaleidoscopic exploration of post-pandemic and post-Brexit Britain." -- Alexander Moran - Booklist
"[A] wide-ranging novel of ideas.… O’Hagan handles the many narrative strands with aplomb. Readers with a taste for the Dickensian will find much to admire." -- Publishers Weekly
"Andrew O’Hagan, with his new two-fisted, triple-decker, four-on-the-floor magnum opus has made more than a great book—he has made a social miracle." -- Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Netanyahus
"A pitch-perfect send-up of London’s dirty rich and their many hangers-on, O’Hagan’s latest is an absolute joy to read.… [T]he story is impossible to put down." -- James Tarmy - Bloomberg
"Sprawling.… Blends a disparate cast of Londoners, from oligarchs and politicians to drill artists and people smugglers, in a complex fable of greed and avarice." -- Laura Battle, Financial Times, “Best Summer Books: Fiction”
"[A] pitch-perfect tragicomedy of manners.… A book—it’s hard to resist the word Dickensian—that feels as near an authentic slice of contemporary London life as any packed tube carriage." -- Tim Adams, Observer, “Book of the Week”
"A searing Dickensian portrait of modern Britain.… Gloriously ambitious." -- Johanna Thomas-Corr, Sunday Times (UK), cover of the Culture section
"Capacious.… Caledonian Road is wildly readable, brimming with energy and filled with enjoyable contemporary detail. Brash, prating characters stalk its pages, demanding attention and understanding; yet, in Andrew O’Hagan’s redistributive narrative justice, the most heartfelt, and heart-rending, moments tend to involve those whose fate is to lurk on the periphery." -- Suzi Feay, Times Literary Supplement (UK)
"A hugely enjoyable read, all delivered in O’Hagan’s customarily stylish prose.… A book that will get people reading—and talking." -- Susie Mesure - i news
"Remarkable.… A novel on a scale which is rare today, and one which makes you think and feel at the same time." -- Allan Massie - Scotsman
"Caledonian Road is a brilliant, barnstorming state-of-the-nation novel that blasts the doors off shady workplaces, pulls down the facades of high society, and knocks over the ‘good liberal’ house of cards. But Andrew O’Hagan is not only a peerless chronicler of our times. He has other gifts—of generosity, humor, and tenderness—which make this novel an utter joy to read." -- Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane and Love Marriage
"It’s a masterpiece. Not only his biggest book, but the best and biggest novel anyone has written in this country for a long time. I wolfed it down in three long sessions. Flynn is such a powerfully complete portrait of a person, a wonderfully rounded and compelling character and I deeply felt for him. And the comedy! Not just line by line but page by page are laugh-out-loud funny. Amazing. Caledonian Road is extraordinary." -- John Lanchester, author of The Wall, Capital, and The Debt to Pleasure
"I loved this novel—loved its ambition and scale and scope and certainty—its panache and brio and the joy in the writing. It’s Dickens and Wolfe and Thackeray and Hogarth and Amis. By the end I felt like I’d hurled myself off a skyscraper called London 2022 and as I fell I managed to snatch a precious glimpse into each different apartment and life, interconnected and separate, with people of different hues and accents, dreaming or wishing they were someone else, or just trying to survive another day in this torrid and glorious mess we call now." -- Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown and Frost/Nixon
"What a stupendous phenomenon! State of the nation to end all state of the nation books, wicked and lacerating satire, forensic class analysis, full of rage and wit, but also profoundly touching on children and parents, friendships and loss—and the idea of what and where is HOME. All those astonishing details of the underworld and the overworld! Breathtaking. And the whole thing—as in Campbell’s Dutch painters—a ‘reflection of reality, plus the compositional method, a matter of almost infinite deliberation and refinement.’" -- Hermione Lee, author of Edith Wharton
"An epic way-we-live-now social novel set in a rapidly corroding London.… O’Hagan shares [Tom] Wolfe’s gift for delivering a panoply of unique characters.… There’s no doubting the scope of [O’Hagan’s] ambition; when future generations seek to understand post-pandemic Britain, this will be one of the first places they look. A sprawling critique of so-called polite society." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Sweeping.… In this Jonathan Franzenesque tale (this is a social realist novel with a moral core), O’Hagan explores the vacuous attempts of the British aristocracy to maintain their wealth and prestige at the expense of others in this kaleidoscopic exploration of post-pandemic and post-Brexit Britain." -- Alexander Moran - Booklist
"[A] wide-ranging novel of ideas.… O’Hagan handles the many narrative strands with aplomb. Readers with a taste for the Dickensian will find much to admire." -- Publishers Weekly
Andrew O’Hagan, a Scottish novelist and essayist, is a winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, a three-time nominee for the Booker Prize, the editor-at-large of the London Review of Books, and a contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781324110941 |
| ISBN 10 | 1324110945 |
| Title | Caledonian Road |
| Author | Andrew O'hagan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | WW Norton & Co |
| Year published | 2025-06-17 |
| Number of pages | 624 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |