"Middle England," by Jonathan Coe

As readers of this blog may remember, I love “big,” sprawling nineteenth-century novels. Occasionally a contemporary British novel promises some of the same pleasures as those earlier novels provide. Jonathan Coe’s new novel, “Middle England” (Knopf, 2018), seemed that it might be one of these. Yet I hesitated about whether to read it, perhaps because according to descriptions and reviews I read, it seemed to be very much about politics, and in particular about Brexit. I of course am interested in these topics, but I usually don’t prefer novels in which politics are the main focus. I decided to read a chapter or two and see how I felt. Well, you can see what’s coming here: I was immediately drawn into the novel, and finished this 429-page book in a few days. The reason I found it so compelling was its masterful blend of the main characters’ stories, its description of English politics and culture in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, and its portrayal of how England has changed – and in some cases, not changed – over the past few decades. I know that I have a romanticized view of England in some ways, but I know too that my view is unrealistic in many ways. Another reason for my enjoying this novel is that I am always drawn to descriptions of the English countryside (remembering my own wonderful train rides through that countryside at its most idyllic), as well as of London (of course I love London!). Of interest was that the novel took place in several places: London, Birmingham, several smaller cities and towns, and the countryside, giving a wider view of England than many London-centered novels do. Although not as masterful as the novels of George Eliot or Charles Dickens (but that is a very high bar!), this novel is a worthy if lesser successor. The novel also, obviously purposely, shows how changes in the British public and British politics are related to similar changes in the United States. But I can’t end this post without going back to the characters in the novel. They are mainly, although not only, a group of friends in their forties and their families and associates. They are of all age and genders, and several ethnicities and races (although mostly white) and social classes (although mostly the upper middle class, educated class). There are fascinating family and marital relationships, as well as generational conflicts. The characters’ stances on Brexit, and on immigrants, are often dividing lines among them, but dividing lines that reflect more basic differences, even between husband and wife and between parent and child. The story lines are well drawn, and the writing itself is excellent. I am glad I read this novel about my beloved (you may remember my Anglophile leanings) but troubled England.