SUSAN DARLINGTON applauds a one-man show that navigates racist barriers to tell the story of the black pilot, boxer and jazz musician
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An error occurred while searching, try again later.Jonathan Coe - A novelist who takes politics seriously
JOHN GREEN recommends that rare thing, a British novelist who is politically aware, entertaining and who writes to the moment
RITA DI SANTO picks the best films from a festival that adopted a ‘neutral’ political position, despite the looming presence of the AfD
MATTHEW HAWKINS sees past the purple prose to themes of rejection and ageing in the autobiographical fiction of Rupert Everett
New releases from Richard Dawson, Yazz Ahmed, and The Murder Capital
JON BALDWIN introduces a new translation of Karl Marx’s masterwork that is readable, relatable and refreshed
GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
In which we accompany the Bard into Cymru to meet his musical accomplices, young and old
WE are living through one of the worst crises of capitalism globally, and in Britain we have consecutively experienced several of the most incompetent and callous governments in living memory. But where are the contemporary novelists tackling this rich seam of material? I don’t see any Jonathan Swifts or George Orwells, not even anyone like US authors Philip Roth or Barbara Kingsolver.
There is, however, a lone exception and that is Jonathan Coe. He is the only contemporary English novelist I know of who grapples viscerally with the political and social crisis we are experiencing.
Born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in 1961, he has long been interested in both music and literature.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes