I am a big fan of Jonathon Coe. I read this book after enjoying "What A Carve Up !" and "The House Of Sleep". I found it a little disappointing.
The story has to be shoehorned into shape for it to make any sense, and some of the characters are drawn a little too roughly. The plot requires a good deal of imagination to make it fly, and it seems as if it haad been added rather late in the process.
That said, it also contains the writer's honest eye for detail, and he captures the ordinariness of life in many well-drawn scenes.
I think this is an example of the early work of a writer who now produces extremely enjoyable, meaningful, challenging and accessible work. He doesn't deliver it in this early work, but you can see the early signs of it here.
I couldn't in all honesty recommend it to anyone but his biggest fans, despite the fact it is streets ahead of most of the c**p that litters the booksellers nowadays. Compared to the quality of his later work, this book does not deliver. Only for those who are truly fascinated in the work of this talented writer.