- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (2 Mar 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140234217
- ISBN-13: 978-0140234213
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 451,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
What a Carve Up!
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Michael is a lonely writer, obsessed by a film featuring a mad knifeman. When he is commissioned to write the family history of the Winshaws he realizes that the family have cast a blight on his life and he decides to take his revenge by re-enacting his favourite film.
About the Author
Jonathan Coe was born in Birmingham in 1961. His other novels include A TOUCH OF LOVE and THE HOUSE OF SLEEP. THE ROTTER'S CLUB is forthcoming from Viking.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You simply HAVE to read it. It re-affirms that the novel is not dead as an art form (the structure is simply astounding), it proves that you can write a novel that is both politically astute and personally relevant - and it is further proof that an intelligent, sophisticated book can be funny enough to make you cry with laughter. It is an absolute masterpiece that I have bought for more than ten people, each one of whom has agreed that it is one of the best novels of the last ten years. Buy it and see why - you will not be disappointed
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A real broad canvas of a novel that examines life under the Thatcher government in 1980s Britain, but it's not just a piece of political tub-thumping. The story plants its roots in the 1940s and uses the shenanigans of a particular influential family to illustrate the gradual dismantling and restructuring of British society and, above all, how the whims of this one group of people have far-reaching and devastating consequences for the average person on the street.
But I don't want to make it sound like a grim sociopolitical tract. At times, it's incredibly funny, and occasionally very touching. It's bookended by World War II and the Gulf War, but its examination of society probes like a laser beam into the minutiae of everyday things that affect us all, like public transport, healthcare, what we eat, how we think. Ultimately, it's a very human novel, superbly constructed and deserving of high praise.
And while I kind of see what previous reviewers mean about it not appealing to Tories or illustrating a class war, I should try to look beyond those issues because this isn't just a book about politics, it's about people - it's about us, and what we have allowed to happen to our society.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jonathon Coe lives and works outside the London media scene - as such he is free to write his own stories, to his own agenda, without having to concern himself with the petty struggles that often upset the London publishing circles. With 'What a Carve Up!' he has managed to avoid the contemporary pitfalls that so engage Martin Amis and Julian Barnes and has instead created one of the most fascinatingly constructed books I have ever read. Coe has not agonised in print over his love of great writers, or publicised his literary angst over the direction literature should be taking. Instead he has got on with the craftsmanship of writing a truly great novel.
With a Dickensian approach to morality and integrity Coe sends up the perverse class system and corrupt establishment that he sees controlling Britain. He is never po-faced, and instead manages to suit the weapon to the danger, and unlike other passionate writers he never over-reacts, which means that the reader will appreciate his points without ever questioning their motives. With elements of Magical Realism as well as clear British canonical influences Coe has quite possibly written the best novel of the last ten years.
I look forward to his next.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
What a mash up!
The main character in this book starts out trying to write a family history but it ends up as a novel. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Nicholas V. Dowling
It was like magic.
The layers that are so skillfully woven by the writer had me in a state of disbelief, for it consistently surprised me and at the end I was left with a feeling of utter rage. Read more
Published 17 days ago by B. Salavati
Kindle strikes again
Why should I pay more for the kindle version of this book than I would for the paperback?
I'm getting increasingly tired of this, Amazon. SORT IT OUT!
I'm getting increasingly tired of this, Amazon. SORT IT OUT!
Published 4 months ago by Gideon Pepys
A great book, I wish I had read this earlier
What a Carve Up is foremost a well written and structured novel. For me, what really made this stand out was the underlying political message. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Habeeb
An astonishing piece of work
I approached this book with Coe, in my mind, being given a second chance: I had earlier read his Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim, and had been really rather unimpressed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Adam Lewis
What a Carve Up
What a book! Compelling writing, seamless plot. Thoroughly enjoyable right to the very last page. Cynical, poignant, most probably true where the neo-liberalism of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. Koutoula
A wonderful book
This is a great big hunk of a read, and it's got just about everything: politics, humour (Coe can be very funny), tension, history, relationships, murder... Read more
Published 10 months ago by F. M. M. Stott
Everything a novel should be
One of my all-time favourite novels. I first read it years ago, not knowing what to expect, and continually return to it as my benchmark for all that has come since. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Starfield
One of my favourite novels of all time
I've read it many times but it never fails to move me and to amaze me with its intelligence and intricacy. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Fran Bury
Remarkably easy to read - but reflection shows how stunning and...
I've come to Coe late, and recently read this, as well as The House of Sleep and The Rotters' Club in quick succession. He's a fabulous writer. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Lady Fancifull
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