The Proof of My Innocence

Reviews

Coe has huge powers of observation and enormous literary panache Coe is among the handful of novelists who can tell us something about the temper of our times Probably the best English novelist of his generation Coe shows an understanding of this country that goes beyond what most cabinet ministers can muster . . . he is a master of satire but pokes fun subtly, without ever being cruel, biting or blatant . . . his light, funny writing makes you feel better My comfort read: anything by Jonathan Coe A novelist who gains in range and reputation with every book Please, God … if there’s a next life, let me write as well as Jonathan Coe Splendidly disturbing Wonderful storytelling An insightful and moving story about how memories can or cannot be passed down through the generations A sustained feat of humour, suspense and polemic, full of twists and ironies Astute, enlightened … Both moving and funny. As we’d expect from Coe British novelists love to diagnose the state of the nation. Few do it better than Jonathan Coe, who writes with warmth and subversive glee about social change Few contemporary writers can make a success of the state of the nation novel: Jonathan Coe is one of them Coe has the great gift of combining engaging human stories with a deeper structural pattern that gives the book its heft Light as a souffle and tremendously funny Wonderfully accomplished and darkly funny. The Proof of My Innocence is a murder mystery, a satire on Britain's ever right-ward drift, culminating in Liz Truss; and an inquiry into truth and perception. Jonathan Coe gets better and better A brilliant, shrewd, satirical novel – gimlet-eyed, funny, very clever and a searchingly profound look at the state of this strange country of ours. The premier satirist of great British crapness is on killer form in this gag-a-minute mystery - who but Coe would think to structure a book around the abysmal transport police mantra “See It. Say It. Sorted”? Coe channels his anger and frustration at the direction his country has taken, as well as his abiding love for it, into prose of enduring beauty The funniest serious novelist practising in this country Coe knows how to write a novel: it is well paced, he makes complex plots look easy, he has a way of marshalling a large cast of characters that never feels contrived, the prose is pleasant and not invasive, and he is — rare for a novelist — funny Deeply pleasurable, and a lot of fun. You emerge from it glowing I was delighted by Jonathan Coe’s The Proof of My Innocence. It’s clever and political – while also being very funny A funny, smart and innovative exploration of contemporary British political dynamics For many in the UK, the last fourteen years have felt like living in an irredeemably bad novel. How wonderful, then, to mark the changes with Jonathan Coe’s wise and playful reprise of the years in which we lost the plot - and maybe gained some gentleness in its unravelling Fantastic, wickedly funny and gripping, I couldn’t put this down. Coe has written a beautifully crafted mystery that dovetails as a sharp, smart state of the nation novel A wonderfully farcical and absurd book that puts into perspective the political chaos of post-Brexit Britain A new Jonathan Coe is always a treat . . . Coe is a master at exploring the pains of modern life For all its irony, its tricksiness, its surface light-heartedness, The Proof of My Innocence is a novel earnestly using fiction as a way of telling the truth Full of humour and warmth, this re-imagining of the cosy crime genre is irresistible Full of energy... a madcap caper, a sideways memoir, a tricksy jeu d’esprit that is also a quiet defence of fiction in a post-truth age, and enormous fun to read Expand reviews