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Bournville
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Bournville
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
A moving, brutally funny and true portrait of Britain told through four generations of one family.
In Bournville, a placid suburb of Birmingham, sits a famous chocolate factory. For eleven-year-old Mary and her family in 1945, it's the centre of the world. The reason their streets smell faintly of chocolate, the place where most of their friends and neighbours have worked for decades.
Mary will go on to live through seventy-five years of social change, from the Coronation and the World Cup final, to royal weddings, royal funerals, Brexit and Covid-19. She'll have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Parts of the chocolate factory will be transformed into a theme park, as modern life and the city crowd in on their peaceful enclave. Will these changing times bring Mary's family—and their country—closer together, or leave them more adrift and divided than ever before?
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Bournville by Jonathan Coe is widely praised as an ambitious and moving exploration of Britain's social changes through the lens of one Midlands family. Critics highlight its blend of comedy and tragedy, masterfully interweaving personal lives with national history. The novel is noted for its poignant depiction of the pandemic, engaging storytelling, and Coe's distinct ability to present both humorous and serious elements with warmth and empathy.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241517406
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 31 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Viking
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 22.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 255g
Pages: 368
About the Author
Jonathan Coe was born a few miles from Bournville in 1961. The author of political satires such as What a Carve Up! and Number 11, and family sagas such as The Rotters' Club and The Rain Before It Falls, his novels have won prizes at home and abroad, including Costa Novel of the Year and the Prix du Livre Europeen (both for Middle England).
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