by Jonathan Coe
This is the funniest book I’ve read all year. Stuffed with good puns and jokes, it’s also an excellent pastiche of genres including cosy crime, autofiction and ‘dark academia’ (no, I had no idea either – apparently it includes The Secret History). I knew I’d enjoy it when I saw that the main sections of the book are titled See it, Say it, Sorted.
Phyl is back with her parents after university, working at a sushi chain called Hey! Teriyaki, and with no idea what to do with her life, thinks she might write a novel. Her story is mixed in with an alarming conference held in 2022, attended by a friend of her family who appears to know many attendees but is most unwelcome…
The Proof of my Innocence is a locked room murder mystery with all the good golden age rules, told in a new way. I am extremely picky about plots in mysteries, hence my deep love of Riku Onda’s Aosawa Murders. For a deeply satisfying plot, Proof is right up there. Reread the prologue as soon as you finish (it is 40 pages, but I promise you will thank me for it). I knew what had happened as I finished the book, but the true intricate glory of the plot was only fully revealed to me when I looked back. A fan who’d already read it gave me this tip and it was a gem.
I heard Jonathan Coe being interviewed by the estimable Rachel Cooke at Hatchards about the book, and it was a fun and funny evening. Coe helpfully explained the publishing phenomenon of cosy romance, so perhaps a Coe-sy romance pastiche is next.
Coe fans will find much to delight here (including two cameos by the villainous Winshaw family), but this is a standalone that would please anyone. Unless possibly you were a fan of the Truss government, in which case I helpfully suggest steering clear. There are more serious themes for those who care to look for them.
Heaven in paperback form.
(Review by Bethan)