A zombie novel without zombies. The people afflicted with the virus in this story do little more than wander around, visiting places they knew before and repeating past patterns. They are rounded up and put in humane, protective custody until a cure can be found. One man searches in vain for his father, believed to be infected. This novel, folks, is a metaphor for understanding Alzheimer's and the pain of those who love the afflicted.
A road-trip novel about a man promoting toothbrushes. Everything goes wrong on his journey to the northernmost point in the British Isles. Along the way we get an account of an adventurer who may have faked his epic travels and even his death. The ending for this novel is completely unexpected!
The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim is Jonathan Coe's latest heart-breaking and hilarious novel
Maxwell Sim could be any of us. He could be you.
He's about to have a mid-life crisis (though eh doesn't know it yet). He'll be found in his car in the north of Scotland, half-naked and alone, suffering hypothermia, with a couple of empty whisky bottles and a boot full of toothbrushes.
It's a far cry from a restaurant in Sydney, where his story starts.
But then Maxwell Sim has, unknowingly, got a long way to go. If he knew now about his lonely journey…
A classic framed narrative as a man is drowning in a particular dangerous rapid on a guided whitewater float. His life passes before his eyes and we learn not only his story and that of his family but much of the dark history of Tasmania. Is he rescued in time? You tell me.
The sequel to One-Match Fire, Parent Imperfect follows the sometimes fraught relationships between fathers and sons into a new generation. An adopted son seeks belonging from many sources, finding frustration and anger as his relationship devolves with his adopted father. Theft and vandalism provoke a confrontation so that two people can find a common starting point and repair a broken love.
