This is a book – from an author new to me – that surprised and delighted me. It’s a cleverly constructed, satirical novel focused on far right politics at the time of the disastrous (and very brief) reign of Liz Truss as British prime minister

Phyl has returned home after graduating from university. She doesn’t quite know what to do with her life now. In fact she’s bored and treading water, preparing food for a Japanese restaurant at Heathrow Airport. Perhaps she’ll write a book – but about what, and how would go about constructing it? But luck is on her side, because a friend of her mother’s is staying at the house and his daughter has also come to join him. She’s about Phyl’s age, and they quickly forge a friendship. Maybe they can work something out between them.

Her mother’s friend is a political blogger and planning to attend a far-right conference, an act he’s mysteriously nervous of. In fact, he’s iterated vague warnings concerning his fears that harm may come to him. How things play out from here is both intriguing and often highly amusing. But it’s the way that the story is told – the cleverness of it – that struck me the most. Multiple styles are employed with the point of view changing a number of times. This might sound a little weird and confusing, but in practice, I found that it worked really well. In fact, it added to my enjoyment of this strangely compelling novel.

The only issue I had is that I found it a little hard to keep track of the action – perhaps because of the book's structure or maybe because I’m just not very good at following complex tales. Either way, the intelligence of the whole piece and it’s up to the minute relevancy was something I found very appealing. I’ll certainly look out more of Mr Coe’s work.

A satirical take on right wing politics. Powerful and wealthy were all encompassing in this believable storyline. Ex 1980’s Cambridge University students whose lives were connected were cleverly portrayed and incorporated as possible links into a murder mystery novel.
The setting of the novel at the time of Liz Truss’ disastrous short lived premiership.
Writing a review about this book has been difficult because I cannot say it was an enjoyable read. It took me quite a long time to become absorbed in it because there was a lot of disjointed jumping around and trying to keep track of where we were was confusing.

A really interesting take on the political mystery novel from an author I hadn't heard of before but will certainly look out for in the future. It is a rollercoaster of a read, transporting you from plot point to plot point with ease and incredible writing. Jonathan Coe's knowledge of politics and its interdependency with the powerful and wealthy, particularly on the right of the spectrum. He does a great job of satirising the system, though this was probably made easier by setting the novel at the time of Liz Truss' ill-fated premiership.

Overall, it was an entertaining and captivating political satire that cleverly disguises itself as a murder mystery. Don't let this put you off if you're politically averse as the mystery elements are compelling and equal to the political elements. If anything, some of the political parts went over my head and I still thoroughly enjoyed it! I wouldn't hesitate to read future works by Mr Coe and will definitely look at his previous novels to add to my TBR.

Phyl returns home as a Literature undergraduate unsure which career path she should follow. Quite by chance, she happens upon a forgotten novelist who was at Cambridge University during the 1980s when Phyl's mother and her friend Christopher Swann studied there. Christopher is convinced a right wing think tank, whose members also have links with the Cambridge of his time, are conspiring to return to the right wing extremism of yesteryear: privatising the NHS, significantly reducing taxes and more. Christopher shares his conspiracy theories in a blog and fears his life may now be in danger.

Whilst The Proof of My Innocence starts in the almost present day with the arrival of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, much of the novel is centred around a group of people involved with Cambridge University in the 1980s. At times I found the book a tad hectic as it moved from present to past and back again and struggled initially to immerse myself in its pages. That said, I appreciated the reminders of the tumultuous post Boris time and the sadness evoked by the death of the Queen. My enjoyment improved once the novel settled into the recount of the specifics of the 1980s Cambridge students. At times I did feel if I was reading a book within a book: a political commentary on one hand and a whodunit with a brilliant, unorthodox detective on the other.

Overall I did enjoy reading The Proof of My Innocence and was entertained by the intrigue and humour that peppered the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an advanced reader copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

2.5 ⭐️
This is a really tough one to review so for the sake of fairness, I can only give a very neutral rating. This is a book that is undeniably quite clever and does some really interesting and new things, but at the same time I have to admit that I really did not enjoy reading it and there’s a lot about it that bothered me.

Until the epilogue I was ready to write this off as absolutely terrible and ridiculous but those last few pages managed to completely change my mind and that, in itself, is quite a powerful achievement. The structure is innovative, intelligent and really effective in the overall effect and message. It’s daring and fun and quirky in the best way.

Still, the disjointed storytelling may be interesting but it can only take you so far, especially when it prevents you from creating interesting characters and when most of the prose instead is reserved for half-baked political exposition, which really REALLY bothered me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a hardcore leftist and love to dunk on tories whenever I can but in a world where misinformation is such an issue, fictionalising how cartoonishly evil they can be is very dangerous and runs the risk of people not taking it seriously. I know this is supposed to be satire but I think it just flopped on that front, plainly and simply.

That and the fact that it tries so very hard to be deeply anchored in a very specific time period, with so many overly specific references and descriptions - it made me feel like I was reading a newspaper from two years ago which is just such a dull concept to me. Maybe it’s one of those things that need perspective and will age quite well - maybe in ten years it will be an invaluable piece of fiction!!

Bottom line is that this gave me a lot to think about and the author is very clearly quite clever. But I think I’m enjoying the ‘thinking about it once it’s over’ part a lot more than the actual ‘reading it’ part.

‘The detective soon picked out her suspect in the midst of the crowd at Paddington station, even though it was a busy Tuesday morning and the concourse was thronged with passengers.’
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What. A. Gem. Of. A. Book.
I absolutely devoured this one and felt so thoroughly drawn into this story that I was getting sadder and sadder knowing it was coming to an end
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Through a clever and interesting way, Coe weaves together murder mystery with a political narrative whilst also including long lost authors and a treasure hunt of sorts, whilst also delivering a juicy twist that had me contemplating everything I’d read! I was just completely enraptured and these sorts of books really do manage to just grab and hold my attention!
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Post-university life doesn’t suit Phyl and as for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere. That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He’s been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that’s been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction.But speaking truth to power can be dangerous. As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
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Thank you SO much to @vikingbooksuk for the early copy of this one!

Life after university hasn't worked out quite the way that Phyl anticipated. She's back home, living with her parents and on a zero-hours contract serving sushi to tourists at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. All those ideas of becoming a writer seem to have come to nothing. The situation improves when 'Uncle' Chris comes to stay and introduces Phyl to his adopted daughter, Rashida. Christopher Swann (described by some as a lefty blogger) is investigating a think tank which originated at Cambridge University in the 1980s. It plans to push the government in a more extreme direction and is ready to act.

The UK has a new prime minister. We thought nothing could be worse than Boris Johnson, but the following seven weeks would prove us wrong. Liz Truss would be worse in ways we'd never dreamed about. Chris pursues his investigation at a conference held in the Cotswolds and it's not long before there's a murder enquiry but does the solution lie in contemporary politics or a book from forty years ago?

Some books feel as though they've not quite decided upon a genre to rest in. Others handle multiple genres with aplomb. The Proof of My Innocence falls firmly in the second category. It dashes between the eighties and the current decade, as well as between political thrillers, crime and humour - and all of it's written superbly. I'd never realised quite how annoying the see it, say it, sorted announcements on trains are until I heard it whilst reading the book on four different trains in the course of a day. It seemed to be pursuing me.

I've nothing but praise for the characterisation and the plotting. Even the title can be read in many ways. The writing is exquisite, so you might wonder why I've only given four stars. It's because of the television programme, Friends. Phyl has seen every episode many times: I've never watched one, so all the many references went right over my head and this left me feeling short-changed and ignorant. If you've watched the programme - and particularly if you've enjoyed it as many people seem to have done - then you'll probably give it five stars without hesitation. I appreciated all the qualities of the book but was left feeling slightly disappointed.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

For more state-of-the-nation satire from Coe, try Number 11.

Jonathan Coe is so clever - he writes thoroughly entertaining books, of seemingly any genre he chooses to turn his hand to, woven with acute political and social insights.

This novel was very meta, with a book within a book structure, riffing with murder mystery, dark academia and autofiction genres.

The commentary on right wing extreme Conservatism and it's relationship with flagship educational institutions was terrifying.

Above all I enjoy Coe's accurate, insightful descriptions of people and society and the backdrop of Liz Truss's brief leadership and the death of Queen Elizabeth were very well drawn.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I loved this book. A new author to me and always a treat when you find a writer you enjoy and can start to mine their back catalogue.
Carcking story, funny, twitsy turny.
Recommend

Like a lot of young people finishing Uni, Phyl has graduated and has yet to find a graduate job. Instead, she has had to move back in with her parents and take a low paid job at the nearby airport food hall. She still plans to become a writer but, as with a lot of aspiring writers, has no idea what she wants to write about. So she is stuck... Enlightenment comes from a strange place when her "Uncle" Chris visits, bringing along his adopted daughter Rashida who she bonds with over a rather interesting lift-based observation! It also transpires that Chris is involved in investigating a faction which threatens the newly formed (and we know how this ended) Liz Truss government. Something that might put his life in danger. A premise enhanced when a delegate at a conference he is attending is found dead...
And that's all I am saying about this book. You need to go in as blind as the blurb allows to get the very best from all the plot, the hindsight, and observation humour to be found herein - see it, say it, sorted... Needless to say it's a blast from start to finish.
This is my first book by this author and, to be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised when I started and found myself really resonating with both his style of writing and content. Especially his sense of humour!
The down side of which is that I now have another goodness knows how many books to add to my every growing TBR - someone really does need to get on with making me an immortality pill so I have half a chance of finishing mine!
One of the things I loved most about this book, and one of the things the author did spectacularly well is to weave his fiction around the factual events that coincide. Especially as they are ones that I actually paid attention to in the real world. Although he does appear to potentially blur the lines on occasion, at least I think he does...!
All in all, this was definitely a good book to introduce me to this author. As I said, I'm now off to stalk his back catalogue - recommendations are most definitely welcome...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A fun murder mystery set in the murky world of British right wing think tanks during the brief premiership of Liz Truss - or is it?

An amusing and thought provoking book by a master storyteller at the top of his game, exploring politics, literature and the boredom of working in a sushi restaurant at an airport terminal.

Pay attention – this author, I believe, likes to mess with your mind! A ‘busy’ plot, a word game with the title, lots of interesting references thrown in, sacred cows milked, scant regard or respect for those in government, meant I enjoyed a number of laugh-aloud moments. It’s a while since I read anything by Jonathan Coe, but regret that. His blending of current affairs, characters’ background, an admirable lady police detective who is more than fond of good food and wine, a murder you know will happen, make for a most enjoyable read. Leaving the final scene open-ended makes me wonder whether there will be a sequel – but maybe Coe was just messing with my mind.

I was pleased to be offered a chance to review this, as I love this author. I did enjoy this, but found it began to drift towards the end, and I found the ending disappointing. Still a great political satire with many a humorous moment, but I don't think it's his best.

Although it includes some of the state of the nation commentary you’d expect from Coe, I found this novel quite a departure. It’s extremely good fun and a satisfying mystery. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Jonathan Coe is one of my favourite contemporary British novelists and this genre-shifting combination of political satire, state of the nation novel, coming-of-age tale, and cosy murder mystery is another clever cracker.
The Proof of My Innocence is a fresh, witty, and entertaining story that manages to be extremely funny and entertaining, whilst also casting an intelligent eye over the crazy political times that saw Liz Truss briefly rise to power.
Coe captures the essence of Britishness and a moment in time without resorting to stereotypes or blunt messaging. I wonder how well this translates for foreign readers, and whether future readers will be bemused by some of the details of life in the 2020s such as that most annoying of all time ‘See it Say It Sort It’ tube message, but for me right now – I loved it!
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC

This is a very clever and, at times, funny book reflecting on the state of British politics over the past few decades, focusing particularly on Liz Truss. The author manages to mix this with a murder mystery by writing 3 different types of novel eg cosy crime within the main framework, to move the plot along.
However, I never really warmed to the style or the characters and did find the boom confusing at times. So, while acknowledging the author's obvious abilities I can't really say I enjoyed it.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Having read and enjoyed Bournville by this author, I jumped at the chance to read this one.

I spent the vast majority of my time reading this one trying to work out what was going in; unusually, it just didn't 'click' with me. The more I read, the more confused I got until I found myself looking to see how much more there was to go.

That's not something I've ever done before but, in all honesty, I was relieved when I reached the end and no further forward than I was at the beginning. You can't like every book you read and this one just wasn't meant for me. I'm sure others would love it though. 3*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Jonathan Coe: The Proof of My Innocence

Jonathan Coe is back to his political satire in this book. His What a Carve Up! (US: The Winshaw Legacy) remains one of the best English novels of the twentieth century. In that book he savaged a woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher or, more particularly, those who followed her. Here it is the turn of another woman prime minister, Liz Truss. If you are not British and have not heard of her, do not be surprised. She was prime minister for a mere seven weeks, in which time she managed to trash the economy. When she went to the US, nominally to support Trump in his 2004 presidential campaign, even the right-wingers who supported Trump had not heard of her. Truss has been associated with a shady group of right-wing groups centred around 55 Tufton Street in London and, as we shall see, these groups are key to this novel.

I will mention one other British peculiarity that plays a role in this book. If you travel by train in the UK you will sooner or later hear an announcement telling you to report anything suspicious to the British Transport Police which will be followed by the stupid phrase See It Say It Sorted.The phrase has been mercilessly mocked in the UK and people are tired of hearing it. One Transport Minister promised to get rid of it. He has long since departed. The phrase has not. Coe not only mocks it in this book, it plays a role in the plot. Just to help his French translator, I have translated it into French. Regardez Racontez Résolu.

The book opens with this issue as we follow a woman detective who is following a suspect on a train and is about to arrest him when she is interrupted by a See It Say It Sorted announcement.

We next move to Phyl. She has recently graduated from university and now has a job making sushi at a sushi bar at Heathrow Airport, some distance away from Rookthorne where she lives with her parents. Her mother is Joanna, a vicar and her father, Andrew, a retired quantity surveyor who has a large amount of books, some of which he is trying to get rid of. We see the age gap as he likes watching old black and white British comedies (as Coe does) and Phyl endlessly watches old episodes of Friends. We also see the changes in the village as a new out-of-town shopping mall has opened and the high street is run down. Coe is keen on state-of-the nation commentaries. Indeed, it is while walking in he high street that Phyl sees several cosy detective stories in a charity shop and, having had no idea what she wants to do with her life, decides to write a cosy mystery.

Joanna has invited Christopher, an old friend from Cambridge University which they attended (at the fictitious St Stephen’s College)and which Andrew specifically did not. Christopher is deemed to be pompous and he and Joanna talk about Cambridge leaving Andrew and Phyl somewhat out of the picture. However we learn that Christopher is investigating TrueCon, a dubious right-wing group, clearly based on 55 Tufton Street, mentioned above and whose key members include people he knew at Cambridge. TrueCon is having a conference, open to all who pay the admission at Wetherby Hall in the village of Wetherby Pond which is fictitious. However aficionados will recognise Wetherby Pond as the name of the character played by Alastair Sim in the film The Happiest Days of Your Life, which Andrew had been watching earlier in the book. The conference opens on the day Liz Truss becomes prime minister.
Christopher is, of course, very much in the midst of the enemy and it is not helped when he proves the Wetherby family were slave traders. He clashes with a few people. Three things of note happen during the conference. Liz Truss becomes prime minister. Queen Elizabeth II dies. Not surprisingly, Christopher is found brutally murdered. A woman police officer, presumably the one we met at the beginning, who is to retire the next day, is on the case and we now move into whodunnit territory.

We also go off on another tangent, albeit an interesting one Joanna and Christopher were at Cambridge with a man called Brian who has recently died and had given Joanna the manuscript of his memoirs of his time at Cambridge, in which we learn about Cambridge, how the UK extreme right was nurtured in Cambridge at that time, with a bit of help from the US and that the 1980s really started in 1985. We meet various characters who we will meet forty year later at the conference where Christopher is murdered, particularly Richard Wagstaff and Rebecca Wood who seem to have all sorts of devious right-wing ideas and, indeed, have seemingly been plotting for some time.

There are two other key characters. Peter Cockerill was a novelist who had criticised the fact that the British novel had been taken over by those of left-wing persuasion. (Some are mentioned by name though obviously we could add one name that us missing – Jonathan Coe.)
When his books extolling old-fashioned British values do not sell, he commits suicide. However he has been rediscovered by a university academic, Professor Richard Wilkes, and indeed Wilkes is to speak about him at the Wetherby Pond conference.

Finally there is Rashida, the adopted daughter of Christopher who emerges after the death of Christopher and she and Phyl soon become close friends, so much so that they work together in solving the murder, coming up with various theories and even gallivanting round Europe in pursuit of the guilty, sometimes aided and encouraged and/or discouraged by the not yet retired police officer.

So we have a story of right-wing plotting and those investigating it, a story of what happened in Cambridge during the period when Coe himself was at Cambridge, a murder followed by a complicated whodunnit style investigation with the inevitable misleading clues and, of course the lives of various characters. We also have a series of dichotomies: right-wing vs left-wing, Boomers vs Gen Z, the male point of view vs the female point of view and what appears to be key for Coe, the contrast between the age of community pre-1985 (and pre-mobile phone) and the post-1985 everyone for themselves attitude.

Coe raises some interesting ideas but once again tells a superb story with a lot of political background, humour and the added bonus of a clever whodunnit. There is no doubt in my mind that this is his best novel since What a Carve Up! (US: The Winshaw Legacy) and highly recommended whatever your political views, age group or sex/gender.

The Proof of My Innocence
By Jonathan Coe

A closed room murder mystery, a book within a book, is it dark academia or memoir? Political commentary or satire?

I enjoyed reading this in places, but could not ever truly settle into the book. Everything had a sense of unreliability to it. It had my complete attention as I anticipated how the various threads were going to pull together. Although this is my first Coe I understand this author has serious writing chops, so I was determined to enjoy the ride.

Along the way I found interesting insights into Conservativism and how it was railroaded into what we now call Brexit, how open the endure political system is to Influence and chuckled along at the memory of some baffling real life events, but not being British, merely being an observer, the promised humour was possibly lost on me. I will however use the story of the man in the lift in future. That one made me snort my tea in public, gender politics being universal.

For me the denouement was disappointing. The murder mystery turned into a farce, possibly deliberately given the combination of genres in this book, but I thought it became overexplained to the point of inconsequence. The final scene was either genius or cop out. Is there to be a sequel?

Perhaps my expectation was too high, or my political savvy too low, but this one failed to land for me.

Publication date: 7th November 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review purposes

With this novel Jonathan Coe cements his standing as one of the most readable and enjoyable novelists in English.

The Proof of My Innocence is a clever, but not tricksy, fun, but not silly, novel that sits well in Coe’s canon. At the start, I did begin to wonder where it was going – it didn’t seem that the narrative was being built on anything solid but as it progressed through its main three parts it became engrossing, not only for the whodunnit element but for its deft handling of what could have been quite a fracturing stylistic device (telling the story through three contrasting genres).

What really drives the novel is Coe’s peerless ability to create a compelling cast of characters (including one who I’m guessing is supposed to be a younger version of Coe himself as well as a bonus cameo from Henry Winshaw). His dialogue and carefully deployed comedy eases the reader through this novel making it an easy but very substantial read. Coe’s skill means that he can recalibrate near (and extremely near) history without it seeming ham-fisted or high-handed. The result is that you look back at the events of 2022 through the lens of this comic novel and realise that it wasn’t an absurd detour but a long-festering ideologic canker sore that finally erupted.

The Proof of My Innocence is a great read. My only complaint is that yet again Coe and William Boyd publish a novel in the same year. Come on people – let’s spread these treats around!