u003cpu003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2019u003c/pu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003e'The book everyone is talking about'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eThe Timesu003c/iu003eu003c/pu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003e'A comedy for our times'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eGuardianu003c/iu003eu003cbru003e u003ciu003e__________________u003c/iu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e The country is changing and, up and down the land, cracks are appearing - within families and between generations. In the Midlands Benjamin Trotter tries to help his aged father navigate a Britain that seems to have forgotten he exists, while in London his friend Doug doesn't understand why his teenage daughter is eternally enraged. Meanwhile, newlyweds Sophie and Ian can find nothing to agree on except the fact that their marriage is on the rocks . . .u003c/pu003e u003cpu003eu003ciu003e__________________u003c/iu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e u003cbu003e'Coe's back with a bang. u003ciu003eMiddle Englandu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e u003cbu003eis the novel about Brexit we need'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eDaily Telegraphu003c/iu003eu003c/pu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003e'A pertinent, entertaining study of a nation in crisis'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eFinancial Timesu003c/iu003e, Books of the Yearu003c/pu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003e'Very funny. Coe - a writer of uncommon decency - reminds us that the way out of this mess is through moderation, through compromise, through that age-old English ability to laugh at ourselves'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eObserveru003c/iu003eu003c/pu003e