posted on 19 Dec 2015

Number 11 by Jonathan Coe

We have enjoyed seeing Jonathan Coe talking about his work and reading extracts from his books on several occasions. His stage persona seems to be relaxed, easy going and indicates that he is probably very good company. Likewise, his books are always a pleasurable read with an easy and accessible writing style. This one centres around the story of two girls, Rachel and Alison whose friendship spans several years as their lives follow very different trajectories. There is also a magical element rooted around an odd shared experience in the location of Rachel's grandparents home where they holiday together as children in the summer of 2003. The house alluded to in the title is one where the decrepit facade hides many beautiful, puzzling secrets.

As ever, Coe injects a commentary of real world events throughout the narrative. This time we sense his disillusion with politics and his bewilderment at the suicide of Dr David Kelly as part of the background to the controversial Iraq war. In the story, this tragic event shocks Rachel's grandparents as they watch the TV news and the memory of his lonely death continues to haunt her in later years as being the symbolic moment when any faith in the integrity of the Blair government collapsed. 

There is also some sharp commentary re the dangers of celebrity as Alison's mother, Val, had brief success as a singer when she was younger and later has a humiliating experience on the TV reality show, 'I'm a Celebrity: get me out of here'. Coe clearly despises this shallow and prurient form of entertainment and also shows substantial disdain for the tabloid media who also play a part in destroying the life of Alison, who is literally ' a black one legged lesbian on benefits'. 

Throughout the book he exposes the greedy, exploitative lives of the super rich, many of whom who own ostentatious mansions in London that are bought as capital investments and are empty for most of the year. After graduation, Rachel becomes a live in tutor/ nanny to one such family and this house provides a contrast to Number 11 as this time the splendid exterior hides corruption and shallowness. Her experience of living in this unfamiliar world provides plenty of glimpses into the obscene gap between rich and poor including a visit to a Birmingham food bank where she seeks to educate the arrogant teenage son about hardship. The message is explicitly drawn with reference to the famous  ' We are all in this together' statement by George Osborne, addressing the Conservative Party conference in 2009. 

As often is the case with his writing, Coe's home city Birmingham is featured as quite a fondly drawn character throughout the book with its unglamorous and down to earth reputation providing a fitting contrast to the hollow sophistication of cities like London and Lausanne. Having lived for many years in Birmingham, I also liked the inclusion of the names of many suburbs along the number 11 bus route which circles the city which Val travels on a regular basis to kill time and to save on household fuel bills.

There are many frightening monsters in this story, some of which are human and others truly horrific that are hidden deep beneath the civilised structure of the London streets. Coe reminds us of shared cultural references to political figures, real scandals, films, stand up comedy and other popular media, for example the cult black and white TV series ' Quatermass' which was also all about hidden horrors lying beneath the ordinary surface of London. I particularly liked the shadowy figure of Roger, the dead husband of Rachel's Oxford tutor who spent his whole life pursuing the ghost of another short film ' The Crystal Garden' which he vividly remembered watching on TV as a five year old child. This film is so well described that I am sure I also watched it - very clever writing.

There are many positive messages here about respecting natural forces, keeping faith with early childhood memories, resisting the lure of material wealth and fame and valuing friends and family. There is a huge cast of characters to remember, some of which are very loosely drawn, almost as caricatures. For instance I found the two policeman DCI Capes ( aka The Caped Crusader) and PC Philbeam rather irritating and pompous every time they appeared, but this was presumably intentional. 

Although it is sometimes rather unwieldy in its scope, Coe manages to convey pathos and lots of humour in his writing which make his books a real pleasure to read. I was quite sad when I came to the end but then remembered that there are several on our bookshelves to re read, and hopefully lots more to come in the future.

 

Karen Argent

17th December 2015