England, England (original 1998; edition 1999)

This was a Booker Prize finalist for 1998. It is a fairly clever satire, taking on memory, and what is real and what is not. In our world, where entertainment is everywhere, do we appreciate the reproduction more than the real thing? In the first part, Martha is a precocious child trying to define her first memory, and trying to come to terms with the disappearance of her father who has left her mother. In the second part, the now 39 year old Martha is hired to become the Special Consultant / Cynic for the wealthy egomaniacal Sir Jack Pitman. (I kept thinking about Donald Trump, because of a review I had read before starting the book). Jack wants to have one last "great idea", and decides to take over the Isle of Wight and turn it into a replica of England. England, England would have all of England's history complete with half sized replicas of all things England including Harrod's conveniently located in the Tower of London, Big Ben, Stonehenge, Robin Hood, The Battle of Britain and many other things British. His idea was that tourists could experience everything in a few days without actually having to go to all of the real places. His researchers determine that tourists would enjoy faux England more than the real thing because their memory of the real thing is flawed anyway, and any differences will go unnoticed. His idea works, that is until it doesn't. Some of the characters begin taking their roles too seriously, and Martha takes the blame for the mayhem that ensues. As England, England grows in popularity, "old" England declines and reverts back to a simpler way of life, without the trappings of a commercialized tourist driven economy. At the end of the book, Martha is back in "old" England and once again thinking about memory, happiness, and contentment.

Just a quick comment, I am not a prude when it comes to sexual scenes in books, but there was one particularly perverted sexual fantasy played out that I could have done without. I can say that I enjoyed the book, but I can't say that I loved it. The writing is very good and there are some very humorous scenes, but as a whole, it left me feeling a little flat. ( )

Slightly strange view of a future I don't know that I want, but is too well grounded in real life to be totally unreasonable...

Contains a classic piece of advice " you can't blame your parents for anything after the age of 25" ( )

Written in 1998, Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize finalist, England, England, presages much of what is going on today culturally given our affinity for facsimile over authenticity (see Friends, Facebook). In this satirically written novel, the Isle of Wight has been liberated from England and all of that country's major attractions (Stonehenge, Harrod’s, quaint pubs, et al.) have been recreated on the apolitical Island at half scale and concentrated for maximum visitor experience at premium expense (see Casinos, Las Vegas). Depleted of its tourist income, jolly ol' England is stripped of its grandeur but in time returns to a bucolic state where humans and nature co-exist in balance. This harmony is a stark contrast to the "new" England's superficiality and consumerism. Clearly, the reader is presented with a lifestyle choice (see Virtual or Reality). Full of farce, England, England is a tour de force. ( )

At his best Barnes is an imaginative, ironic, iconoclastic and compelling writer who possesses the ability to deliver a lovely turn of phrase, exemplified by A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters. Sadly, while some of those qualities are occasionally evident in England, England, the compelling trait is absent.

SPOILERS FOLLOW. The plot is interesting enough; a eccentric billionaire with an ego the size of an island decides to buy an island (the Isle of Wight to be precise), set it up as his own principality and turn it into a theme park of English history. The characterisation is effective, particularly for the two main characters - Sir Jack Pitman and Martha Cochrane - and there are detours along the way into random characters from English history from Robin Hood to Nell Gwyne. But ultimately, I was curiously detached from this novel; I just wasn't that interested in what happened. ( )

Simulacrums, satire, and Sir Jack Pitman. Excellent. 2 for 2 with Mr. Barnes now (also read [b:Arthur and George|5326|A Christmas Carol (Great Stories)|Charles Dickens|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165518693s/5326.jpg|3097440] recently and really liked it). Well fleshed out characters, a wonderfully absurd premise, and one of the most finely crafted relationships I've read in a long time. ( )