England, England

I really enjoyed this satirical look at tourism, capitalism and our desire for instant gratification. The story revolves around a millionaire who buys the Isle of Wight and turns it into a theme park with all of England's attractions close at hand so that tourists don't have to "waste time" travelling long distances. Along the way, amidst a lot of humourous scenes, Mr. Barnes manages to raise serious issues of identity and community. So well done.

Like others, I was a bit unsettled by the way the book ends...it's gone from satire to more of a character-based story (it also started that way)...but after I'd finished the book, I appreciated the way the ending put the fantastic goings-on of the Island into a broader context. Recommended.

The theme park envisioned in Barnes’ story is Disneyesque with building replicas and hordes of park staff kitted out in costume, role-playing for the paying public. This story is a satirical swing at all things English, with Barnes exhibiting a mischievousness I never expected from him. This one has all of Barnes’ sharp observation, filled with greedy developers, pompous intellectuals and conniving business tycoons. If that is enough to capture your attention, Barnes embarks, through the satire, on a cutting attack on everything from England’s heritage industry, its politics and its role on the world stage to… you guessed it, he even takes a few swings at the monarchy. Wrapped up as a satirical search for authenticity in a world show more too willing to accept replicas over the real thing, it was easy for this reader to enjoy the story for the fictional romp it is, and fob off any underlying messaging for other readers to angst over. At least, I was able to do exactly that until Barnes decides in the last section when Barnes took away my cartoonish satirical read and landed me – via the ruminations of a considerably older Martha - squarely into frump and ponderous territory. Darn it all, Barnes was determined to make his readers sit up and pay attention to his underlying messaging after all, which is that searching for authenticity in an increasingly unauthentic world is worth pursuing. Point taken, Julian. Now how about giving us more of the madcap satire I enjoyed so much? show less

Funnier the first time I read it, over 15 years ago, in an pre-Trump era; now it's a bit less funny and a bit more sad. A smart Everywoman, disillusioned in love at an early age when her father leaves, takes control of a corporate world that is a nation-state unto itself, an England more English than England, on the Isle of Wight: a theme park that celebrates history as photo collage with fun captions. It continues the theme of historical fiction presented in Flaubert's Parrot: how all history is fictionalized to various extents, and all our fictions have a history. Also continued are themes of lovers ennui, despair as way of life, and what makes truth truthful in the larger context. Some easy shots, a bit snarky in places, but redeemed show more by the main character, who is really the only character with development. show less

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 show more 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. show less

What: A megalomaniac billionaire decides to recreate an idealized England, and its history, on the Isle of Wight as a one-stop tourist destination.

Why: For the January TIOLI Challenge to read a book with a duplicate word in its title. Also highly recommended by my best friend several years ago.

How: I had difficulty settling into this satirical look at identity, authenticity and nationalism. None of the characters were particularly engaging; the “heroine,” Martha Cochrane, is a rather morose and cynical figure, though she is introduced in the first chapter in an engaging and touching look at her childhood. The parts of the book dealing with the conceptualization and opening of the faux England had some wonderful, funny moments but show more as a whole, the book was inconsistent. There were times where I felt Barnes was trying too hard to go over the top and get his point across where I would have preferred a more subtle approach. The end of the novel provides a seeming antidote to the rest of the book but one is left to question the actual authenticity of the pastoral world to which Martha ultimately retreats. It is easy to imagine another megalomaniac billionaire coming along and marketing Anglia as the next big thing. England, England is a study of the inherent paradox of trying to construct an authentic existence, especially in a post-modern society more concerned with personal comfort and convenience than genuine interaction with the world around it.

Because I think I might have enjoyed this book more at a different time, and because it was laugh out loud funny in (too few) parts, I am giving it a hopeful 3 stars and keeping it on my shelves for a possible re-read. show less

I read this several years ago but the satire of a post-capitalist economy is starting to sound eerily prescient. Barnes' story involves the country turning itself into a giant amusement park, with the royal family as its star "characters" and yep, it does seem like there are only a couple steps til we get there. It can be particularly uncomfortable to read if you live somewhere with a tourist-based economy that already feels like a false representation of itself at times (ah-hem).

At the end of reading this brilliant novel, I did succumb to some philosophical musing: Isn't England enough of a theme-park at times anyway? Are we really such suckers for "authentic" experiences recreated for us? Answer to both: Probably sometimes! What I really enjoyed though was the creation of megalomaniac Sir Jack's theme park England. The thrill is all in the build-up, and when it's finished, it's all a bit of an anticlimax, as Martha in the novel found out to her dismay. Recommended.