In modern literature there are many names of talented writers who have made an invaluable contribution to its development. Among those, the place of honor is rightfully occupied by Jonathan Coe. He became famous as a master of satirical prose and detective stories. Let's get acquainted in more detail with his biography and creativity.
Biography
Jonathan Coe was born on August 19, 1961 in Birmingham (UK). There he graduated from the school of King Edward. The future writer was a rather purposeful young man, not without ambition. He was always interested in the history and political life of his native country and the situation around the world. He read and studied archives to speak on social topics with knowledge of the matter. Not once later, in his interviews, he admitted that he did not doubt for a second when he chose the philological, and not any other direction.
Jonathan Coe graduated at Trinity College (Cambridge). From childhood, he was attracted to the word and how to use it to create magnificent works of art that change the human mind. Perhaps that is why he went on a literary path. In the 1990s, Coe defended his dissertation in English literature based on the novel by G. Fielding “The History of Tom Jones” and began teaching English poetry at the University of Warwick. Later, Coe replaced his teaching career as a proofreader and freelance journalist at British publishers. Until, finally, he finally moved to the world of literature.
Creation
According to the writer himself, he has been writing for about 50 years. But he felt the desire and willingness to publish his works much later. The first work he wrote at 8 years old. It was a detective story "Castle of Riddles." The writer later placed an excerpt from it in the novel What a Fraud.
Cow has long been recognized by critics as a master of satire. In this, by his own admission, anger and a keen sense of humor helped. In his works, he assesses in a caricature-dramatic manner the political system of Great Britain of the last century, the confrontation of world states-leaders, etc. In addition, he created fascinating detective and philosophical subjects.
Consistently analyzing the works of Jonathan Coe, you can find in them many intersections with each other. This feature of the writer's work gives reason to argue that his novels are not separate, fragmented works, but rather peculiar chapters of one branched narrative.
However, the genre movement of the British writer from satire to tragedy cannot be denied. This is evidenced by Jonathan Coe himself, his books and reviews of critics.
Books
The bibliography of the writer has 12 works. All of them are translated into several languages, including Russian, and are most popular in Italy, France and Greece.
The first serious published work is considered to be “A Random Woman”. Jonathan Coe, not without his inherent irony, explores in him the relationship of chance and patterns, thus trying to answer the question of whether a person has a choice in life or everything is decided for him by fate. The main character, Maria, is both simple and mysterious. She floats in the course of life without a desire to resist fate. And that, in turn, starts a strange game. This novel was published in 1987 and immediately drew attention to Jonathan Coe as an interesting and intelligent writer.
This successful work was followed by others: “Touching Love” (1989), “Dwarfs and Death” (1990), “Club of Rakalia” (2001), “Circle closed” (2004). All of them touch upon various social issues and are distinguished by a virtuoso author’s style of narration. But the most significant, according to critics, novels are "What a swindle" (1994), "House of Sleep" (1997) and "Number 11" (2015).
The first truly glorified his author. It was noticed not only by readers, but also by professional critics.
"What a sell"
This is a bright acutely social satire on English society during the reign of Margaret Thatcher. Of course, all this, according to the rules of the genre, is veiled. The focus is on the Winshaw family, which is set to watch by a not-so-successful writer named Michael. He receives a tempting offer from Tabitha Winshaw - for a high fee to write a chronicle of her relatives. The author Jonathan Coe himself, as the reader guesses, acts as the prototype of the hero Michael. He is an outside observer and critic of the events that take place before his eyes. Family ties are quite unsteady, as greed has consumed every member of the family. They launch their tentacles into all spheres of public life, losing their own guiding lines. Detective threads unexpectedly weave into the historical canvas, and the ending is both ridiculous and bloody.
"House of sleep"
In 1997, the work of Jonathan Coe “The House of Sleep” was published and became the next author's bestseller. The novel immediately united four eternal literary themes: love, loneliness, loss and madness. The author ironically tells of the tangled relationship of the characters with sleep. They sleep little, sometimes much, sometimes they don’t sleep at all, or they see strange dreams. And the heroes of this novel are a girl drug addict and three guys (a movie fan, a romantic and a guy with manic disorder). After strange and mysterious events that happened either in a dream or in reality, all of them fall into a huge gloomy mansion on top of a cliff, which is occupied by a clinic for patients with disturbed sleep. And then the plot spring starts. Coe's mastery is manifested not only in virtuoso narration, but also in the careful elaboration of details. Even the most insignificant, short dialogue or casual meeting in the novel has a deep meaning and is reflected in the finale. The “House of Sleep” in the critics' assessment is a simultaneous combination of energy and tenderness, sincere warmth and comic.
"Number 11"
One of the latest works that Jonathan Coe submitted in 2015 is Number 11. This is a novel on your favorite author’s social theme. It shows hundreds of subtle bonds from which society is woven. The author reveals modern reality and offers to look at the world in its true light. A little girl named Rachel comes to her grandmother and meets a strange Bird Woman, on her next visit she finds sinister things in the forest. The older Rachel becomes, the more mysterious and terrible her surroundings and environment become. She understands that she’s got into the web, but in whose?
The work was created in a ruthlessly mocking, attractive and carefully thought-out style, which is so masterfully owned and used by Jonathan Coe. “Number 11” is a novel that, according to critics, grew out of the author’s previous well-known works, and therefore accumulates in himself all the previously raised issues, revealing the abscesses of modern society. Here politics and comedy are fighting. And what will win? The finale is open!
Biographies
The writer's work is today rated as one of the most interesting and significant in modern English literature. However, it is difficult to fully appreciate the genius that Jonathan Coe possesses. His biography is associated not only with fiction, but also with science. Do not forget that he is a philologist with a degree. And scientific research is not alien to him. Peru Coe owns three large non-fiction works. These are detailed biographies with copyright comments by two prominent American actors Humphrey Bogart (1991) and James Stewart (1994), as well as English avant-garde writer and experimental director Brian Johnson (2004). Why Coe paid attention to these particular artists is not known. His works are published in English and are of great importance for both science and world art.
Awards
Undoubtedly, the writer Jonathan Coe is a significant figure in modern literature. And confirmation of this are the seven awards for achievements in the field of literature. Among them: the English Mail on Sunday Award for the novel “What a Fraud” in 1995. The same work was recognized as the best in France. The novel The House of Sleep in 1997 was awarded the Writers' Guild Award, as well as the French Medici Award for Best Foreign Book. For the biography of B.S. Johnson, Coe received the Samuel Jones Prize in 2005.
Interesting Facts
- Throughout his life, Jonathan Coe has held to atheistic beliefs.
- Three works of the British writer were filmed. This is the detective "Dwarfs and Deaths", which was embodied in the movie called Five seconds to spare in 2000. The novel "Club rakaly" formed the basis of the eponymous series in 2005. And finally, based on the story of "Maxwell Sim's Incredible Private Life," the film was made in 2015.
- At the dawn of his creative career, Jonathan Coe worked as a writer and performer of jazz and pop music.
- At the age of 15, the young writer made an attempt to publish his work by sending a comedy written by him to the publishing house. However, no response was received. A few years later, as a philological student, Coe found an old manuscript. After reading it, he was embarrassed and burned the comedy.
- Once Coe planned to write a work in six volumes. However, he realized that he simply could not live so much time with his characters. Therefore, he wrote only two books: "Club rakaly" and its continuation, "The circle is closed."