Scan barcode
spenkevich's review against another edition
3.0
I do love making an ass of the Imperialist class, and Johnathan Coe’s The Winshaw Legacy: What a Carve Up is chock full of reminders how the richest folks in the world have their grubby hands in everything with no care to the misery they might bring. Inspired by a 1961 English film, What a Carve Up!, this was a bookclub choice from a member who calls this his favorite book and I was glad to read something I wouldn’t normally pick. Not that I don’t enjoy a good mystery, I just rarely pick them and I think we all benefit from having our usual reads shaken up a bit. Though it is not a traditional mystery and Coe refers to it in the introduction as ‘a farce’ and it reads more as a satire on the genre as well as the wealthy, ruling class. It is a fun and funny read although I found it a touch too long to sustain the joke, though the moments of dry humor really connect at times. This is a complex, convoluted yet comical story of terrible people doing terrible things, but never fear, we see them meet terrible ends.
The Winshaw Legacy deals with Thatcher era conservatives and draws in a lot of real world political drama, putting the characters behind the scenes of each and using global misery to line their pockets. It was hard to like even the better characters, but half the fun is hating them and watching them be absolute turds to each other. The jokes are more amusement at the long set up rather than actual laugh moment, which can be trying but I did get some good giggles. It gets a tad absurd near the end, following closely to the comedy film from which it was inspired, and while I don’t see myself reading more there are several others in the series. While I found this just okay, I do think about it all the time as the political issues in the book are still relevant today. I mean, it’s been almost a year so that’s gotta count for something.
3.5/5
The Winshaw Legacy deals with Thatcher era conservatives and draws in a lot of real world political drama, putting the characters behind the scenes of each and using global misery to line their pockets. It was hard to like even the better characters, but half the fun is hating them and watching them be absolute turds to each other. The jokes are more amusement at the long set up rather than actual laugh moment, which can be trying but I did get some good giggles. It gets a tad absurd near the end, following closely to the comedy film from which it was inspired, and while I don’t see myself reading more there are several others in the series. While I found this just okay, I do think about it all the time as the political issues in the book are still relevant today. I mean, it’s been almost a year so that’s gotta count for something.
3.5/5
cai_rw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
thinkspink's review against another edition
2.0
I just found it really depressing in terms of how little has changed. I suppose that's the point though. Very clever, but not for me.
quaerentia's review against another edition
5.0
I’m very late to the Jonathan Coe party, and this is the first of his that I’ve read, the first, I hope, of many. Was blown away is full of invention and occasional laugh-out-loud moments. There are surprises and twists every couple of chapters. But the thing that impressed me most was the way the whole narrative is fuelled by a rigourous, even ruthless, satire on the extremes of Thatcherite Britain. Astonishing. Kept me, guessing all the way to the very last pages.
zoe_271's review against another edition
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What a Carve Up was an engaging and thought-provoking yet deceptively light-hearted read. The novel explores the members of the wealthy and powerful Winshaw family, through the lens of Michael Owen, the novelist selected to pen their family history and who becomes more and more jaded as he does so. Each time the novel focuses on a new Winshaw my enjoyment was renewed, and I definitely consider the exploration of each of the members of this eccentric family to be the novel's highlight.
The way that their actions trickle down to the average person is demonstrated in the tragedy that is Michael's life, these sections being more grounded than the life untouched by us peasants that the Winshaws live. The contrast is certainly effective, and these are the more emotional sections of the text.
I greatly enjoyed this novel and its political commentary. It does start to drag at some points, though that may be because I read it slower than I usually do, and every time I began to get bored the next part would elevate it once again, with the end of the book being the absolute climax and culmination of the themes and metaphors explored throughout. My biggest criticism though is the unkind 'humour' through which the novel explores a gay character, his entire schtick being that he's a pervert who constantly propositions people. This revealed the novel as a relic of its time, but I reserve the right to expect better from an otherwise clever satire.
The way that their actions trickle down to the average person is demonstrated in the tragedy that is Michael's life, these sections being more grounded than the life untouched by us peasants that the Winshaws live. The contrast is certainly effective, and these are the more emotional sections of the text.
I greatly enjoyed this novel and its political commentary. It does start to drag at some points, though that may be because I read it slower than I usually do, and every time I began to get bored the next part would elevate it once again, with the end of the book being the absolute climax and culmination of the themes and metaphors explored throughout. My biggest criticism though is the unkind 'humour' through which the novel explores a gay character, his entire schtick being that he's a pervert who constantly propositions people. This revealed the novel as a relic of its time, but I reserve the right to expect better from an otherwise clever satire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia and War
Minor: Stalking
jonathanrobert's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leaht_reads_'s review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
faintgirl's review against another edition
5.0
This book is absolutely wonderful. I'd read it before a few years ago, and was itching to get my hands on it again. I'm not sure exactly why it's so great - fantastic characterisation, a hugely twisting and turning plot, hilariously funny, consistently surprising...it has it all.
Micheal Owen is an out of luck writer who was commissioned to write a history of the Winshaw Family, a hugely rich and hugely powerful family who between them manage to carve up pretty much every influential sphere of British life. Forever cutting corners and trampling on the common man, they are a hideous bunch of people, and the more Micheal learns about them, the more he starts to blame them for the failings in his own life.
When the numerous threads of this wonderful story come together at the end, it's unput-downable. Go read!
Micheal Owen is an out of luck writer who was commissioned to write a history of the Winshaw Family, a hugely rich and hugely powerful family who between them manage to carve up pretty much every influential sphere of British life. Forever cutting corners and trampling on the common man, they are a hideous bunch of people, and the more Micheal learns about them, the more he starts to blame them for the failings in his own life.
When the numerous threads of this wonderful story come together at the end, it's unput-downable. Go read!
alexandre_rl's review against another edition
5.0
Un coup de cœur instantané. Je ne connaissais pas Jonathan Coe et je ne me souviens même plus comment j’ai découvert ce livre, mais son résumé m’a tout de suite accroché.
Une satire percutante de la haute bourgeoisie britannique, doublée d’une critique politique presque acerbe, mais sans jamais perdre le charme et l’humour qui caractérise tout le roman et qui en font une lecture des plus divertissantes. Les personnages sont riches et bien développés, le style facile d’approche et les clins d’œil aux classiques du whodunit à la britannique sont habiles et bien dosés.
Une satire percutante de la haute bourgeoisie britannique, doublée d’une critique politique presque acerbe, mais sans jamais perdre le charme et l’humour qui caractérise tout le roman et qui en font une lecture des plus divertissantes. Les personnages sont riches et bien développés, le style facile d’approche et les clins d’œil aux classiques du whodunit à la britannique sont habiles et bien dosés.