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A review by dcossai
Theft by Luke Brown
5.0
London, 2016. Paul’s childhood best friend and mother have just died. His partner has left him. His friend is crashing at his place after an argument with his wife. His flatmate experiences heartbreak. He moves on from his long-held jobs and his long-resided in home. Paul’s sister looks forward to new people entering her life. He meets an engaged woman and dreams of starting a relationship with her, while at the same time seeing her partner’s daughter. The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union.
This is a Brexit novel par excellence. Deeply personal at all turns, Britain’s new political reality is ever present in the background, directly and indirectly. Luke Brown explores the psychology of modern relationships, as his protagonist and friends experience the end of lifelong relationships and the birth of new ones, relationships which, like that of the UK and the EU, largely consist of people who dislike as much as they like each other. Every relationship, every new beginning in the novel is fraught with doubts and uncertainties. It is at the same time a personal and a communal story, a story of beginnings and endings. Is it a political novel? A romance? A coming-of-age story? An apology - or an apologia? That will, I think, be up to each individual reader, just as much as Brexit is what every individual makes of it.
This is a Brexit novel par excellence. Deeply personal at all turns, Britain’s new political reality is ever present in the background, directly and indirectly. Luke Brown explores the psychology of modern relationships, as his protagonist and friends experience the end of lifelong relationships and the birth of new ones, relationships which, like that of the UK and the EU, largely consist of people who dislike as much as they like each other. Every relationship, every new beginning in the novel is fraught with doubts and uncertainties. It is at the same time a personal and a communal story, a story of beginnings and endings. Is it a political novel? A romance? A coming-of-age story? An apology - or an apologia? That will, I think, be up to each individual reader, just as much as Brexit is what every individual makes of it.