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A review by fenny_42
England, England by Julian Barnes
1.0
The story is based on an intriguing tourist attraction. Sir Jack Pitman comes up with the idea to create a new England, where tourists can see all the sites and get the full English experience without having to actually go to England. He ends up turning the Isle of Wight into England, England–the most English place in the world.
Martha (and her boyfriend Paul) work for Sir Jack and help him come up with ideas and improve the island. Then some weird stuff happens, which is at least a little bit important to the plot, so I won’t spoil it.
The beginning of the novel (first 50 pages) were the best part. Martha was a small child who was snarky and fun to read about. After that, the book went downhill. I appreciated the satire, but did not enjoy it one bit. It was a struggle to read every page. Overall impression: England is not English enough for some tourists.
Martha (and her boyfriend Paul) work for Sir Jack and help him come up with ideas and improve the island. Then some weird stuff happens, which is at least a little bit important to the plot, so I won’t spoil it.
The beginning of the novel (first 50 pages) were the best part. Martha was a small child who was snarky and fun to read about. After that, the book went downhill. I appreciated the satire, but did not enjoy it one bit. It was a struggle to read every page. Overall impression: England is not English enough for some tourists.