BOURNVILLE

‘Bournville’ by the award winning author, Jonathan Coe is the Europhile’s state of the nation novel set in a now famous chocolate village with the factory at its heart. Warm and comforting for some, uncomfortable and lacking compelling substance for others. Either way this book, now in paperback, will keep your club engaged as a read with plenty of talking points and stories to unwrap! And not just the ones in the book.

Inspired by the author’s own mother, the novel centres around Mary whose world is rooted in Bournville and whose life and family live out seven historical moments in time that we recognise as occasions that brought communities together starting with perhaps one that is all too familiar and recent - It’s March 2020 and it’s a prologue to the pandemic! Coe then winds the story back to VE Day, 1945. At this point we meet Mary’s mum and father which on this occasion is tinged with awkwardness around German neighbours in the community - “she can’t help it if she’s got a German father”. As the events unfold we meet Mary’s own children Jack, Martin and Peter who all have very different talents, ambitions and ideological perspectives on life. As well as starting out as a story about Anglo-German relations (which included the Chocolate Wars!) the reader is introduced to other conflicts within communities that have quietly gone unnoticed. And this is certainly the author’s story that he is eager to tell.

In addition to VE Day, 'Bournville' reimagines popular scenes in the British psyche from the Queen’s Coronation, the 1966 World Cup final and memorable royal occasions including weddings and funerals.

This is a generational saga that was enjoyed by book club, most notably because it initiated further discussion around these historical occasions and how Mary’s relative’s embraced or rejected its relevance in their lives. Many of the Den felt that the story could have explored some of the themes in greater depth but overall it certainly offered a quick read and a novel that encouraged us all to share our own experiences of the past. And although final scores were averaging around 7, it certainly hit a 9 for 'talkability'!

Award-wining author of 'Middle England' and other popular reads including 'The Rotter's Club' and 'What a Carve Up!'.