England, England

Written by Julian Barnes

Narrated by Polly Lee

Imagine an England where all the pubs are quaint, where the Windsors behave themselves (mostly), where the cliffs of Dover are actually white, and where Robin Hood and his merry men really are merry. This is precisely what visionary tycoon,
Sir Jack Pitman, seeks to accomplish on the Isle of Wight, a "destination" where tourists can find replicas of Big Ben (half size), Princess Di’s grave, and even Harrod’s (conveniently located inside the tower of London).

Martha Cochrane, hired as one of Sir Jack’s resident "no-people," ably assists him in realizing his dream. But when this land of make-believe gradually gets horribly and hilariously out of hand, Martha develops her own vision of the perfect
England. Julian Barnes delights us with a novel that is at once a philosophical inquiry, a burst of mischief, and a moving elegy about authenticity and nationality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781980082897

Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes (Leicester, 1946) se educó en Londres y Oxford. Está considerado como una de las mayores revelaciones de la narrativa inglesa de las últimas décadas. Entre muchos otros galardones, ha recibio el premio E.M. Forster de la American Academy of Arts and Letters, el William Shakespeare de la Fundación FvS de Hamburgo y es Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Reviews for England, England

[lisahistory · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to enjoy this, and the premise was wonderful: a tycoon decides to buy the Isle of Wight and create a miniature England, with all the sights and none of the bad parts, everything close together. The possibilities for a satire of English life and commercialism, with this little comparison offshore, are excellent. But the main characters never take hold. Tycoon Jack has little depth, which is fine, but his foil, Martha, is presented as a fuller version of a person, and yet somehow I never knew her or cared to know her.

[lkernagh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The theme park envisioned in Barnes’ story is Disneyesque with building replicas and hordes of park staff kitted out in costume, role-playing for the paying public. This story is a satirical swing at all things English, with Barnes exhibiting a mischievousness I never expected from him. This one has all of Barnes’ sharp observation, filled with greedy developers, pompous intellectuals and conniving business tycoons. If that is enough to capture your attention, Barnes embarks, through the satire, on a cutting attack on everything from England’s heritage industry, its politics and its role on the world stage to… you guessed it, he even takes a few swings at the monarchy. Wrapped up as a satirical search for authenticity in a world too willing to accept replicas over the real thing, it was easy for this reader to enjoy the story for the fictional romp it is, and fob off any underlying messaging for other readers to angst over. At least, I was able to do exactly that until Barnes decides in the last section when Barnes took away my cartoonish satirical read and landed me – via the ruminations of a considerably older Martha - squarely into frump and ponderous territory. Darn it all, Barnes was determined to make his readers sit up and pay attention to his underlying messaging after all, which is that searching for authenticity in an increasingly unauthentic world is worth pursuing. Point taken, Julian. Now how about giving us more of the madcap satire I enjoyed so much?

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this satirical look at tourism, capitalism and our desire for instant gratification. The story revolves around a millionaire who buys the Isle of Wight and turns it into a theme park with all of England's attractions close at hand so that tourists don't have to "waste time" travelling long distances. Along the way, amidst a lot of humourous scenes, Mr. Barnes manages to raise serious issues of identity and community. So well done.Like others, I was a bit unsettled by the way the book ends...it's gone from satire to more of a character-based story (it also started that way)...but after I'd finished the book, I appreciated the way the ending put the fantastic goings-on of the Island into a broader context. Recommended.

[jbd1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was excited about this book after reading the back copy, but it really disappointed. Not funny, and rarely even interesting.

[snash_44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The sarcastic and humorous development of characters and England were great. Much of today's world closely mimics this with its idolizing of the clean fake image of history and nation rather than their reality. The main character's story, while sometimes thought provoking, seemed a little disconnected. The humor makes it worthwhile.

[turrean_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not quite sure what to make of this. It was wickedly barbed in places; horrifyingly funny in places (reminded me of Carl Hiaasen) ; wincingly satiric in others. It's one of those books I suspect I am not sophisticated enough to embrace. I loved the whole premise of an "alternate England" theme park which becomes more popular than the real-life one. And lord, Barnes has a marvelous talent for words! But I found the last third of the novel weirdly dull compared to the first two sections. It's basically a laundry list of the events that happened to the island over the next 10 years. The story of the two lovers is strangely incomplete. And I wasn't really sure if I was meant to think England was actually delivered...or damned...by its return to a more bucolic existence.

It would be lovely to be delivered from Donald Trump by an American Martha...

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slightly strange view of a future I don't know that I want, but is too well grounded in real life to be totally unreasonable... Contains a classic piece of advice " you can't blame your parents for anything after the age of 25"

[wassilissa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The entrepreneur Sir Jack is replicating England in a theme park on the Isle of Wight, now called "England, England". Soon "England, England" beginns to prosper whereas "England" is becoming less and less important.Even though the book has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1998 I found it not as good as expected. It contains many brilliant ideas but not a real good story. It didn´t grip me. But some parts and characters are funny.

[lukespapa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written in 1998, Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize finalist, England, England, presages much of what is going on today culturally given our affinity for facsimile over authenticity (see Friends, Facebook). In this satirically written novel, the Isle of Wight has been liberated from England and all of that country's major attractions (Stonehenge, Harrod’s, quaint pubs, et al.) have been recreated on the apolitical Island at half scale and concentrated for maximum visitor experience at premium expense (see Casinos, Las Vegas). Depleted of its tourist income, jolly ol' England is stripped of its grandeur but in time returns to a bucolic state where humans and nature co-exist in balance. This harmony is a stark contrast to the "new" England's superficiality and consumerism. Clearly, the reader is presented with a lifestyle choice (see Virtual or Reality). Full of farce, England, England is a tour de force.

[yossarianxeno · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At his best Barnes is an imaginative, ironic, iconoclastic and compelling writer who possesses the ability to deliver a lovely turn of phrase, exemplified by A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters. Sadly, while some of those qualities are occasionally evident in England, England, the compelling trait is absent. SPOILERS FOLLOW. The plot is interesting enough; a eccentric billionaire with an ego the size of an island decides to buy an island (the Isle of Wight to be precise), set it up as his own principality and turn it into a theme park of English history. The characterisation is effective, particularly for the two main characters - Sir Jack Pitman and Martha Cochrane - and there are detours along the way into random characters from English history from Robin Hood to Nell Gwyne. But ultimately, I was curiously detached from this novel; I just wasn't that interested in what happened.

[katiekrug · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What: A megalomaniac billionaire decides to recreate an idealized England, and its history, on the Isle of Wight as a one-stop tourist destination. Why: For the January TIOLI Challenge to read a book with a duplicate word in its title. Also highly recommended by my best friend several years ago.How: I had difficulty settling into this satirical look at identity, authenticity and nationalism. None of the characters were particularly engaging; the “heroine,” Martha Cochrane, is a rather morose and cynical figure, though she is introduced in the first chapter in an engaging and touching look at her childhood. The parts of the book dealing with the conceptualization and opening of the faux England had some wonderful, funny moments but as a whole, the book was inconsistent. There were times where I felt Barnes was trying too hard to go over the top and get his point across where I would have preferred a more subtle approach. The end of the novel provides a seeming antidote to the rest of the book but one is left to question the actual authenticity of the pastoral world to which Martha ultimately retreats. It is easy to imagine another megalomaniac billionaire coming along and marketing Anglia as the next big thing. England, England is a study of the inherent paradox of trying to construct an authentic existence, especially in a post-modern society more concerned with personal comfort and convenience than genuine interaction with the world around it.Because I think I might have enjoyed this book more at a different time, and because it was laugh out loud funny in (too few) parts, I am giving it a hopeful 3 stars and keeping it on my shelves for a possible re-read.

[mrsplum_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was looking forward to reading ‘England, England’. It involves a wealthy tycoon who decides to create a replica England theme park on Isle of Wight, based on the idea that people would rather see a first class copy than a decaying original.The idea is fascinating, as are some of the characters, but somehow the finished product doesn’t fulfil the original promise. Partly, I think, because the idea of reconstructing an idealised England is more interesting than the central characters and relationships that take over the story. I wasn’t particularly interested in the relationship between Martha and Paul, and would have liked more of the Historian and his research.Once the England theme park is established, the novel suddenly becomes light, amusing, and fun, despite viewing much of from Martha’s rather morose perspective. The enjoyment of this section is heightened by the cast of minor characters: Dr Johnson, Queen Denise, Lady Godiva and understudy, smugglers, Robin Hood. The welcome change of tone is short-lived, and strangely at odds with the rest of the book.Having said that, I quite like Julian Barnes as an author and can recommend giving some of his other works a read. This book isn’t bad; more a promise unfulfilled.

[profsuperplum_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this fictional world, “England” is an England-themed park within England itself. Among its pithy reflections on social history is the following:But in his view you could – and should – be able to embrace time and change and age without becoming a historical depressive. He had been known on certain occasions to compare the fair land of Britain to the noble discipline of philosophy. When the study and elaboration of philosophy had begun, back in Greece or wherever, it had contained all sorts of skill-zones: medicine, astronomy, law, physics, aesthetics, and so on. There wasn’t much the human brain churned out which wasn’t a part of philosophy. But gradually, down the centuries, each of these various skill-zones had spun off from the main body and set up on its own. In the same way, Jerry liked to argue – and did so now – Britain had once held dominion over great tracts of the world’s surface, painted it pink from pole to pole. As time went by, these imperial possessions had spun off and set themselves up as sovereign nations. Quite right, too. So where did that leave us now? With something called the United Kingdom which, to be honest and facing facts, didn’t live up to its adjective. Its members were united in the way that tenants paying rent to the same landlord were united. And everyone knew that leaseholds could be turned into freeholds. But did philosophy cease to address life’s central problems just because astronomy and its chums had set up house elsewhere? By no means. You could even argue that it was able to concentrate better on the vital issues. And would England ever lose her strong and unique individuality established over so many centuries if, just for the sake of argument, Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland decided to bugger off? Not in Jerry’s book.

[keywestnan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this several years ago but the satire of a post-capitalist economy is starting to sound eerily prescient. Barnes' story involves the country turning itself into a giant amusement park, with the royal family as its star "characters" and yep, it does seem like there are only a couple steps til we get there. It can be particularly uncomfortable to read if you live somewhere with a tourist-based economy that already feels like a false representation of itself at times (ah-hem).

[frank_oconnor_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one falls between two stools, then vanishes down a hole in the floor. The satire is just too unbelievable to carry the story. The relationship between two characters, on the other hand, is well done and highly believable.

[chickletta · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

a satirical look at the crazy life and times of our present, where we want instant gratification. an entrepreneur in england comes up with the brillient scheme of marketing English history in accessible, bite sized nibbles, by making a theme park with miniatures of major monuments and tourist spots - the tower of london, stonehenge, harrods and so on. all so time- and money-challenged tourists can claim to have seen the originals by seeing the fake fascimile. funny in the beginning but i started feeling tired of the theme towards the end. there's only so much you can extend a joke/satire.

[jemsw_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a novel as bright and buoyant as its conception--England as theme park--and it does a good job at playfully following through on the blurred reality inherent in such an enterprise. Unfortunately, the novel's main characters are wearisome--their leaden reality drags down the novel's enjoyment.

[hvhay_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The fact that I was on my first trip to England when I read this book may have helped, but I thought it was hilarious (at least in parts), and also very affecting. One episode that was especially funny to me was the "market research" episode where the man is being asked what he knows about the Battle of Hastings--just prior to my reading this section, my husband and I had just had a conversation that was embarrassingly similar. Made me feel a bit better about the large gaps in my knowledge of British history, if British people have those gaps too. Of course, how intelligent would I sound if asked to tell everything I knew about the Revolutionary War?

[sas_7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sporadically successful book from an author who can do much better.