Jerusalem
1st Edition
Published on 2. July 2009
416 pages
978-0-14-194369-5 (ISBN)
Description
In the first year of the 20th Century, a young Englishman returns home from the Boer War. Disillusioned with Empire and fearful for the soul of Albion, he sets out on a pilgrimage into the West Country, determined to identify the key elements of the English character that they may be forever preserved.
In the present day, a young London entrepreneur, owner of the 'cultural consultancy' Authenticity (TM), defines his contemporaries through their consumer choices with bewildering accuracy, wallows in money and contemplates his growing sense of dissatisfaction.
His father, meanwhile, a junior minister in a failing government, is sent to Africa to deal with the continent's latest tin pot despot. He is as confident of success as he is ambitious of what that success will mean for his career.
Unfailingly relevant, politically astute, moving and funny, Jerusalem is a loving portrait of Englishness as it never was, isn't now and, hopefully, never will be.
In the present day, a young London entrepreneur, owner of the 'cultural consultancy' Authenticity (TM), defines his contemporaries through their consumer choices with bewildering accuracy, wallows in money and contemplates his growing sense of dissatisfaction.
His father, meanwhile, a junior minister in a failing government, is sent to Africa to deal with the continent's latest tin pot despot. He is as confident of success as he is ambitious of what that success will mean for his career.
Unfailingly relevant, politically astute, moving and funny, Jerusalem is a loving portrait of Englishness as it never was, isn't now and, hopefully, never will be.
Reviews / Votes
An excellent writer, a marvellous novel. A thrilling read * Daily Telegraph * The most thought-provoking novel of the year. An utterly essential read -- Irvine Welsh Extraordinary, ambitious, bitingly, laugh-out-loud satirical . . . quite simply, a must-read * Daily Mail * Wildly inventive, funny and superbly original * The Times * Funny and exciting, Neate is never less than vivid, whether describing the hideous conditions of an African prison, or a run-down pub in London. Excellent * Daily Telegraph * A corrosive and blistering satire on colonialism and an eloquent, angry and relevant novel that speaks its own truth to power * Sunday Telegraph * A multi-layered, jam-packed and often satirical novel rich in ideas and argument. Neate's most inventive book to date . . . invites comparisons with David Mitchell's genre-busting Cloud Atlas * Guardian * Wonderful, impressive, fascinating. Neate is always an engaging and sharp writer * Independent on Sunday * Witty and acerbic dialogue, an unflagging comic plot, upbeat entertainment * Independent * A very funny take on Englishness, colonialism and the search for authenticity * Financial Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
2,46 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-14-194369-5 (9780141943695)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Patrick Neate is the author of four previous novels: Musungu Jim and the Great Chief Tuloko, which won a Betty Trask Award, Twelve Bar Blues, which won the 2001 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, The London Pigeon Wars, and City of Tiny Lights. His nonfiction includes Where You're At, which won the NBCC Award for Criticism in the USA.
