Jonathan Coe's "Number 11"

Jonathan Coe’s “Number 11” is a book that Americans might want to pass on, as it is—in broad terms—a ‘state of the nation’ book, examining in satiric detail a number of developments in British society since about 2003, when the WMD expert David Kelly committed suicide, seemingly in reaction to his possible involvement in the “goosing up” of an intelligence report on Saddam’s ability to land an atomic bomb on Britain--which supposedly helped Blair to take the decision to join Bush in invading Iraq.

          The book opens with two ten year old girls—Alison and Rachel, staying with Rachel’s grandparents when the news of the suicide breaks, and it seems the grandparents have some premonition that “things have changed,” and the future would see deteriorations in trust in government, in politicians, in the elite, in the intelligence services—deteriorations that would be pervasive in British society. I think this dating is a bit overdone, as much of the present cultural and economic state of Britain goes back much further—the rule of Maggie Thatcher comes to mind.

The novel is in five parts: each of which could stand on its own as a novella or a long short story. There are loose connections between each of the parts—characters like Alison and Rachel reappear, as do many of the themes.

The title “Number 11” is the usual way of referring to 11 Downing Street, which is the residence of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (read Secretary of the Treasury). It is also the number of a bus that runs 24 hours a day on a circular route around Birmingham, and on which one character—too poor to heat her apartment—spends long hours to keep herself warm. And the eastern European wife of some filthy rich financial magnate is driving her contractor crazy getting him to construct a basement of eleven storeys (OED accepts this plural: ‘Word’ does not) in the basement of her Chelsea mansion. Digging out fancy basements with gyms and swimming pools is currently common in wealthier areas in London. And huge $30 million houses stand largely vacant—often owned by foreigners who visit rarely—but represent solid investments as house prices have been rising at about 5 percent a year, and thus a $30 million house, as Coe points out, is earning close to $30,000 a week. Such semi-occupied mansions are all over Kensington, Chelsea and Hampstead.

Satirical swipes are taken at a variety of aspects of British society--the ultra rich, reality television, stand-up comedians, the right wing press, multi-national arms companies, hate posts on social media..the list could go on and on. But there are also much sadder aspects of life that emerge—for example, poverty, food banks, welfare recipients.

I did have serious reservations about the final part of the book, which becomes most mysterious and surrealistic, bringing the reader into the realms of monstrous spiders and vampires and Dracula-like horror. A very strange turn from the realism of the first four parts.

But—a helluva writer, and a fascinating book, and it certainly spoke to many aspects of British life that we observe during our stays in London.