Jonathan Coe

The renowned British writer Jonathan Coe is coming to Athens and – on the occasion of his book “Expo 58” being published in Greek – will be speaking with journalist Marilena Astrapellou about the British gift for satire, and about how Europe has always been a battle ground riven with clashing political interests.

Jonathan Coe came to international prominence with his fourth novel, “What a Carve Up!”. He has impressed himself upon the minds of the reading public as a writer who knows how to satirize British society and its political leadership perfectly, in this case the repressive Thatcher government in the 1980s – a turbulent British decade.

With his tenth novel, “Expo 58”, this writer – particularly loved in Greece – grapples with yet another chapter in British history. Turning his sights on the World’s Fair held in Brussels in 1958, he sets up a complex espionage saga at the time of the Cold War with typical humor and poise. That is, he stays faithful to the tone that characterizes his best-known books, “What a Carve Up!”, “The House of Sleep”, “The Rotter’s Club” and “The Closed Circle”, which won him such accolades as the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, the Prix Médicis Étranger, and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Prize for Best Fiction Book.