<p><b>This is a novel about the hundreds of tiny connections between the public and private worlds and how they affect us all.<br><br><br></b>It''s about the legacy of war and the end of innocence.<br><br><br>It''s about how comedy and politics are battling it out and comedy might have won.<br><br><br>It''s about how 140 characters can make fools of us all.<br><br><br>It''s about living in a city where bankers need cinemas in their basements and others need food banks down the street.<br><br><br>It is Jonathan Coe doing what he does best ¿- showing us how we live now.<br><br><br><b>''Coe is among the handful of novelists who can tell us something about the temper of our times''</b><i>Observer</i></p>