home

Add Review, Blurb, Quote

Add

Activity

Activity

Profile

Welcome to Litsy!

Litsy is a place to share and discover your favorite books with your favorite people.

Litsy is available on the web, for iOS and Android.

It’s fun.  It’s simple.  It’s all about the book. Sign up and get a little Litsy.

To respect member's privacy and keep things awesome, most of Litsy is hidden from Google. We let humans see and share pages, but not machines. Find out more.

This page is: Hidden

Trending Hashtags

26 users recently

29 users recently

46 users recently

61 users recently

#WondrousWednesday

56 users recently

#WhatsNewWednesday

20 users recently

Trending Books

Untitled

Untitled

51 users recently

The Secret of Red Gate Farm #6

The Secret of Red Gate Farm #6

Carolyn Keene

16 users recently

The Women

The Women: A Novel

Kristin Hannah

13 users recently

Let's Go Camping!

Let's Go Camping!

Jan Mader

12 users recently

Gothikana: A Dark Academia Gothic Romance

Gothikana: A Dark Academia Gothic Romance

Runyx

6 users recently

About | Help / FAQs | Privacy | Terms | Press | Resources

What a Carve Up!

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

19 posts | 14 read | 1 reading | 22 to read

A brilliant noir farce, a dystopian vision of Britain, a family history and the story of an obsession. Michael is a lonely, rather pathetic writer, obsessed by the film, 'What A Carve Up!' in which a mad kinfeman cuts his way through the inhabitants of a decrepit stately pile as the thunder rages. Inexplicably he is commissioned to write the family history of the Winshaws, an upper class Yorkshire clan whose members have a finger in every establishment pie, from arms dealing to art dealing, from politics to banking to the popular press and factory farming. During his researches Michael realizes that the Winshaws have cast a blight on his life, as they have on Britain. His confidence, his sexual and personal identity begin to reform. In a climax set in the Winshaw's family seat the novel turns into the film, 'What A Carve Up!' as a murderous maniac stalks the family and Michael discovers the significance of Shirley Eaton's lingere.

Amazon

Indiebound

Barnes and Noble

WorldCat

Goodreads

LibraryThing

100%

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

For some reason I had confused this book with Colin MacInnes' Absolute Beginners. The description of What a Carve Up I found describes it as similar to a collab between Dickens & Christie. Sold! I have not read either one, but I was just watching a best of '22 video & this was mentioned & it is such a wild cover! I see that there was an adaptation of the book Absolute Beginners & Bowie composed the theme song. Intriguing...

Liz_M What a carve up is fun, but maybe not as bonkers as that cover 1y

BarbaraBB I loved What a Carve Up! 1y

vivastory @Liz_M @BarbaraBB I will definitely check it out 📚📚 1y

Hooked_on_books Well that‘s a wild cover! I wonder why they felt the need to have a naked woman on it, though. 😒 1y

Leftcoastzen I absolutely adore Absolute Beginners the book by Colin MacInnes key book to the original mod movement .The mod revival , one of my touchstones https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v9glU6WzsdM (edited) 1y

59 likes5 comments

review

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Pick

pick

Very good. Savage indictment of Thatcherites.

review

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Pick

pick

My favourite novel by my favourite author. Coe's characters are interesting people who represent the society they live in perfectly well, no matter whether they are well regarded members, outcasts or anarchists.

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#PaperbackWriter #HeyJune @Cinfhen @GypsyKat

Cathythoughts Fair play to that little penguin 🐧🐧🐧 6y

arlenefinnigan @Cathythoughts got to love a Penguin cover 🐧 6y

Cinfhen The penguin🐧worthy of all the #LitsyLove 🖤🧡 6y

39 likes3 comments

review

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Pick

pick

This book (American title The Winshaw Legacy) is thoroughly entertaining. Full of humor, satire, and twists and turns. A whole lot of social commentary as we learn the stories of the Winshaws, with fascinating interludes covering the life of their would-be biographer, topped off with a stormy night at an isolated mansion with a killer on the loose. Seriously, there is so much going on here, and I loved it all.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books for the win😃

BarbaraBB Yay 🙌 6y

79 likes1 stack add1 comment

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Foregoing my normal lunchtime walk today for two reasons: 1) it‘s ridiculously hot and humid again, and I‘m not feeling it and 2) I really want to finish this book.

Part two has taken a decidedly fun turn into a murder mystery in a remote, dodgy mansion, full of irreverent humor, and just as I was thinking how Clue-like it was I came to this line. 😂

BookNAround 😂😂😂 6y

ReadZenRites Darn! I always go with Colonel Mustard in the BILLIARD room with a candlestick. 😁😂 So very Clue-ish! 6y

82 likes2 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Did I mention this book is cracking me up?

These characters are just fantastic. This whole exchange between Findlay and Michael is making me 😂.

93 likes1 stack add

quote

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

This book is cracking me up!

#1001books

MayJasper 🍗🐓🍗🐔🍗 6y

BarbaraBB I really really liked this one! 6y

Reggie Um yeah, stacked, lololol 6y

Suet624 😂😂😂 6y

105 likes2 stack adds4 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

New book!

Because I like to live dangerously, I often start 400+ page books 4 days before my library loan expires. 😬

RaimeyGallant The song Living on the Edge popped into my head. 6y

BarbaraBB This is a really really good book. You will easily finish it in 4 days 😘 6y

Chili This book is a trip! 6y

1001BooksPodcast I‘m so guilty of doing that! 6y

SledgeReader Living on the edge! Love it!!! 6y

93 likes3 stack adds5 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#PlotTwist Lots of them.
#aprella @Cinfhen @Mdargusch @Reviewsbylola @emilyhaldi

Reviewsbylola Iv never heard of this but the synopsis sounds good—and also a bit strange! 6y

Mdargusch That sounds like a crazy book! 6y

arlenefinnigan @Mdargusch oh it is that. I love Jonathan Coe. So many plot threads woven together. 6y

emilyhaldi This book sounds fab. And nuts. #stacked! 6y

33 likes4 stack adds4 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Sorry, spoiler alert.
#TheAircrashBureau #NuYear @Cinfhen @TrishB

Cinfhen Hahahaha😂😂😂 6y

TrishB 😂😂👍🏻 6y

26 likes1 stack add2 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

When you start dressing like the book you're reading 👗📕

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

"Do you want to watch the match in the pub?" is one of my favourite things Leon asks. It means I get to drink pints and read my book undisturbed for 90 minutes ????

tricours Sounds perfect! 7y

mrozzz That does sound perfect. 😊 7y

abbsinwonderland That cover is very intriguing! 7y

See All 7 Comments

Leannr @abbsinwonderland that's the reason I bought it ! 😂 the cover is completely unrelated to the story though 🙃 7y

abbsinwonderland @Leannr ahhh imagine that. Lol. Still added to my stack :) 7y

Leannr It's still a good story though @abbsinwonderland he weaves all these threads of characters together, things you'd forgotten about turn out to be tied together, in a slightly contrived way but still enjoyed it. 7y

MrBook Love me a Guinness 😎👌🏻. 7y

17 likes7 comments

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

Starting this today, all cosy-ed up with a fluffy blanket 👌🏻 never read anything from Coe before but picked this one up for €1 in a charity shop!

BarbaraBB It is a very good and entertaining book! 7y

Leannr @barbaraBB excellent news! It's always good to hear that a tome you're about to become invested in is worth it 👍🏻👍🏻 7y

BarbaraBB Definitely. You won't be sorry I think! 7y

13 likes1 stack add3 comments

quote

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

All the Winshaws are horrible, but Hilary probably deserves a nasty death the most.
#UnlikeableCharacter #AprilBookShowers @RealLifeReading

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#BookWithinABook #ReadJanuary
Are we reading the biography of the Winshaws as we read this?

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#DysfunctionalFamily #photoadaynov16
Yep, this one again. The Winshaws are truly awful.

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#photoadaynov16 #PoliticalFiction
This book is brilliant. Jonathan Coe weaves so many narrative strands together, I don't know how he managed to keep track. Subtly attacks the values of Thatcherism.

JonathanDunne I haven't read this. Is it humour? 7y

16 likes1 comment

blurb

What a Carve Up! | Jonathan Coe

#booktober Text only cover.

Phwoar. Penguin Books are fit.