England, England (Paperback)

This mischievous satire presents an England on the brink of economic disaster, thus willing to go along with the splendiferous plot of Sir Jack Pitman who wants to recreate familiar historical places and scenes. The achievement of this goal may leave one wondering what is real and what is not.

The book begins with a wonderful, almost tangential look at the childhood of our "heroine", Martha Cochrane. This section could have been set off by itself, and turned into a ripping good short story. We see her run-ins with a virtuoso bean grower at the county fair, a touching sequence where her Dad teases her by hiding one piece of a puzzle she's working on (it's a map of England, natch), and then an even more touching scene with her mother after said Dad has skipped town without a word. This section, while standing firmly on its own, also nicely sets up the themes of the rest of the book.

And that rest of the book is dominated by one Sir Jack Pitman, deity of Multi-national Corporation Pitco, raving patriot, and mastermind behind the Island of the book's title. Jack is a wonderful creation, all brash ego and blowhard posturing. He is at once supremely self-aware, and easily manipulated by his underlings, whom all know how to subtly push his buttons to give him what he wants and to get what they want. Witness him question his right hand man, a yes-man to the core, on Sir Jack's distaste for yes-man. The right hand man knows better and answers all questions in the negative. Sir Jack, bless his heart, chuckles, for he knows he's being had and adores the effort.

The middle section, and to a lesser degree the end, functions as a great piece of utopia/dystopia literature. Utopia, for the Island version of England Pitco has created is meant to be ideal; the perfect tourist locale, where all the tourist sights and attractions you want to see are within walking distance of each other. Dystopia, for the government and the monarchy, which in theory should look out for the rights of its citizens, has been replaced by a corporation, which in theory looks out for no other interests but its own ("[the Island is] a locus of uncluttered supply and demand... to gladden the heart of Adam Smith"). I am a sucker for utopias and dystopias (Orwell's "1984"; Huxley's "Brave New World"; Thomas More's "Utopia"; Samuel Butler's "Erewhon"), and Barnes doesn't disappoint with his creation of England's more efficient doppelganger. It's Old England crossed with Disneyland, wherein Anglo stuffiness is satired alongside North American intolerance. Capitalism, the monarchy, historical revisionism, and human all nature all take their turn through the ringer of this simulacrum. My one complaint, and this is not Barnes' fault but my own, is that the story was sometimes too Anglo-centric. I suppose someone with a greater knowledge of English customs and history will appreciate the jokes here more than I did. Still, Barnes' provided enough for even I to enjoy.

On top of (or rather underneath) all this England bashing ("from now on, only those with an active love of discomfort and necrophiliac taste for the antique need venture there"), Barnes also throws in an effective little love story. Martha and Paul (who's employed as Sir Jack's "ideas catcher") meet, fall in love, and go through tumultuous times as they try to keep their professional and private lives separate. The questions each pose to the other, and to themselves, are frank, sincere, and provocative. Each is insecure for various reasons, and Barnes probes these problems effectively.

The epilogue chapter, while wondrously biting, cynical, and skeptical about the fate of England if things keep going as they are, was not as effective. Basically, Barnes scraps the tone and style of the rest of the book, and presents us with a rambling, stream-of-conscience tour through England, England's aftermath. I could see what Barnes was trying to do; I just didn't enjoy it. In the preceding chapters I was with him all the way, marveling at his talent for prose and ideas, and enjoying the heck out of both.