A jolly good read! - Rated 
Reviewer Ross is the best on this one. There are umpteen levels to this book and it is the nearest one will get to a modern English picaresque novel. I think some of the other reviewers have missed the point (even though they have given it 5 stars, rightly) perhaps they lack the necessary biro - it is meant to be cartoon like, didactic on a 6th form level, etc etc. It s meant to be Dickensian. This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Above all, it is very funny in an Evelyn Waugh kind of way (another touchstone in the novel); figuring out the levels and references is half the fun.
Surprisingly Good - Rated
I've read one other Jonathan Coe book, and was not impressed. However, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book immensely, despite the fact that I was prepared not to.
Coe's story surrounds the protagonist, a reclusive author with much emotional baggage, and his research into the aristocratic Winshaw family. The novel is both a stark political comment on Thatcherite Britain as well as a very well-woven story.
The Winshaws are a caricature of themselves in attitude and behaviour and whilst they plunder the country under conservative policy, they represent Coe's social comment. Although Coe's criticism of conservatism does risk being crudely didactic (in a sixth-form politics type-of-way), it doesn't seem to be out of place within the context of the plot. The story itself, which keeps the politics on the ground, is in itself excellent, springing colourful characters and twists with every turn.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was highly engaging and although probably not quite worthy of the prefix "classic", gets pretty close. For this reason, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, but because I can't and because I enjoyed it so much, "What a Carve Up" gets 5 stars.
Scathing, funny and absolutely bonkers - Rated
An extremely readable book. A highly intelligent but rapacious family are
allowed to thrive in the days of Margaret Thatcher, ushering in much of what
is horrific in the modern world: intensive farming, corporate dominance,
populist journalism and arms dealing. The author combines the story of their
biographer with that of some peculiar obsessions with 1960s films and the life
of Yuri Gagarin. Cleverly plotted, funny, an outstanding reminder of what the
1980s ever did to us and also, particularly towards the end, completely bonkers.
I think this is a masterpiece.
Christie + Wodehouse + Waugh + Hitchens = A Great Novel - Rated
The shifting fortunes of England between WWII and the early 1990s is the subject of this broad, complex, genre-blending, scathing, and hilarious satire from one of Britain's best contemporary writers. The framework for this is a fictitious Yorkshire family, whose tentacles extend deeply into politics, media, and the corporate world. The Winshaws include: Arms dealer Mark, MP Henry, widely-read columnist Hilary, investment banker Thomas, art dealer Roddy, industrial poultry executive Dorothy, and institutionalized Tabitha. Struggling novelist Michael Owen is commissioned by Tabitha to write the family history, and in the course of his research, Owen comes to realize that the Winshaws are "wretched, lying, thieving, self-advancing" elites whose actions embody the decline of the country.
In a dizzying feat of narrative, we learn of the Winshaws' private and public lives, how they all intersect, and especially how intellectually and morally shallow they each are. For example, via Hilary, we see the rise of Murdoch-style tabloid journalism, via Thomas the insider trading scandals, and via Henry, the trainwreck of Tory/Thatcherite economic policies. But as if this wasn't enough to keep the reader's attention, the story also works in a mystery involving two mysterious deaths, and a strange running congruence to the 1961 comedy film What A Carve Up! The result is a whirlwind of genres, including old-fashioned Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, P.G. Wodehouse-style comic novel, Evelyn Waugh-style social satire, and Christopher Hitchens-style political polemic, all of which combine for a thoroughly entertaining read.
Some may find fault in Coe's ripe and vivid portrayal of this family of scoundrels, but it's entirely in keeping with the satiric and farcical tone of the work. More importantly, it's entirely in keeping with the political nature of the story, for this is that rarest of beasts, a thoroughly entertaining political novel. Coe unabashedly lays the blame for social woes at the feet of the businessmen (and women), politicians, and pundits who profited throughout the "greed is good" '80 and '90s as the poor grew poorer. And if anything, the twelve plus years since its publication only vindicate his selection of targets as -- at least in America -- we have experienced war based on politically-based lies, ever-increasing consolidation and dumbing down of the media, corporate fraud on a massive scale, bioengineering of food -- all of which are directly attacked in the novel. A wonderful novel, one well worth rereading every few years.
Note: Originally titled "What a Carve Up!" in the UK, the book was retitled as "The Winshaw Legacy" for the US.
Wonderful Satire and a brilliant story - Rated
What a Carve up is an absolutely fascinating novel and a real page turner. I loved it. It is a biting satire of the 1980's and Thatcherism in all its foulness. Anyone who was at an impressionable age during the 80's (I was 12 in 1980 and therefore 21 in 1989 so that's definitely me), who first found their own political leanings during that decade, and who ever had an opinion (especially a negative one) about Thatcher will love it. The final section of the book, however is rather bizarre - utterly compelling still, but bizarre, and possibly not for the squeamish. An unputdownable read, by the author of the also wonderful House of Sleep.
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