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Cover of What a Carve Up! by Jonathan CoeWhat a Carve Up!
Modern · Fiction, Classics, Contemporary

What a Carve Up!

by Jonathan Coe
1994 · 500 pages · Fiction
Critics' pick
≈ 12 hours to read · about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

Jonathan Coe's novel tells the stories of the wealthy and powerful Winshaw family. It's a social satire of the British upper classes.

Why it's worth reading

It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's an angry, funny and intricate satire.

You'll love it if you liked

Good to know

It's long but very readable.

By the numbers

69.3Must-Read Score
  • Readers73 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Bestseller2 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Why it made the list

On the lists
Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read

Reads as

Moving, Thought-provoking

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

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Explore the best-of lists

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Quick answers

Is What a Carve Up! worth reading?

Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #1,467 of the 3,057 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 69.3 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is What a Carve Up! about?

Jonathan Coe's novel tells the stories of the wealthy and powerful Winshaw family. It's a social satire of the British upper classes.

How long does it take to read What a Carve Up!?

About 12 hours (500 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after What a Carve Up!?

If you liked it, try Money by Martin Amis, Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh or The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst.