Capital (novel)
Capital (ISBN 9780571234622) is a novel by John Lanchester, published by Faber and Faber in 2012.[1] The novel is set in London prior and during the 2008 financial crisis. The title refers both to London as the capital city of the United Kingdom, and to financial capital. All of the main characters have a connection to Pepys Road, a street in the south London suburb of Clapham.
The book deals with multiple contemporary issues in British life including the financial crisis of 2007–08, immigration, radical Islam, celebrity, and property prices.
Characters
- Petunia Howe - an elderly widow who has lived on Pepys Road for most of her life. Her husband was Albert.
- Mary - her adult daughter who lives in Essex
- Alan - Mary's husband
- Smitty - Mary's son and Petunia's grandson, a celebrated but anonymous artist similar to Banksy
- Roger Yount - has a highly paid job in investment banking
- Arabella - his wife
- Mark - his ambitious deputy at work
- Ahmed and Rohinka Kamal - Pakistani immigrants who live on Pepys Road above their family shop, a convenience store
- Shahid and Usman - Ahmed's brothers who sometimes work in the shop
- Mrs Kamal - mother of Ahmed, Shahid and Usman, who comes to visit from Lahore
- Freddy Kamo - talented footballer from Senegal who moves to London to play for a Premier League club, and lives on Pepys Road with Patrick, his father.
- Mickey - "gopher" at Freddy's football club who also manages the house where Freddy and Patrick live
- Quentina Mkfesi - a highly educated asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, working illegally as a traffic warden on Pepys Road.
- Zbigniew (Bogdan) - migrant Polish builder from Warsaw who works on houses in Pepys Road
Reception
Capital was well received by critics.[2][3]
The novel is similar in its setting and plot to the 2009 novel A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks.
Filming is currently (April 2015) in progress of a BBC1 TV adaptation by Peter Bowker, starring Lesley Sharp and Toby Jones. [4]
References
- ↑ Capital, John Lanchester. Faber.co.uk (2013-01-03). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ↑ Miller, Keith (2012-02-23). "Capital by John Lanchester: review". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
- ↑ Schillinger, Liesl (2012-07-12). "This Is London". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
- ↑ Conlan, Tara. "Toby Jones to play smug banker in new BBC Capital drama". theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 10 April 2015.