Mr Wilder and Me

A satisfyingly sweeping novel that still manages to push the form in new directions. As good as anything he's written - a novel to cherish * Observer * An account of Billy Wilder's later years that sweeps beautifully from Hollywood to Greece and London while all the time reflecting on the horrors of 20th-century Europe * FT, Best Books of 2020 * This elegiac novella is utterly charming, deeply poignant and ultimately uplifting. And yes, it would make a great film * Mail on Sunday * Knowledgeably enthralled by cinema, Jonathan Coe has often spliced it inventively into his fiction. This richly enjoyable novel is entirely devoted to it. The career of one of Hollywood's greatest directors is unrolled with wit and enthusiasm tinged with melancholy * The Sunday Times Best Fiction Books of the Year * Effortlessly pleasurable and deceptively simple. Mr Wilder & Me doesn't lack resonance, yet stays light on its feet. The whole book feels like some marvellous party where you ricochet from one good conversation to another * The Times * A coming of age story which offers a fascinating insight into fame - and the perils of an industry in flux * Daily Telegraph * The dialogue's sharp, the comic timing excellent * Sunday Times * One of my favourite writers . . . a thoughtful tender read * Good Housekeeping * A beautiful, bittersweet novel that is itself crying out for the silver screen treatment . . . sheer delight * Scotsman * Absolutely wonderful * Nigella Lawson * A tender portrait. Coe's close-up on Wilder doesn't just celebrate the man but embodies his glorious ability to say sad things in a funny way, and vice versa * Daily Telegraph * Elegantly brings together Calista's and Wilder's worlds * TLS * A love letter to the spirit of cinema * Guardian * Mr Wilder and Me has considerable charm and Wilder-like slightness and levity of spirit * Literary Review * Shit hot * Bob Mortimer *