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The acclaimed author on writing his most personal novel to date, finding inspiration on Twitter, and why he was horrified by Granta’s list of the best young British writersIn a career spanning more than 35 years, notable for novels such as What a Carve Up! and The Rotters’ Club, author Jonathan Coe has established himself as one of the UK’s keenest satirists. His works have become bestsellers in translation, and he’s been awarded the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize and the Prix Médicis. Bournville, his latest book, is perhaps his most personal, spanning three-quarters of a century and fusing a poignant family saga with pointed reflections on post-Brexit Britain.How did the novel originate?I was planning a more typical state-of-the-nation novel, starting in 1945 and coming up to the present day, when my mum died. It was a very sudden death, and knocked me for six emotionally and creatively. Then my brother and I began clearing out her house and found boxes full of diaries from the 1940s and 50s – nothing revelatory, but they did bring me into a kind of closeness with her that I didn’t have when she was alive, so immediately I wanted to write about her and use this material. The novel became the story of her life and the story of Britain during those 75 years. It is both highly personal and quite political but in a way that I haven’t attempted before.Bournville by Jonathan Coe is published by Viking (£20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply Continue reading...