Capital by John Lanchester : the captivativating life in London

Capital. London. Busy metro buzzing with people – residents, immigrants, businessmen, artists, police, traffic wardens, children and sports stars. Capital. The city, where money is the language spoken, understood and the only thing that connects people. Whichever interpretation of Capital you take, it fits the novel. This is a fast paced book that chronicles the happenings in the lives of the residents of Pepys Road in 2009, the year of in financial doom. Pepys Road  could actually be any road in Central London, with its corner Pakistani store, neighbors who hardly know each other and the row of cars parked by the side of the road. ‘We want what you have’ is the suspense in the book; Not a great mystery but a common thread connecting the lives on the Pepys Road.
The stories start unraveling quickly and the reader gets engrossed in this well written book. The language is wonderful. This is a how a book needs to be written: each and every sentence is apt. Having read many poorly written stories in past few months, I truly appreciated the writing in this book. What also is apparent is the author’s power of observation of contemporary London life – be they the relationships between the three brothers and their mother from Pakistan or a Polish builder and his colleagues or a young meter-maid from Zimbabwe seeking asylum. Their portrayal is very authentic. In fact all the characters including the underground artist Smitty, young Senegalese footballer Freddie Komo or the currency trader Roger, his wife and small sons; are very much real. As a reader I felt that I would meet them should I happen to stay on a typical London street.
So is my review going to be all positive? Hold on a bit, here comes the part that I did not enjoy. The book has the format that is similar to a multiple camera sitcom where multiple stories happening simultaneously are depicted. I am not a fan of such format though it has become popular. I long to read a simple story, that starts with narration and then continues until the end. There are also too many characters in this book and at times when a chapter starts with two names and a weekend in Cotswold, I had to flip back to see who those characters were.
At the end of the day, this is a thick book that is not at all difficult to finish. I recommend this book to get a slice of London life in 2009. Once you finish, many of the characters will remain in your mind for a long time, which in itself is the success of the book.