Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe (Viking)

by Patrick O'Connor

THIS fictionalised account of the British involvement in the Expo or World Fair exhibition hosted by Belgium in 1958 is a deliciously witty 'espionage' novel which also pokes fun on how the British view themselves.

The main character is nondescript civil servant Thomas Foley, who is seconded to Belgium for six months to oversee a mock English pub called The Britannia in the British Pavilion.