Bruselas, primavera de 1958. Bajo el plateado resplandor de las ic\u00f3nicas bolas del Atomium se inaugura la Exposici\u00f3n Universal. Un acontecimiento adornado con bonitos mensajes de concordia en plena Guerra Fr\u00eda que pretende ser un escaparate de la floreciente sociedad de consumo: la energ\u00eda nuclear se presenta como una inocua fuente de abastecimiento ilimitado y las aspiradoras y dem\u00e1s artilugios dom\u00e9sticos americanos dejan boquiabierto al p\u00fablico europeo. El rancio comit\u00e9 brit\u00e1nico sobrelleva como puede las inevitables concesiones a la modernidad. Como contrapeso y orgullosa muestra de las viejas tradiciones, decide colocar un pub en su pabell\u00f3n. Para supervisar el buen funcionamiento de este estandarte de las esencias patrias y de paso controlar las tendencias dips\u00f3manas del encargado, env\u00edan a un joven funcionario, Thomas Foley, casado y con una hija peque\u00f1a. En la Expo de Bruselas, Foley descubrir\u00e1 un mundo cosmopolita muy alejado de la grisura de su vida en Londres; coquetear\u00e1 con Anneke, una encantadora azafata flamenca, y conocer\u00e1 a un periodista ruso, a dos flem\u00e1ticos esp\u00edas brit\u00e1nicos dados a filosofar y a una ingenua actriz americana contratada para hacer demostraciones del funcionamiento de las aspiradoras en el pabell\u00f3n de su pa\u00eds. Mientras de la retaguardia le llegan indicios preocupantes de que su obsequioso e insufrible vecino est\u00e1 intentando seducir a su mujer, en la capital belga se ver\u00e1 empujado a hacer de esp\u00eda amateur, tomando como modelo al h\u00e9roe de las novelas de Ian Fleming. Y acabar\u00e1 descubriendo que entre las bambalinas del festival de la cooperaci\u00f3n mundial que pretende ser la Expo, nada es lo que parece y nadie es quien dice ser. Mezclando comedia y novela de esp\u00edas, Jonathan Coe ha escrito una estupenda muestra del mejor humor brit\u00e1nico, pero tambi\u00e9n una certera reflexi\u00f3n sobre el enga\u00f1o y las oportunidades perdidas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jonathan Coe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[23],"product_cat":[5808,5807,5806,15604],"product_tag":[5887,5869],"class_list":["post-32251","product","type-product","status-publish","product_brand-epub-paradise","product_cat-ebooks","product_cat-epub","product_cat-espanol","product_cat-jonathan-coe","product_tag-intriga","product_tag-satira","desktop-align-center","tablet-align-left","mobile-align-center","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-variable"],"yoast_head":"\n