The characters of The Rotters’ Club—Jonathan Coe’s nostalgic, humorous evocation of adolescent life in the 1970s—hav...
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Mar 23, 2008
Jim
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Coe writes about frustration - professional, creative, and sexual; frustrations in relationships and a loss of faith amidst the crumbling of personal verities. It can be a little depressing, but it's also cathartic and very, very compelling, with a subtle humor rooted in a very dark sense of irony. His books are perfect for those of us who have reached a certain age, who suspect that the world is broken and who are looking for the words to describe a creeping sense of malaise.
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Jul 29, 2011
Elsa
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Ceux qui étaient passés à côté de leurs rêves.
Voici la suite de l'excellent Bienvenue au club, qui nous plongeait dans la jeunesse des années 70. Si Bienvenue au club avait une petite touche de folie et de frivolité, le goût est cette fois-ci plus amer et nous place dans la noirceur des années récentes. Cette suite est plus critique et acerbe, n'hésitant à écorner la politique de Tony Blair. Aujourd'hui, cette jeunesse a 45 ans, s'est dégarnie et a pris du ventre. Nous retrouvons avec More...
Voici la suite de l'excellent Bienvenue au club, qui nous plongeait dans la jeunesse des années 70. Si Bienvenue au club avait une petite touche de folie et de frivolité, le goût est cette fois-ci plus amer et nous place dans la noirceur des années récentes. Cette suite est plus critique et acerbe, n'hésitant à écorner la politique de Tony Blair. Aujourd'hui, cette jeunesse a 45 ans, s'est dégarnie et a pris du ventre. Nous retrouvons avec More...
Jun 04, 2009
Colleen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 01, 2011
Jack
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Jonathan Coe's book is actually a continuation of a story he began in an earlier novel, which I had not read. This in no way diminishes the enjoyment to be derived from this sprawling tale, set across years with a small but internecine group of friends and relations.
There are moments where the stretch to make events occur might cause Thomas Hardy to blush at their contrivance. But overlooking the author's love of chance and coincidence, the story is filled with a rich and nuanced po More...
There are moments where the stretch to make events occur might cause Thomas Hardy to blush at their contrivance. But overlooking the author's love of chance and coincidence, the story is filled with a rich and nuanced po More...
Jul 10, 2010
Boyd
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Big and shapeless. At the end of THE ROTTERS' CLUB--which I liked--Coe indicated that the book's many questions and unfinished narratives would be elucidated and/or resolved in the sequel, but apparently the thing got away from him, and after a strong beginning, the story grows increasingly bloated and meandering. People keep disappearing for months or years and reappearing suddenly and going off on underexplained junkets and brooding tragically (and endlessly) about their unhappy lives while tu
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Jul 28, 2011
Derek
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This is a well-written and thoughtful book but it has little of the emotional depth of The Rotters Club and very few laugh-aloud moments. As a document of its time (the early 00's) it isn't especially resonant either. But I was glad to be able to find out the fate of Miriam, grim thought it was, as well as the later lives of the principal characters from the earlier novel. And it was enjoyable to finally read some of Benjamin's, ahem, poetry.
Part of what made The Rotters Club such fun was the r More...
Part of what made The Rotters Club such fun was the r More...
Sep 01, 2010
Blair
rated it: 
This is the second Jonathan Coe book I've read - I read What a Carve Up at the beginning of the year but for some reason never got round to writing a review, so I may as well say now that I loved that book, and I loved this one. My enjoyment of them both can be attributed to similar factors - a large cast of believable characters you either love or love to hate, social and political commentary seamlessly woven into the narrative, a healthy dose of satirical humour, a varied narrative composed of
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Jul 25, 2010
Tiziana
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Aw, Paul Trotter, what have you turned into...
In this follow up to The Rotters' Club Paul's character is the only one that I really struggled to reconcile with his younger version in the former book. The 'creepy little thing' turned MP for New Labour has lost a lot of his scariness and become a laughable figure. A bit of disappointment there is inevitable, for a lover of black humour like me.
In fact, a lot of the characters haven't (yet) fulfilled the promises they had as teenagers, an More...
In this follow up to The Rotters' Club Paul's character is the only one that I really struggled to reconcile with his younger version in the former book. The 'creepy little thing' turned MP for New Labour has lost a lot of his scariness and become a laughable figure. A bit of disappointment there is inevitable, for a lover of black humour like me.
In fact, a lot of the characters haven't (yet) fulfilled the promises they had as teenagers, an More...
May 27, 2010
Holly
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Story of a group of King's Cross classmates now twenty yrs older as they make their way through London/Birmingham in the wake of y2k, 9-11, Tony Blair, etc. This was a book about politics and the impact global situations (war on Iraq, the Ireland situation, race relations, etc) have on individuals, a theme also explored in The Rotters' Club, but Coe also explores relationships, especially with respect to marriage. The expectations we place on ourselves and others in our youth and how that pans o
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Dec 06, 2010
Trashpalace
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Seguito di The Rotters' Club e conclusione delle vicende dei suoi protagonisti, a oltre 20 anni di distanza dal primo romanzo.
Gli ideali dell'adolescenza sono stati infranti, la realtà ha calpestato le rosee aspettative della giovinezza e Ben, Paul, Claire ecc. si ritrovano ad affrontare matrimoni alla deriva, relazioni extraconiugali, crisi esistenziali e carriere insoddisfacenti.
Il tutto sullo sfondo di un decennio amaramente disilluso, testimone di un preoccupante rigurgito fascista, della gu More...
Gli ideali dell'adolescenza sono stati infranti, la realtà ha calpestato le rosee aspettative della giovinezza e Ben, Paul, Claire ecc. si ritrovano ad affrontare matrimoni alla deriva, relazioni extraconiugali, crisi esistenziali e carriere insoddisfacenti.
Il tutto sullo sfondo di un decennio amaramente disilluso, testimone di un preoccupante rigurgito fascista, della gu More...
May 19, 2011
Karen
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I really liked this book, but found it less compelling than The Rotter's Club. I especially loved the story of Claire and Miriam, and thought that Claire's character and story were the highlights of the novel. Claire actually seemed so real to me that I can't stop thinking about her, several days after finishing the book. The Closed Circle was more sober than The Rotter's Club, which could have worked if the characters were more likeable. I was especially disappointed with the choices the au
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Jan 18, 2008
Agatha
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I love love loved The Rotter's Club and this sequel/ending to the saga of British youth during the tumultuous 70s/80s fell flat. Some surprises of incest and religious zeal...but not worth it. You're better off imagining an ending for these characters yourself!
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Jan 08, 2012
Isabel
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Doug scratched his head, genuinely baffld by the direction the conversation was taking. 'Paul, the years haven't made you any less weird, you know. What do you mean "friends"? How could we ever be friends? What would this friendship consist of?'
'Well . . ' Paul had already worked out the answer to this. 'Malvina thought, for instance, that since you and I had children of about the same age, we could maybe introduce them and see if they wanted to play together.'
'Let me get thi More...
'Well . . ' Paul had already worked out the answer to this. 'Malvina thought, for instance, that since you and I had children of about the same age, we could maybe introduce them and see if they wanted to play together.'
'Let me get thi More...
Dec 25, 2010
Jim
rated it:
Hmmm. I liked this, really enjoying it, until I read some stinging criticisms of it on Amazon. And they were so true. The unbelievable coincidences; the near desperation to close circles left open from The Rotter's Club; the shallowness of some of the characters who seemed to be fleshed-out as opposed to fleshed-in from the first novel; the political posturing; the neo liberalism. All true. Once I was aware of them, the book went limp in my hands. It was all wrong. Fortunately I had only fifty p
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Nov 16, 2010
Ettore.bilbo
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Come dice il titolo questo libro chiude il circolo iniziato con la banda dei brocchi e termina la trilogia virtuale che ha al centro la famiglia Winshaw. Dei tre è forse il meno bello, quello che mi ha coinvolto di meno, più che altro perché ritrovando i personaggi della banda dei brocchi speravo di ritrovare anche la stessa intensità nella storia, ma è il background a venire meno, non più gli sfavillanti e tesi anni 70 ma i sonnacchiosi e autocompiacenti anni 90 e i protagonisti non sono più ad
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Jun 25, 2011
Tancredi
rated it:
"Le parole possono avere il significato che vuoi, nell'era dell'ironia."
La banda dei brocchi incontra la famiglia Winshaw: e il cerchio finalmente si chiude.
Sebbene sia ormai aduso alla narrativa di Coe (e anzi, forse proprio per questo) mi risulta particolarmente difficile recensire questo romanzo. O anche soltanto scegliere il giusto giudizio. Forse, a ben vedere, è ancora troppo forte e troppo nitido il ricordo de La banda dei brocchi, che mi aveva esaltato e affasc More...
La banda dei brocchi incontra la famiglia Winshaw: e il cerchio finalmente si chiude.
Sebbene sia ormai aduso alla narrativa di Coe (e anzi, forse proprio per questo) mi risulta particolarmente difficile recensire questo romanzo. O anche soltanto scegliere il giusto giudizio. Forse, a ben vedere, è ancora troppo forte e troppo nitido il ricordo de La banda dei brocchi, che mi aveva esaltato e affasc More...
Apr 15, 2010
Holly
rated it:
I genuinely enjoyed this book - I loved getting back to the characters that had been so well developed in The Rotter's Club - but I can honestly not imagine enjoying this book without reading the prequel. The loose ends this book tied up were all started in the previous book. Only a few of the new issues were concluded in a satisfying way (the whole premise of this book seemed to be wrapping up the last book... and if that's what it was meant to be, then fine, but the plot of this book was just
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Jan 29, 2012
Writerlibrarian
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This is the follow up to The Rotter's Club which I liked a lot. This one is more of a "where are they now?" The narrative starts in 1999 and ends where the first book ended.
In between we follow and find out what happpened to the gang. Claire and her search for her gone long ago sister Miriam. Claire who married Philip, divorced him, ran to Italy and is worried she wasn't a good mother to their son Patrick. Philip remarried, made a comfortable life for himself. Small time j More...
In between we follow and find out what happpened to the gang. Claire and her search for her gone long ago sister Miriam. Claire who married Philip, divorced him, ran to Italy and is worried she wasn't a good mother to their son Patrick. Philip remarried, made a comfortable life for himself. Small time j More...
Apr 03, 2008
Taylor
rated it:
Closed Circle is the follow-up to one of my favorite books, The Rotters Club. The Rotters Club is all about a group of friends going through their adolescence and Closed Circle finds them in middle age.
Rotters Club had a political undercurrent, but this has a lot more politics in it, which felt a little overwhelming from the standpoint of someone who doesn't know much about English politics. Once it got in to Tony Blair and Iraq, I was fine (obviously), but everything up to that poin More...
Rotters Club had a political undercurrent, but this has a lot more politics in it, which felt a little overwhelming from the standpoint of someone who doesn't know much about English politics. Once it got in to Tony Blair and Iraq, I was fine (obviously), but everything up to that poin More...
Jan 29, 2012
Lorenzo
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The Closed Circle is the follow-up of The Rotters Club characters' story twenty five years later on paper. In the real world three years are passed by between the release of the two books.
Well, the question is: what's happened to Jonathan Coe in the meanwhile?
Apparently he has lost his touch in just a few dozens months.
Where The Rotters Club was funny and ironic, The Closed Circle is merely ambitious. Where The Rotters Club was sensible and melancholic, The Closed More...
Well, the question is: what's happened to Jonathan Coe in the meanwhile?
Apparently he has lost his touch in just a few dozens months.
Where The Rotters Club was funny and ironic, The Closed Circle is merely ambitious. Where The Rotters Club was sensible and melancholic, The Closed More...
Feb 08, 2011
Elisabetta
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 25, 2008
Libby
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I don't have particularly cogent thoughts about this novel or my response to it, a fact which may be a byproduct of my initial heightened expectations and their subsequent dramatic deflation. I loved The Rotters' Club and was as excited as could be to read this novel, its sequel. The most exciting thing about the book though turned out to be incidental; it was my first Central Library loan. Sad face.
Almost everything that I loved in TRC was absent here, despite the two works' simila More...
Almost everything that I loved in TRC was absent here, despite the two works' simila More...
Aug 16, 2011
Daniel
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I found "The Rotter's Club" to be a powerful evocation of youth in 1970s Britian...with a gorgeous & seductive writing style. Perhaps I was expecting too much from the sequel, but very little in this story held my attention -- it lacks the passion and the fascination of the original. After eagerly waiting for a follow up book, the end result is sadly disappointing. But I might simply be jaded...
May 09, 2010
Vi
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I was really excited when I started to read this one. It's a sequel to the Rotter's Club and I could not wait to see what was to happen to all my favourite characters. Perhaps it was my expectations, or perhaps it was the course which the characters took, but I could not connect with it as I had done so with Rotter's.
Aug 29, 2010
Dasha
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Now....I started reading this late last night. I couldn't sleep and was hoping to read a few pages and then nod off - but I got really into it. It's funny and engaging and I'm interested to see what happens next. There is just one problem. I feel like I have read this book before. It's oh so familiar. But I don't really remember what's going to happen. So my dilemma is: do I keep reading this book and hope that the second time around I'll be able to retain the contents - or give it up, since it
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May 31, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I'd been waiting for this sequel to 'The Rotters Club' for so long and had loved the first book so much that I think this was bound to be a disappointment. It was OK, just didn't grab me in the way I hoped it would.
Jan 16, 2009
Say
rated it:
Sequel to "Rotters Club" - pretty good so far.
Follows the same people about 20 years into their lives.
What I liked about both is seeing how the political/social world of England and the time affects the characters.
Follows the same people about 20 years into their lives.
What I liked about both is seeing how the political/social world of England and the time affects the characters.
Feb 20, 2008
The follow up to The Rotters Club, again I had to scour my library for this. Worth the wait though. In similar vein to it's predecessor this is the story brought bang up to date - Blairs Britain in all its oily glory. A nice little plot twist that had me yelling "nooooooooo?! What? Really?! Fantastic!" - it brings the whole thing around in a really interesting way. I wasn't disappointed by any of the resolutions, which is unusual for me.
Coes books for me show a particular More...
Coes books for me show a particular More...
Aug 28, 2009
Kalipso
rated it:
I want to meet people like Benjamin and Claire and Filip. I want my life's turnings to be like this book. Especially the end. I think I can now at least hope that my life wont' be a total disaster, it won't go down the drain.
Thank you M. Coe.
Thank you M. Coe.
Nov 19, 2009
Frank
rated it:
Not as good as 'The Rotter's Club'. Lots of forced coincidence and a soap opera feel that might be a deliberate attempt to reflect the mood of the times.
