"With boundless energy and a cheerful capaciousness . . . Coe gives
us a meditation on the consequences of terrorism, an examination of
the post-9/11 political zeitgeist, a satire of everything from book
reviewers to modern parenting, and a contemporary version of
Anthony Powell''s sprawling masterpiece, A Dance to the Music
of Time." --Elizabeth Judd, The Atlantic
Monthly
"The Rotters' Club (2002), Coe's witty novel
of teenage schoolmates growing up in 1970s Birmingham, England,
introduced an expansive cast of characters. With echoes of Anthony
Trollope and Anthony Powell, this wonderful, compulsively readable
sequel explores the adults those young people became--it opens in
1999 and closes in 2003--and paints a satirical but moving portrait
of life at the turn of the century. Coe cleverly works real events
into the plot--London's Millennium Eve, the possible shutdown of a
British auto manufacturer, the war in Iraq. The theme, as in
The Rotters' Club, concerns the conflicts and connections
between individual decisions and societal events, but while Coe's
political sensibility is readily apparent, this novel, with its
incredibly well developed characters and its immensely engaging
narrative, is no polemical tract. It's a compelling, dramatic and
often funny depiction of the way we live now--both savage and
heartfelt at the same time." --Publishers Weekly, starred
review
"[With] often-biting cultural commentary on, for example, cell
phones and SUV''s . . . Coe''s narrative voice is pleasingly
intimate, as though he were inviting his readers into the ''closed
circle'' referenced in the title, urging them to lean close and
then closer." --Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist
"Highly recommended . . . This politically inspired sequal may
be read and enjoyed independently, but fans of the earlier novel
will be rewarded by the welcome return of an engaging cast of
characters and the resoluation of outstanding mysteries." --Barbara
Love, Library Journal
"The sharp eye for the socioeconomic landscape that
distinguished Coe''s previous outing is also quickly evident here .
. . But the real point here is Coe''s acid, bitingly funny portrait
of early-21st century Britain, where the cradle-to-grave welfare
state has been abandoned as ''a now comically outdated democratic
ideal'' and cab drivers knowledgably discuss varieties of wine . .
. A pleasing, modern-day addition to the venerable lineage of the
English social novel, easily the equal of Trollope or Galsworthy."
--Kirkus
"A richly comic, entertaining novel . . . The Closed
Circle is a masterly portrayal of our ruling classes [and] a
fine comedy with a disturbing undertow of menace." --Sebastian
Shakespeare, Literary Review
"The Closed Cirlce is terrific . . . Coe creates an
incisive portrait of Britain at the turn of the century, with the
private shenanigans of these characters set against the turn of
real events: Millennieum Eve, the threatened closure of the
Longbridge car factory, 11 September, war with Iraq, and even
Nigella Lawson licking her fingers on TV." --Olivia Glazebrook,
Spectator
"[The Closed Circle] has an up-to-the minute
topicality that most writers shy away from, but it allows Coe to
hone in savagely on his betes noires . . . Coe has
succeeded in accomplishing that rare feat: a pair of novels that
combine the addictive quality of the best soap operas with a basic
cultural integrity." --Richard Mason, The Independent