Jonathan Coe – The Closed Circle

It's the end of the century and Benjamin Trotter and friends are all grown up. Life is a ceaseless whirl of jobs, marriages, kids - and self-inflicted angst. Despite the shiny optimism of Blair's Britain, youthful hopes and dreams feel betrayed. Is the Government (and by extension Benjamin's MP brother, Paul) to blame ? Or are the Rotters themselves - only passingly faithful to their dreams - really at fault ? The Closed Circle - sequel to The Rotters' Club - takes up the story twenty years on, and proves that the present can never truly be disentangled from the past.