The Closed Circle
Table of Contents
For Philippe Auclair
Acclaim for Jonathan Coe's
THE CLOSED CIRCLE
“
The Closed Circle
is a satire of a high order. . . . A brilliant (and hugely entertaining) articulation . . . of the myriad forcesâpersonal and political, rational and irrationalâthat drive us and, occasionally, result in powerful events.”
â
San Francisco Chronicle
“The joy of
The Closed Circle
resides in the web of its many characters, the consequences of whose actions undulate throughout one another's lives. . . . Coe persistently tracks England's political and cultural pulse in the aftermath of 9/11, and his ability to layer emotions on each page is, ultimately, delightful from start to finish.”
â
The Times-Picayune
“Coe is an artist of character and of his characters' stories, and he is a witty, desolately perceptive observer of the way we live now. . . . Coe develops [
The Closed Circle
] with a sustained, intricate brilliance.”
â
Los Angeles Times
“While social commentary is prevalent throughout, perhaps the greatest success of
The Closed Circle
is its ability to entertain while simultaneously illuminating a period of unrest and uncertainty.”
â
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“[
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
bêtes 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.”
â
The Independent
(London)
“The symmetries developed between this novel and its predecessor appear more intricate and abstract the longer you reflect on them, and yet . . . much of the novel has a free-form, improvised quality. . . . Charming. ... Sublime.”
â
The New York Times Book Review
“[Coe is] a very funny satirist and sometimes he's politically incendiary, but he's also an expert plotter who examines individual personalities in depth. As each carefully drawn circle closes in a series of climaxes, he reminds us that both in history and in the history of our private lives, the past has a way of playing pranks on us.”
â
People
“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.”
â
Literary Review
“Past and present, personal and political, seep into each other, blurring the lines of meaning and perception in a narrative that nonetheless remains miraculously airy. . . . [Coe is] graceful, constructing a plot that meanders enticingly yet has the pleasing symmetry of a Shakespearean comedy.”
â
The Boston Globe
“Jonathan Coe is England's most stylish and amusing social chronicler.”
â
Philadelphia Weekly
“The rewards of this novel are as deeply felt as those of the first. . . . [Coe uses] believable dialogue to sketch a convincing inner life while providing flourishes of delightfully Wodehousian humor. . . .
The Closed Circle
finishes on an exceptionally strong note. . . . A wonderful synthesis of Coe's themes.”
â
The Oregonian
“Coe is an unusually fine writer who has created the kind of book the reader will want to climb into and relish, hoping it will not end for a long time.”
â
Deseret News
(Salt Lake City)
“
The Closed Circle
is a wonderfully addictive story. This is a novel meant to be savored.”
â
Tulsa World
Author's Note
Among the books which provided background material for this novel were
Labour Party PLC,
by David Osler (Mainstream, 2002),
White Riot: The Violent Story of Combat 18
, by Nick Lowles (Milo, 2001) and
“We Ain't Going
Away!”: The Battle for Longbridge,
by Carl Chinn and Stephen Dyson (Brewin Books, 2000).
The section of this novel called “High on the Chalk” was inspired by the song of the same name by The High Llamas, from their album
Beet, Maize
and Corn
(Duophonic DS45-CD35).
The Closed Circle
is a continuation of an earlier novel of mine called
The Rotters' Club.
A synopsis of
The Rotters' Club
is included at the end of this volume, for those who have not read it, or who perhapsâhaving read itâhave inexplicably forgotten it.
J.C.
HIGH ON THE CHALK
High on the Chalk
Etretat
Tuesday, 7th December, 1999
Morning
Sister Dearest,
The view from up here is amazing, but it's too cold to write very much. My
fingers can barely hold the pen. But I promised myself I'd start this letter before
returning to England, and this really is my last chance.
Last thoughts, then, on leaving the European mainland? On coming home?
I'm scouring the horizon and looking for omens. Calm sea, clear blue sky.
Surely that has to count for something.
People come up here to kill themselves, apparently. In fact there's a boy
further down the path, standing dangerously close to the edge, who looks as
though he may be planning to do exactly that. He's been standing there for as long
as I've been on this bench and he's only wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Must be
freezing.
Well, at least I haven't got to that point yet; although there have been some
bad moments, these last few weeks. Moments when it seemed like I'd lost my bearings completely, that it was all spinning out of control. You must have known that
feeling, once. In fact I know you did. Anyway, it's over now. Onwards and
upwards.
Beneath me I can see Etretat, the wide curve of its beach, the pinnacled
rooftops of the château where I stayed last night. I never did manage to explore the
town. Funny how, when you have the freedom to do anything you want, you end
up doing so little. Infinite choice seems to translate into no choice at all. I could
have headed out for
sole dieppoise
and ended up being plied with free Calvados
by a flirty waiter; instead I stayed inside and watched some old Gene Hackman
movie dubbed into french.
Four out of ten, for that. See me afterwards. Could do better. Is this any way
to begin a new life?
Am I really beginning a new life, in any case? Perhaps I'm just resuming an
old one, after a long and finally pointless interruption.
On board the ferry,
Pride of Portsmouth
In the restaurant
Tuesday, 7th December, 1999
Late afternoon
I wonder how they manage to make a profit from this line, at this time of
year? Apart from me and the man behind the counterâwhat should I call him, is
he the steward or purser or something?âthis place is deserted. It's dark outside
now and there is rain flecking the windows. Perhaps it's just spray. Makes me
want to shiver looking at it, even though it's warm inside, almost overheated.
I'm writing this letter in the little A5 notebook I bought in Venice. It has a
silky blue hardback cover with a marbled pattern, and lovely thick, roughly cut
pages. When I've finishedâif I ever finishâI suppose I could always cut the pages
out and put them in an envelope. But there wouldn't be much point, would there?
Anyway, it hasn't got off to a flying start. Rather self-indulgent so far, I'd say.
You'd think I'd know how to write to you, after the thousands and thousands of
words I've written in the last few years. But somehow, every new letter I write to
you feels like the first one.
I've got a feeling this is going to be the longest of all.
When I sat down on that bench high on the chalk cliffs above Etretat, I hadn't
even decided whether it was you I was going to write to, or Stefano. But I chose
you. Aren't you proud of me? You see, I'm determined that I'm not going to go
down that road. I promised myself that I wouldn't contact him, and a promise to
yourself is the most binding of all. It's difficult, because there hasn't been a day for
four months when we haven't spoken, or emailed, or at least texted. That kind of
habit is hard to break. But I know it will get better. This is the cold turkey period.
Looking at my mobile sitting on the table next to the coffee, I feel like an ex-smoker having a packet of fags dangled in front of her nose. It would be so easy to
text him. He
taught
me how to send text messages, after all. But that would be a
crazy thing to do. He'd hate me for it, anyway. And I'm scared of him starting to
hate meâreally scared. That scares me more than anything. Silly, isn't it? What
difference does it make, if I'm not going to see him again?
I'll make a list. Making a list is always a good displacement activity.
Lessons I've learned from the Stefano disaster:
1. Married men rarely leave their wives and daughters for single
women in their late thirties.
2. You can still be having an a fair with someone, even if you're not
having sex.
3.
I can't think of a number three. Even so, that's not bad going. Both those
lessons are important. They'll stand me in good stead, the next time something like
this happens. Or rather, they'll help me to make sure (I hope) that there won't be a
next time.
Well, that looks good, on paperâespecially this expensive, thick, creamy,
Venetian paper. But I remember a line that Philip always used to quote to me.
Some crusty old pillar of the British establishment who said, in his dotage: “Yesâ
I've learned from my mistakes, and I'm sure I could repeat them perfectly.” Ha,
ha. That will probably be me.
Fourth coffee of the day
National Film Theatre Café
London, South Bank
Wednesday, 8th December, 1999
Afternoon
Yes, I'm back, sister darling, after an interruption of twenty hours or so, and
the first question that occurs to me, after a morning spent more or less aimlessly
wandering the streets, is this: who are all these people, and what do they do?
It's not that I remember London very well. I don't think I've been here for
about six years. But I do (or thought I did) remember where some of my favorite
shops were. There was a clothes shop in one of the back streets between Covent
Garden and Long Acre, where you could get nice scarves, and about three doors
along, there used to be some people who did hand-painted ceramics. I was hoping to
get an ashtray for Dad, a sort of peace-offering. (Wishful thinking, for sure: it
would take more than that . . . ) Anyway, the point is, neither of these places seems
to be there any more. Both have been turned into coffee shops, and both of them
were absolutely packed. And also, of course, coming from Italy I'm used to seeing
people talking on their mobiles all day, but for the last few years I've been saying to
everyone over there, in a tone of great authority, “Oh, you know, they're never
going to catch on in Britainânot to the same extent.” Why do I always
do
that?
Bang on about stuff I know nothing about, as if I was a world expert? Jesus,
everybody
here has got one now. Clamped to their ears, walking up and down the
Charing Cross Road, jabbering to themselves like loons. Some of them have even
got these earpieces which mean you don't realize they're on the phone at all, and
you really do think they must be care-in-the-community cases. (Because there are
plenty of those around as well.) But the question isâas I saidâwho are all these
people and what do they do? I know I shouldn't generalize from the closure of a
couple of shops (anyway, perhaps I got the wrong street), but my first impression is
that there are vast numbers of people who don't
work
in this city any more, in the
sense of making things or selling things. All that seems to be considered rather old-fashioned. Instead, people
meet,
and they
talk.
And when they're not
meeting
or
talking
in person, they're usually
talking
on their phones, and what they're usually
talking
about is an arrangement to
meet.
But what I want to know is, when
they actually
meet,
what do they
talk
about? It seems that's another thing I've
been getting wrong in Italy. I kept going round telling everybody how reserved
the English are. But we're not, apparentlyâwe've become a nation of talkers.
We've become intensely sociable. And yet I still don't have a clue what's being said.
There's this great conversation going on all over the country, apparently, and I
feel I'm the one person who doesn't know enough to join in. What's it about?
Last night's TV? The ban on British beef? How to beat the Millennium bug?
And another thing, while I remember: that bloody great wheel that's appeared
on the side of the Thames, next to County Hall. What's that for, exactly?
Anyway, that's enough social commentary for now, I think. The other things I
wanted to tell you are, first of all, that I've decided to face the music, bite the bullet
and so on, and go back to Birmingham
tonight
(because the hotel prices here are
phenomenal, and I simply can't a ford to stay here for another day); and also that I
may have been back in England for less than twenty-four hours, but already I'm
faced with a blast from the past. It comes in the form of a flyer I picked up at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall. There's going to be a reading there on Monday, the title of
which is “Goodbye to All That.” Six “figures from public life” (it says here) are
going to tell us “what they most regret leaving behind or what they are happiest to
see the back of, at the end of the second Christian Millennium.” And look who's
number four on the list: no, not Benjamin (although he was the one we all thought
would be a famous writer), but Doug Andertonâwho we are told is a “journalist
and political commentator,” if you please.
Another omen, maybe? A sign I'm not making a bold foray into the future
after all, but taking the first involuntary steps on a journey backwards? I mean,
for God's sake, I haven't seen Doug in about fifteen years. The last time was at my
wedding. At which, I seem to remember, he pressed me drunkenly up against a
wall and told me that I was marrying the wrong man. (He was right, of course,
but not in the sense that
he
meant it.) How weird would it be now, to sit in an
audience and listen to him pontificating about pre-millennial angst and social
change? I suppose it would just be a version of what we all had to put up with more
than twenty years ago, sitting around the editorial table of the school magazine.
Only now we're all developing grey hair and back problems.
Is your hair grey yet, I wonder, dear Miriam? Or is that not something you
have to worry about any more?
There's a Birmingham train in fifty minutes. I'm going to make a dash for it.
Second coffee of the day
Coffee Republic
New Street, Birmingham
Friday, 10th December, 1999
Morning
Oh, Miriamâthe house! That bloody house. It hasn't changed.
Nothing
about it has changed, since you left it (and a quarter of a century has gone by since
then: almost exactly), except that it is colder, and emptier, and sadder (and
cleaner
) than ever. Dad pays someone to keep it spotless, and apart from her coming in twice a week to do the dusting, I don't think he speaks to a soul, now that
Mum's gone. He's also bought this little place in France and seems to spend a lot of
time there. He spent most of Wednesday night showing me pictures of the septic
tank and the new boiler he's had installed, which was thrilling, as you can imagine.
Once or twice he said that I should go over there some time and stay for a week or
two, but I could tell that he didn't really mean it, and besides, I don't want to. Nor
do I want to stay under his roof for more nights than I can help it, this time.
Last night I had a meal out with Philip and Patrick.
NowâI hadn't seen Philip for more than two years, and I suppose it's pretty
common, in these circumstances, for ex-wives to look at their ex-husbands and
wonder what on earth it was that drew them together in the first place. I'm talking about physical attraction, more than anything else. I remember that when I
was a student, and lived in Mantova for the best part of a year, back in 1981 if I
can believe myself when I write that (God!), I was surrounded by young Italian
men, most of them gorgeous, all of them as good as begging me to go to bed with
them. A posse of teenage Mastroiannis in their sexual prime, gagging for it, not to
mince words. My Englishness made me exotic in a way which would have been
unthinkable in Birmingham, and I could have had my pick of that lot. I could
have had them all, one after the other. But what did I choose instead? Or who did
I choose, rather. I chose Philip. Philip Chase, whey-faced, nerdy Philip Chase, with
his straggly ginger beard and his horn-rimmed specs, who came to stay with me
for a week and somehow got me into bed on the second day and ended up changing
the whole course of my life, not permanently, I suppose, but radically . . . fundamentally . . . I don't know. I can't think of the word. One word is as good as
another, sometimes. Was it just because we were too young, I wonder? No, that's
not fair on him. Of all the boys I'd known up until that point, he was the most
straightforward, the most sympathetic, the least arrogant (Doug and Benjamin
were so up themselves, in their different ways!). There is a tremendous decency in
Phil, as well: he is absolutely reliable and trustworthy. He made the divorce so
untraumatic, I rememberâa back-handed compliment, I know, but if you ever
want to get divorced from someone . . . Philip's your man.