The Rotters' Club
Ratings18
Average rating3.8
Jonathan Coe's widely acclaimed novel is set in the 1970s against a distant backdrop of strikes, terrorist attacks and growing racial tension. A group of young friends inherit the editorship of their school magazine and begin to put their own distinctive spin onto events in the wider world. A zestful comedy of personal and social upheaval, The Rotters' Club captures a fateful moment in British politics - the collapse of 'Old Labour' - and imagines its impact on the topsy-turvy world of the bemused teenager: a world in which a lost pair of swimming trunks can be just as devastating as an IRA bomb.
Series
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3 primary books#1 in Rotters' Club
Rotters' Club is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2001 with contributions by Jonathan Coe.
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I loved the beginning (the first 100 pages maybe), which werefluid and light. Then the endless number of characters caught up with me because not all of them are interesting, truth be told. So I felt dragged through many of their lives.
Maybe it is more relevant if you are from the 50s and relate to the Britain of the time - they were youngsters facing a bit of racism, IRA bombings, Thatcher starting, life without gadgets...
This is an enjoyable read of Britain (specifically Birmingham) in the 1970s through teenagers' eyes. From first love, strikes, riots, racism, class, terrorism, affairs, and music we get to relive those terrible times. It's probably a five-star book, but the last chapter... jeez, it's like 50 pages of stream of consciousness, one single run-on sentence, and it is hard work.
Really enjoyed this. Engrossing story about people in Birmingham, England in 1970s. Partially coming of age tale, partially focused on adults dealing with political and social issues. One of the best books I've read this year.
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