THE CLOSED CIRCLE, by Jonathan Coe, Knopf, 367 pages, $25.
Because this novel is a sequel to "The Rotters' Club," about a group of school friends in the 1970s, Jonathan Coe includes a brief synopsis of the earlier book at the end of "The Closed Circle."
It's interesting to read the synopsis both before and after reading "The Closed Circle" — but it is not necessary to have read the first book to appreciate the second. (Although this one may prompt the reader to seek out the earlier book.)
Coe's characters are multiple, diverse, fascinating and fully developed. They also stay involved with each other's lives from their early school days through their 40s, middle age.
"The Closed Circle" is set in present-day Birmingham, England, and the characters include Benjamin and Paul Trotter, brothers who constantly clash because they are totally the opposite in temperament, ability and personality. Benjamin was expected by his peers to become a truly great writer someday, but he has never realized that potential; Paul was an irritating younger brother who is a disappointing adult due to his lack of principles, and he flounders as a member of Parliament.
Benjamin, though married, also makes the mistake of introducing to Paul a very attractive 20-year-old named Malvina, to whom Benjamin is illicitly drawn. Paul quickly steals her away. This is a peripheral story to Benjamin's lifelong crush on Cicely Boyd, who escaped England for America.
Philip Chase, who was quiet and conscientious as a youth, grows up to be a journalist, then he marries Claire Newman, but their marriage just slowly dies. Doug Anderton, another journalist, is good at what he does, but he is very prickly. Miriam Newman, Claire's older sister, disappeared when very young, and the matter, which has never been solved, continues to simmer just below the surface until it explodes.
Claire and Malvina are especially empathetic characters, demonstrating the author's astonishing ability to write in the voice of the opposite sex.
Rolf Baumann of Skagen, Denmark, met members of the Trotter family during a holiday in the late 1970s, and strangely, Paul saved him from drowning. Their lives cross again in their adulthood when Paul requests a favor from the now powerful and jaded Baumann. How can you refuse a favor from someone who saved your life?
All these compelling personalities — and others — intersect in strange and interesting ways. And due to the expertise of the author, the reader is not apt to become confused by any of the relationships. In fact, Coe is a master at creating believable characters, some of whom are more likeable than others.
The story is told with dramatic and humorous flair, with a backdrop of modern-day terrorism. Some of the story is told effectively through the use of letters from one character to another.
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.
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com