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The Rotters' Club
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
15 posts | 23 read | 18 to read
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.
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Blueroseis
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Pickpick

Containing sad, happy and thoughtful moments along with subtle humour I found areas of it slow and depressing. Reading it left me, in a way, angry. The fact that it concentrated on a school for the 'elite' rather than a secondary modern, what I recalled of my schooldays didn't match the storyline in the slightest. The violence that the pickets experienced wasn't all one sided so maybe this book was a little bias. It was certainly worth reading.

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MrB1
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Pickpick

What a wonderful book! I love the way that it was written. A great story of relationships that highlight the pain, joy and adventure of growing up. Much of this story would resonate with all human beings. The following is a song from the mind of Benjamin Trotter; ‘Mirthless merriment, sickly sentiments. So commonplace, it would bore you to tears. Give me non-stop laughter, dispel disaster. Or the Rotters‘ Club might well lop off your ears.‘

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MrB1
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Time for something different. Put philosophy aside for a while to get lost in some adventures. I‘m looking forward to this one as I grew up in the punk scene.

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Ambl1966
Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Back to this then, I‘ve decided to re read the first two before I get onto Middle England.

BarbaraBB Coe is a favorite of mine! 5y
5 likes1 comment
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squirrelbrain
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Pickpick

Loved this novel about 4 friends growing up in Birmingham in the 1970s. It‘s an epic, sweeping through politics, terrorism, and the music of the age, but also intimate too. I couldn‘t stop reading and didn‘t want it to end.

Thanks for gifting it to me @jhod 😘

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

jhod Hurray!! xxx 5y
TrishB This one is great too 5y
59 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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squirrelbrain
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Here‘s my #weeklyforecast for the first week of December....

About halfway through Rotters and loving it so far. If I can read the Simon Reeve then I can pass it onto hubby and he can read it over Christmas. 4 books left to go in the Penguin Moderns; one of my challenges this year is to read all fifty of them.

I‘m sure there‘ll be something on Kindle too, but not sure what yet....

rockpools Interested to hear your review for the Simon Reeve. He‘s done some really interesting stuff! 5y
Cinfhen Ohhhh!! Reaching goals🙌🏻💕 5y
batsy I loved The Rotters' Club! Remember flying through it, didn't want to put it down 🙂 5y
TrishB Good plan 👍🏻 5y
writerlibrarian I read The Rotters‘ Club in a day. It was that good. I was on Holiday but still one day read. 5y
64 likes5 comments
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BarbaraBB
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Pickpick

Such a sparkling novel about a group of friends at a renowned school in Birmingham, England. They are the editors of the school newspaper in the turbulent seventies. Strikes and politics paralyze the country (not unlike today‘s England…), the IRA is terrorizing the city, and the boys discover pop music and love. Coe as always writes funny with a serious undertone.

batsy I might have said this multiple times before, but I really enjoyed this book! 😆 5y
Tanisha_A Sounds so good! 5y
Cinfhen I stacked this a few weeks ago based on a recommendation from @arlenefinnigan 💚 5y
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arlenefinnigan Love this book! 5y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Everyone does 😉, @arlenefinnigan is very convincing 🤪 5y
ValerieAndBooks This is in my TBR!! 5y
70 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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squirrelbrain
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Look what‘s just arrived @jhod ! Thank you so much - this is one that I stacked when I was hosting the challenge last month.... I think based on the recommendation of @arlenefinnigan ! I love this cover too....

arlenefinnigan One of my favourite books ever. My copy has woodchip wallpaper for the cover 😂 5y
BarbaraBB What a coincidence. I also just started this book, based on @arlenefinnigan ‘s recommendation! 5y
jhod Happy Birthday! 😘 5y
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squirrelbrain How funny @BarbaraBB ! We could have done a buddy read, but i‘m already reading two other books... 🤷‍♀️ 5y
BarbaraBB It‘s no buddy read material I think. It is the kind of book you can‘t stop reading once you start it! 😘 (edited) 5y
squirrelbrain Look forward to it @BarbaraBB ... see how good it sounds @jhod - thank you! 😘 5y
77 likes1 stack add6 comments
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arlenefinnigan
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Claire's sister Miriam going #Missing is one of the many interwoven plot threads in this book. It's brilliant. #AyUpAugust @squirrelbrain @Cinfhen

squirrelbrain Another one to add onto the TBR list! 5y
Cinfhen Maybe I‘ll look for this book today on my book shopping date with @MicheleinPhilly xx 5y
CarolynM Great book! 5y
37 likes1 stack add3 comments
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arlenefinnigan
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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BarbaraBB Ooh I want to read this one too! Is it good? 6y
Cinfhen I still need to get to this book! Thanks for the reminder 🤓 6y
arlenefinnigan @BarbaraBB it's brilliant. Couldn't put it down. 6y
batsy @BarbaraBB I loved it! 6y
BarbaraBB @batsy @arlenefinnigan So good to know! I loved some of his other books! 6y
42 likes5 comments
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arlenefinnigan
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Cinfhen Ohhh, maybe I can use this for #pop19 #SetAtUni (edited) 6y
arlenefinnigan @Cinfhen this is set in high school. It's a fantastic book, Jonathan Coe is such a good writer. 6y
batsy @arlenefinnigan @Cinfhen Agreed, it's a fabulous read! 6y
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Cinfhen Darn!!! All my set at school books are in HS 😝 6y
BarbaraBB I just bought this one after loving his House of Sleep! 6y
Billypar I like the sound of this one! (I initially read the title as 'The Coe Rotters' Club' and was briefly confused 😂). 6y
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arlenefinnigan
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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CarolynM Good choice👏👏👏 7y
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ValerieAndBooks
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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Today's #tattoo prompt reminded me I have these two Penguin Ink covers. I don't know how many covers there are now, but they're all designed by tattoo artists. The Rotters' Club is TBR, and I've already read Bridget Jones's Diary but couldn't resist this cover. For the record I have no tattoos, nor any interest in getting any 😊. I do have 11 piercings (all on my ears).

Minervasbutler Loved The Rotter's Club and its sequel! 7y
swishandflick I have that copy of Bridget Jones too! Love it ♥️ 7y
Cinfhen Those are both gorgeous editions 💕🙌🏻love it!!!! 7y
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moarbookspleaze Lovely covers 7y
DebinHawaii I'm coveting the Bridget Jones's Diary cover! ❤️ 7y
arlenefinnigan @Minervasbutler same! Couldn't put them down. 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess I have the Bridget Jones and love it. I think that there are eight covers. 7y
batsy I loved The Rotters Club! Agree with @arlenefinnigan, it was thoroughly absorbing. 7y
ReadingEnvy I love the Penguin Ink covers 7y
ValerieAndBooks @Minervasbutler there's a sequel?? Good to know!! 7y
ValerieAndBooks @swishandflick now I just need to read from this copy 😊 7y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen now I think I need to find the other Penguin Ink covers 😄! 7y
ValerieAndBooks @moarbookspleaze I love the colors and designs on these! 7y
ValerieAndBooks @DebinHawaii sure is better than the movie tie-in one that I had given away before coming across this cover 😊! 7y
ValerieAndBooks @arlenefinnigan @Minervasbutler @batsy I will have to move this higher up my TBR, then. I found it used and the cover was actually what caught my eye! Have not read anything else by Coe yet. 7y
ValerieAndBooks @Graciouswarriorprincess were you able to find a comprehensive list? I haven't yet, but it does look like about eight. 7y
ValerieAndBooks @ReadingEnvy so do I, and looking at my two together yesterday makes me want them all now 😆!! 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess @ValerieAndBooks only on Amazon. I think it was only those eight. 7y
82 likes2 stack adds18 comments
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arlenefinnigan
The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
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#booktober #BookSetInASchool
well a lot of it is, anyway. brilliant book.

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review
writerlibrarian
Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe
Pickpick

This portrayal of England in the 1970 in a working-class blue collar town is both fascinating and somewhat foreign. We follow the teenage years of a group of friends Benjamin the writer, Philip the historian, Doug the leader, Harding, the joker. Coe succeeds in making us care about the love triangles, the angst, the deception all mirrored in their parents lives also. Adultery, depression, violence are all part of their lives. Really good. 👍👍