The Perfect Golden Circle: Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club 2022

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A second option is snorkeling or diving between the continental tectonic plates – a very unique opportunity and one that not everyone can say they have done.

The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers | Goodreads

Margie Orford Patterns in the grass: The Perfect Golden Circle, by Benjamin Myers, reviewed Intricate crop circles appear across the English countryside in the long summer of 1989, leading to fevered speculation about extraterrestrials Mark asked, ‘Your previous novel, The Gallows Pole, has been adapted for television by Shane Meadows. How did this come about?’

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This is about much more than just crop circles. It is obviously about the friendship between Redbone and Calvert. They share scraps of their lives and loves (in Redbone’s case) and the way they see society. Calvert has some reflections on his time in the army and his country: Dein erstes Buch war für mich ein Lebenslesehighlight und jetzt, mit „Der perfekte Kreis“, kann ich leider so gar nichts anfangen. The next stop on your Golden Circle Iceland itinerary is not found on most itineraries that you will come across during your research. But that should not stop you from visiting one of the best waterfalls you will come across during your trip. Book by book, over the past decade, Ben Myers has proved himself to be one of the most singular, moving, and crucial voices of our times.” — David Peace, author of the Red Riding Quartet

Perfect Golden Circle: Selected for BBC 2 Between the The Perfect Golden Circle: Selected for BBC 2 Between the

As the summer wears on, and their designs grow ever more ambitious, the two men find that their work has become a cult international sensation - and that an unlikely and beautiful friendship has taken root as the wheat ripens from green to gold. Pretty good, though the characters felt a bit flat to me and I would have liked the structure to be a bit more diverse. The next stop on the Golden Circle route is one of the largest, most powerful waterfalls you will see on your trip – Gullfoss. An exhilarating, outdoor song of hope and vision, The Perfect Golden Circle taps into something charged, ancient and elemental in England and its people -- ROB DOYLE This one sounds great, I’ll look out for it but I’m not going to reserve it at the library because the books keep coming when I don’t have time to read them…

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they tell a strange story, create a narrative. More than anything, they are something to believe in during cynical times … Hope is the human currency, and we’re spreading it about.” England, Ende der Achtziger: Redbone und Calvert, seit langem befreundet, haben nur ein Ziel - sie will den perfekten Kornkreis erschaffen. Unerkannt reisen sie durchs Land, schaffen neue Kreise, die allen mysteriös erscheinen und die viele für dumme Jungenstreiche halten. Dabei erfahren sie viel über sich selbst, über Land und Leute. Mr. Myers’s version is condensed into a single summer in 1989. His duo of crop circlers consists of Redbone, a “crust-punk” hippie who dreams up increasingly complex geometric patterns, and Calvert, a severely traumatized veteran of the Falklands War who does the legwork of finding usable fields. The odd couple is united by a complementary hatred of England and love of its land and roots. Begun as a lark, the crop circles provide them a lifeline. Their shared code is to “fuel the myth and strive for beauty.”

Perfect Golden Circle : Benjamin Myers: Signed by the The Perfect Golden Circle : Benjamin Myers: Signed by the

Bathed in moonlight, Myers’s land thrums with more ancient reverberations, too. There is, he writes, “an under-England, a chthonic place of hidden rivers and buried relics, of the bones of extinct animals and battle-slain bodies”. His main characters are acutely aware of it – their industry, it’s hinted, flows from it – and the humbling sense of perspective this confers is balm and inspiration. Redbone und Calvert sind zwei Freunde, wie sie unterschiedlicher nicht sein können. Aber das ist ja – zumeist – eine gute Basis für eine Freundschaft. Denn bei allen Unterschieden gibt es natürlich auch Gemeinsamkeiten; so ihre Liebe zur Natur, zur Freiheit – und zur Erschaffung von Kornkreisen. Sie wollen den „perfekten Kreis“ gestalten, obwohl Myers seinen Protagonisten Redbone sagen lässt:

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If this wonderfully strange book does have a structure, it’s the succession of ever-magnifying crop circles, from the intermediate Alton Kellet Pathway to the earth-shattering Honeycomb Double Helix. Interspersed with these are a series of hilarious newspaper reports, describing the chaos and wonder left behind by Redbone and Calvert as they continue on their quest. Every once in a while, we see Calvert sitting in his tiny hovel of a home, watching the TV reports of his latest creation. Parts of this novel are palpably funny, yet I was often unsure whether to laugh or cry. That Myers can conjure up such empathy with his two middle-aged recluses is a measure of his particular skill. If you are planning on being in Iceland for more than a couple days and/or want to explore more places outside of Reykavik, odds are you will want to rent your own car. Myers’ short story ‘The Folk Song Singer’ was awarded the Tom-Gallon Prize in 2014 by the Society Of Authors and published by Galley Beggar Press. His short stories and poetry have appeared in dozens of anthologies.

Perfect Golden Circle | The Croppie Books: The Perfect Golden Circle | The Croppie

For any croppie prepared to entertain the idea that human circle makers are more than devils, The Perfect Golden Circle is a delightful read. Pseuds may quibble over Myers’ frequently inaccurate representation of circle making methodology and logistics, but this is irrelevant. What matters is his deserved status as a masterful storyteller, one who enlivens his readership through the detail and tenderness he affords his main characters. Indeed, Calvert and Redbone are, at heart, very similar to the circle makers of today … real people from the margins with emotions, strengths and failings. Without them and their code of silence there will be one fewer type of magic in this world. Should that day come we at least have The Perfect Golden Circle to remember them by. A strange, magical extraordinary book. It's so atmospheric, so strange and affecting. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it before, and I'm not sure how Myers has made it work, but he has - I was totally gripped by this -- JENN ASHWORTH The best writer in the UK expands his range once again with another first class novel which will be just as surprising to fans as The Offing proved. Two men - SAS veteran Calvert and a sort of old hippy (though he'd likely be offended at the description), Redbone - roam the fields of rural England creating elaborate, revolutionary crop circles. Oder auch: "Als eine grosse Wolke vorbeizieht, wird das Licht flüssig, als würde geschmolzenes Metall über das Land gegossen. Hoch über den Männern kreisen und lodern und brennen Planeten, und unter dem imaginären Zwergmond des ruhigen silbernen Getreides huschen kleine Säugetiere durch das subterranen Reich." The glue that holds this story together is the relationship and development of our two protagonists. We're treated to a small cast, two ageing men. Calvert, who is a traumatized veteran and Redbone a chaotic, rogue who is troubled in his own way by the visions he has which they transfer to the canvas of the fields in their nightly raids. We get to know these characters over the course of the book, we walk alongside them as they chat the fat. They were strangers at the story's opening and by the conclusion, they have become dear friends and we are completely and utterly invested in their lives.

There are aspects of The Perfect Golden Circle that flow through many of his novels - poetic prose, beautiful descriptions of the landscape, subtle social commentary.