Here, Calvert is talking to Redbone about what an island mentality is within the context of British colonialism. His bitterness, as an SAS fighter within the British military is evident. What he gains from creating crop circles with Redbone in the dead of the night becomes more apparent as the novel progresses. It is a form of therapy for him, something to focus his traumatic mind upon, a way of setting that aside for this. Depraved and decadent … His prose is beautifully controlled and so graphic it’s impossible not to picture the scenes he conjures up in striking detail. There is no hiding from the darkness because the writing is so damned good.”—Val McDermid, The Guardian

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

Mark asked, ‘Your previous novel, The Gallows Pole, has been adapted for television by Shane Meadows. How did this come about?’ The beauty of Myers’ language alone is reward enough to read this superb novel, but The Perfect Golden Circle offers so much more: an all-too-rare literary depiction of rural England, the depths of the two central characters, the class and ecological concerns; but most of all the human need for what the Welsh poet Bobi Jones called ‘the boundless mystery that comforts being.’A truly remarkable novel.” — Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author of Serena The Perfect Golden Circle staggers the reader with its wit and beauty and the power of its charged poetry. Myers offers both a soulful portrait of a friendship between two damaged, resilient men and a series of striking glimpses into war, mythology, politics, history, the natural world and art. Like the creations of its protagonists, the impressions this novel leaves are majestic, mysterious and lasting -- SAM LIPSYTEAn epic human tale that feels as if it was ripped from English folklore. One in which questions of friendship, creatiive expression, and the life purpose collde with modern British history. A must-read for every Anglophile.”—Roger Bennett, Men in Blazers, author of (Re)Born in the USA Benjamin Myers is one of my favorite British novelists working today. The Perfect Golden Circle is brilliant and breathtaking. It's a novel about the quest for beauty and mystery in a world that's falling apart around us -- WILL VLAUTIN Slowly, through the routes of thought, dialogue and confrontation, Myers bares the souls of his circle makers. Their motivations are myriad: isolation, a love of nature, separation from the land, the spirit of place, myth-making, anti-capitalist perspectives on the authorship of art, rebellion against the British political class and, most wrenchingly of all, the overwhelming need to soothe broken hearts and shattered lives.

The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers review

Benjamin Myers’ stories inMale Tearscut right to the heart of the matter. This is fiction to be taken in gulps of pleasure – full of fire and light, wisdom and violence.”—Rob Doyle Themes of British colonisation weigh heavily throughout the narrative, informed mostly by Calvert’s experiences of fighting in the Falklands war. I found this interesting within a contemporary novel, the exploration of colonialism, that is. Hand in hand with this is Calvert’s feelings against war and his disdain for the British aristocracy. Woven together, it makes for a powerful sentiment encapsulated within a poetically beautiful novel about fighting trauma and power in the most imaginative of ways.Mark began the interview by asking Benjamin about the lead characters. ‘Calvert and Redbone, the two mates that we follow in this book, who are they and what are they up to?’ A quiet, peculiar, and utterly charming novel about…crop circles … A winsome pleasure: a novel of friendship, collaboration, and environmental guerrilla art.”– Kirkus, starred review 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 Calvert and Redbone are two friends who make crop circles over the course of the summer of 1989, in the fields of Wiltshire,’ said Benjamin. ‘They kind of exist on the fringes of society and only really feel at peace when they're out in the fields at night. So the novel is set entirely over the course of ten different weekends under the covers of darkness.’ One of my books of the year … It’s the best thing Myers has done.”―Robert Macfarlane, Big Issue Books of the Year