First edition
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Author | Jonathan Coe |
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Cover artist | gray318 |
Country | UK |
Language | English |
Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date
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22 February 2001 |
Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) and audio book |
Pages | 405pp (hardcover edition), 416 pp (paperback edition) |
ISBN | |
OCLC | 45338345 |
823/.914 21 | |
LC Class | PR6053.O26 R68 2001 |
Preceded by | The House of Sleep |
Followed by | The Closed Circle |
The Rotters' Club is a 2001 novel by British author Jonathan Coe, set in Birmingham during the 1970s, and inspired by the author's experiences at King Edward's School, Birmingham. The title is taken from the album The Rotters' Club by experimental rock band Hatfield and the North. In 2004 the book was followed by a sequel, The Closed Circle.
The book appears to hold the record for the longest sentence in English literature. It contains a sentence of 13,955 words. The Rotters' Club was inspired by Bohumil Hrabal's Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age: a Czech language novel that consisted of one great sentence.
Three teenage friends grow up in 1970s Britain watching their lives change as their world gets involved with IRA bombs, progressive and punk rock, girls and political strikes.
In 2003, a four-part BBC Radio 4 adaptation written by Simon Littlefield was broadcast with David Tennant playing the part of Bill Anderton and Frank Skinner as Sam Trotter. In early 2005, a three-part television adaptation written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais was broadcast on BBC Two, starring Geoff Breton as Ben Trotter, Nicholas Shaw as Doug Anderton and Rasmus Hardiker as Phillip Chase.