Scala Radio Book Club: The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
A captivating novel about the futility of war, the destruction of the English countryside, class inequality – and the power of beauty to heal trauma and fight power
Last updated 17th Aug 2022
On Thursday 12th May, Mark Forrest invited journalist and writer Benjamin Myers into the Scala Radio Book Club, to chat about his brand-new novel The Perfect Golden Circle.
England, 1989. Over the course of a burning hot summer, two very different men – traumatized Falklands veteran Calvert, and affable, chaotic Redbone – set out nightly in a clapped-out camper van to undertake an extraordinary project.
Under cover of darkness, the two men traverse the fields of rural England in secret, forming crop circles in elaborate and mysterious patterns. 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.
The Perfect Golden Circle is an exhilarating and moving novel, about the futility of war, the destruction of the English countryside, class inequality – and the power of beauty to heal trauma and fight power.
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?’
‘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.’
Mark asked, ‘You don't explain in the book exactly how Calvert and Redbone first became pals, but it becomes clear they do have quite an emotional bond, although on the surface they are very different. What has drawn these two together?’
‘As you say, they are very different characters, but they're both united by this common goal to create something beautiful and awe-inspiring, but also mysterious,’ said Benjamin. ‘I was drawn to the idea of crop circles by the fact that the power of them, is their anonymity. We still don’t really know who make crop circles. Some of the mystery has gone today, thanks to explanations and the internet, but back in 1989, it's easy to forget how mysterious a phenomenon it was. The newspapers at the time were full of stories of UFOs and alien visitation.’
Mark asked, ‘You've worked previously as a music journalist. I wonder, was that always the ambition, or was writing novels always your aspiration?’
‘I got very lucky. I became a music journalist at the age of 20, and then somehow walked straight into a staff writer position at the age of 21. I spent all my twenties and much of my thirties travelling the world and interviewing rockstars, pop stars and rappers. But all the while, I was always writing fiction and poetry and short stories, and I was secretly plotting an exit strategy so that I might be able to write novels full time. And it's taken until now, really, until my mid-forties to be able to do that.’
Mark asked, ‘Your previous novel, The Gallows Pole, has been adapted for television by Shane Meadows. How did this come about?’
‘It came about through fairly traditional methods. The book was read by a production company that started talking to directors. I just assumed more likely than not, it wouldn't get anywhere. I then got a phone call one day saying, we have a director on board, and it was Shane Meadows. At which point I put my hand over to the receiver and did a big “whoop!”, purely because Shane is probably my favourite contemporary film director! I mean, I've said to people that this is akin to winning the lottery for me, and it really is!’
Find out about more Scala Radio Book Club guests here >>
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