I've just found the BBC site devoted to the adaptation of the novel. It's interesting to read author Jonathan Coe's comments about the series, and also about the sequel -
In any case most of The Closed Circle was planned at the same time as The Rotters' Club, in the late 1990s. It was always my intention that the two books should go together - they're inseparable, in fact, because after you've finished The Closed Circle, you realise that several things about the story in The Rotters' Club were not as you believed them to be. The second book re-writes the first one, if you like.
This was a bit tough on Dick and Ian, because they were slightly in the dark about some of the plot developments in The Closed Circle, which I wanted to keep close to my chest. But in the end, of course, I had to let them in on the secrets.
But there's no comment by Coe on the fact that almost the entire third part of the tv show contained scenes invented by 'Dick and Ian', which in some cases totally perverted the story as presented in the book.
I've seen many dramatisations of books which I've read; normally I have read the books before I see the film, but there have been a few the other way round. And normally the book is much better than the film, for obvious reasons, although there are times when it's neck and neck. Apart from the obvious differences (a book generally will have richer language), books tend to be more open about interpretation whereas films tend to be much more obvious in their intention.
There was a lovely dramatisation done by the BBC a few years ago called 'Happy Birthday, Shakespeare'. One big advantage going for the screen version was that one of the protagonists was a bus driver for a tourist firm, so of course the locations were excellent. That was a fairly close adaptation of the book by Mark Wallington, although there was one big difference at a critical point (where Will holds up the tourist coach dressed as Robin Hood). The review at imdb correctly asks why that scene even exists; one has to read the book to get the answer (Will needs money in order to improve his family's life).
Of course there are compromises over length and scope of books, which are perfectly understandable. Whilst John Le Carre might set an opening scene of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' in Hong Kong, the budget will only stretch to filming in Portugal (which might have been the Pinewood back lot for all I know).
Then there are the films which make understandable what is to modern palates turgid prose (think Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy et al.). I doff my hat to those scriptwriters.
This was a bit tough on Dick and Ian, because they were slightly in the dark about some of the plot developments in The Closed Circle, which I wanted to keep close to my chest. But in the end, of course, I had to let them in on the secrets.
But there's no comment by Coe on the fact that almost the entire third part of the tv show contained scenes invented by 'Dick and Ian', which in some cases totally perverted the story as presented in the book.
I've seen many dramatisations of books which I've read; normally I have read the books before I see the film, but there have been a few the other way round. And normally the book is much better than the film, for obvious reasons, although there are times when it's neck and neck. Apart from the obvious differences (a book generally will have richer language), books tend to be more open about interpretation whereas films tend to be much more obvious in their intention.
There was a lovely dramatisation done by the BBC a few years ago called 'Happy Birthday, Shakespeare'. One big advantage going for the screen version was that one of the protagonists was a bus driver for a tourist firm, so of course the locations were excellent. That was a fairly close adaptation of the book by Mark Wallington, although there was one big difference at a critical point (where Will holds up the tourist coach dressed as Robin Hood). The review at imdb correctly asks why that scene even exists; one has to read the book to get the answer (Will needs money in order to improve his family's life).
Of course there are compromises over length and scope of books, which are perfectly understandable. Whilst John Le Carre might set an opening scene of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' in Hong Kong, the budget will only stretch to filming in Portugal (which might have been the Pinewood back lot for all I know).
Then there are the films which make understandable what is to modern palates turgid prose (think Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy et al.). I doff my hat to those scriptwriters.
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