The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin MyersMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It's the summer of 1989 and two friends, Calvert and Redbone, create crop circles in the night, about one a month in rural England. Each chapter is about the crop circle they create, while interspersing something about the two men so we get to know who they are, both broken in different ways. The crop circles get more intricate with each iteration, leading up to the ultimate one, the Honeycomb Double Helix. At the end of each chapter a short news report provides a glimpse into how their crop circles are being viewed by the public.
Some farmers are not happy about their crops being disturbed, while others have taken the opportunity to showcase the circle and charge visitors to make a little extra money. No one knows who, or what, is creating these intricate designs, and the two boys have a code so they won’t be caught. Of course, UFOs and aliens, or supernatural beings, are talked about the most as how these are appearing so suddenly.
The book is mainly in exposition form, with very little dialogue. The focus is nearly entirely on the crop circles and the designs themselves. We do get a little on how each one of them live, but not an extensive look into their lives.
I really enjoyed the book but felt let down by the intrusion of climate change into the book. The further along in the story the more it took center place, and it felt forced for a book taking place over thirty years ago. This diminished the story for me. Also, I wished for a little more on their lives, what led these two to start doing this. We only know this summer wasn’t their first, and maybe not their last.
Thanks to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
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