smokes cannabis both with and without the rest of them. She likes Mary on sight and encourages her relationship with Neal. She is also happy to follow unconventional life choices and consults the I Ching throughout the novel. Koko/Godot, a black cat who belongs to Neal. Despite not being human, Koko is an important character in the book. She is not anthropomorphised, so we never "hear" her think or speak, but her behaviour towards the novel's characters is rather communicative. She also has a pseudonym (she was originally called Godot, but was renamed by the group "Koko" after a Charlie Parker song) and her presence is important symbolically owing to her close relationship with Neal. Minor characters Mary's parents, supportive and kind, but not actively involved in the plot. Lang, the uncle of a friend of the main characters, Otto Lang, (who we learn was a writer who committed suicide shortly before the novel begins). Lang is considerably older than the main characters in the book, yet is also involved with the Beat lifestyle. He enters the novel in part II, when Jack, Neal and Mary visit his house in Brighton. Claire, a friend of Mary, who only appears briefly at the start of the novel. It is she who first introduces Mary to the group. Film, TV or theatrical adaptations Beatniks is being turned into a film by Jarvis. Footnotes References Toby Litt's Website 1997 British novels Novels by Toby Litt Novels set in Bedfordshire Fiction set in 1995 Secker & Warburg books 1997 debut novels