RARA-AVIS: Recent read - 1980

From: Scatalogic@aol.com
Date: 22 Jun 2003


Hello list.

While on my hols I thought I'd lighten the mood of despair that hung over the North Waleian mountains by immersing myself in the nightmare that was Yorkshire in 1980 - serial murder, police corruption, heavy drinking and porn and the like. I heartily reccomend 1980 by David Peace - now with jacket praise from Mr Pellecanos. It's the third in his Yorkshire quartet, all date names, which I can't remember. Sadly, as it was so long since I'd read the preceeding novel, which was borrowed, I'm pretty sure I missed some reccurrent plot points, but was again knocked out by his superb dark writing and very real nightmare view of a specific part of the UK. In the previous novel, I thought he took his Ellroyesque stream of thought writing too far, here he seems to have reigned it in. A superb and super noir read - being my age and nationality it had particular resonance as I remember the period in question and the nation-wide pall cast by the Yorkshire Ripper. I'm sure non-UK readers will also love it. In my opinion the best current Brit crime author.

Oh, yeah and it rained a lot in Wales as well! Iach y da all Colin

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