What do you think?
Rate this book
GB84
The 1984 miners' strike brought to vivid, painful and dramatic life by David Peace. Here he describes the entire civil war, with corruption from government to boardroom, and all the tumultuous violence, passion and dirty tricks.
465 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
102 people are currently reading
1,739 people want to read
About the author
David Peace
35books516followersDavid Peace was born in 1967 and grew up in Ossett, near Wakefield. He left Manchester Polytechnic in 1991, and went to Istanbul to teach English. In 1994 he took up a teaching post in Tokyo and now lives there with his family.
His formative years were shadowed by the activities of the Yorkshire Ripper, and this had a profound influence on him which led to a strong interest in crime. His quartet of Red Riding books grew from this obsession with the dark side of Yorkshire. These are powerful novels of crime and police corruption, using the Yorkshire Ripper as their basis and inspiration. They are entitled Nineteen Seventy-Four, (1999), Nineteen Seventy-Seven (2000), Nineteen Eighty (2001), and Nineteen Eighty-Three (2002), and have been translated into French, Italian, German and Japanese.
In 2003 David Peace was named by Granta magazine as one of twenty "Best Young British Novelists." His novel GB84, set during the 1984 miners' strike, was published in 2005.
from contemporarywriters.com
His formative years were shadowed by the activities of the Yorkshire Ripper, and this had a profound influence on him which led to a strong interest in crime. His quartet of Red Riding books grew from this obsession with the dark side of Yorkshire. These are powerful novels of crime and police corruption, using the Yorkshire Ripper as their basis and inspiration. They are entitled Nineteen Seventy-Four, (1999), Nineteen Seventy-Seven (2000), Nineteen Eighty (2001), and Nineteen Eighty-Three (2002), and have been translated into French, Italian, German and Japanese.
In 2003 David Peace was named by Granta magazine as one of twenty "Best Young British Novelists." His novel GB84, set during the 1984 miners' strike, was published in 2005.
from contemporarywriters.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
August 22, 2019
No sé muy bien qué decir de esta novela, porque a mí en realidad me han parecido dos. Una me ha gustado mucho, centrada en el día a día de dos mineros durante la huelga y los planes de Stephen Sweet (llamado el Judío) por parte del Gobierno para desbaratarla y destruir el sindicato de mineros, y la otra... digamos que he entendido como el 90% de la trama, pero aún así no sé a qué viene gran parte de la misma ("Cruz de navajas" de Mecano, pero con trama de espías contada de forma muy poco clara).
El estilo de David Peace es denso y abruma mucho lo que está contando, todo el sufrimiento que padecen los personajes, y esto también ha sido un "acierto o error" según los casos. Me servía muy bien para conectar con Martin, por ejemplo, pero se me hacía cuesta arriba cuando Peace narra la trama de juego sucio de los servicios de inteligencia. Creo que al final he entendido la mayor parte de ella, pero la verdad es que me da igual y personalmente me sobra en la novela. Sobre todo porque los dos personajes femeninos en esta trama no son personajes (no digamos ya personas), una de ellas no es más que un Macguffin.
Y luego está Terry Winters. No sé qué pensar de Terry Winters. La verdad es que no. Durante gran parte de la novela me sacaba de la historia porque no sabía de qué palo iba. Luego hacia la página 400 y pico me di cuenta de que era idiota. Y luego al final... Bueno, el final, eso ya me dejó a cuadros.
Digamos que ese personaje es el culpable de que la novela no me haya convencido del todo. Porque otras cosas me han encantado: cómo los mineros narran la huelga, los juegos del Gobierno y el sindicato de mineros para ganar la partida, lo actual que es por lo que significó para los derechos laborales y las "nuevas" (aunque no realmente) formas de explotación laboral que estamos sufriendo hoy día. Es una novela muy interesante que cuanta cosas muy interesantes, pero Terry Winters y la historia de los dos espías (o lo que sean) que me da igual. Una de cal y otra de arena, supongo. Aún así me ha resultado una lectura muy interesante y aún la tengo en la cabeza, lo que creo que es una buena cosa.
El estilo de David Peace es denso y abruma mucho lo que está contando, todo el sufrimiento que padecen los personajes, y esto también ha sido un "acierto o error" según los casos. Me servía muy bien para conectar con Martin, por ejemplo, pero se me hacía cuesta arriba cuando Peace narra la trama de juego sucio de los servicios de inteligencia. Creo que al final he entendido la mayor parte de ella, pero la verdad es que me da igual y personalmente me sobra en la novela. Sobre todo porque los dos personajes femeninos en esta trama no son personajes (no digamos ya personas), una de ellas no es más que un Macguffin.
Y luego está Terry Winters. No sé qué pensar de Terry Winters. La verdad es que no. Durante gran parte de la novela me sacaba de la historia porque no sabía de qué palo iba. Luego hacia la página 400 y pico me di cuenta de que era idiota. Y luego al final... Bueno, el final, eso ya me dejó a cuadros.
Digamos que ese personaje es el culpable de que la novela no me haya convencido del todo. Porque otras cosas me han encantado: cómo los mineros narran la huelga, los juegos del Gobierno y el sindicato de mineros para ganar la partida, lo actual que es por lo que significó para los derechos laborales y las "nuevas" (aunque no realmente) formas de explotación laboral que estamos sufriendo hoy día. Es una novela muy interesante que cuanta cosas muy interesantes, pero Terry Winters y la historia de los dos espías (o lo que sean) que me da igual. Una de cal y otra de arena, supongo. Aún así me ha resultado una lectura muy interesante y aún la tengo en la cabeza, lo que creo que es una buena cosa.
August 24, 2017
This could have been a really interesting, but the author wrote it in the most boring and uninformative way possible. Almost no information is given so we know little about who the people are, why they are doing what they do and worst of all, why we should care.
To give an example, most of the book is in this style:
Robert boiled the kettle. He took out a cup. He put a teabag in the cup. He poured the hot water into the cup. Robert made a cup of tea.
Entire chapters are written like this, describing mundane activities in the most dull way. I slogged through this book for a long while before realising that it wasn't worth it. I have a huge interest in the history of the miners strike, but I just couldn't care about the plot (if there even was one).
I also didn't like how one character was referred to almost entirely as "the Jew" and this title was repeated a dozen times on every page. The religion of no other character was mentioned.
To give an example, most of the book is in this style:
Robert boiled the kettle. He took out a cup. He put a teabag in the cup. He poured the hot water into the cup. Robert made a cup of tea.
Entire chapters are written like this, describing mundane activities in the most dull way. I slogged through this book for a long while before realising that it wasn't worth it. I have a huge interest in the history of the miners strike, but I just couldn't care about the plot (if there even was one).
I also didn't like how one character was referred to almost entirely as "the Jew" and this title was repeated a dozen times on every page. The religion of no other character was mentioned.
November 14, 2017
I'm sort of in two minds about this book. I can firmly say I didn't enjoy it in the slightest. The form and how Peace played with language made it infuriating to read, as well as the constant switching between subplots confused me further. BUT, I think it's a book that I'll reference and remember because it explores the lives of miners in such a grisly, hardcore, vulgar but real way. The ending is this book's saving grace for me. It leaves you with a sinking feeling of irresolution and the events are so vague that it makes you question whether you understood the book at all, but it's very clever, reflects the feelings at the time and the poetry at the end is simply fabulous.
If you want to read about miner's strike and can tolerate his insufferable form, I would recommend it. Be prepared to allow a good weekend to it, it's not an easy read.
If you want to read about miner's strike and can tolerate his insufferable form, I would recommend it. Be prepared to allow a good weekend to it, it's not an easy read.
January 27, 2011
David Peace makes a powerful, angry, ominous, and forbidding monument of a novel of the �84 UK Miner’s strike (which was an equivalent labor defeat to the �85 Pan Am strike, but more violent and filled with drama.). If you aren’t in the right frame of mind, this frantic and wonderful read might seem like apocalyptic mumblings from a scary bum or a newscast from hell rather than a proper novel. Peace takes from John Dos Passo, Iain Sinclair, and James Ellroy and intertwines multiples narratives and characters, real and imagined events (the Brighton bombing and tensions with Libya), surveillance reports, and the execrable pop music of the era( from the apocalyptic �99 Red Balloons� to this wonderful excerpt from the banal all-star Africa tribute “Do they know its Christmas�, “There is world outside your window, and it’s a world of dread and fear.� A great phrase for all of Peace’s work). Here is a novel with influences ranging from Frankie goes to Hollywood to Zola albeit fairly relentless and grim one mired in corruption and violence, but it is worthwhile one, and one about an important event that has shaped our world.
October 2, 2016
This political thriller by David Peace is incredibly compelling. Combining two genres, the memoir and the classic relistic novel form, he inserts the reader violently into the troubled era of the Miners' Strike in 1984-85 Britain . The author, with his staccato voice, recounts the events in short brief sentences as if he is panting, carrying the reader along the journey. The dialogue is fragmented, and linearity is very often disturbed in favour of a simultaneous and multi- level narration. We are sucked into the Thatcherite era and the strike in a cinematic, almost real-life way. I would definitely recommend it !
March 21, 2012
Ah, it was OK. Nothing amazing here. The comaprisons to are a massive compliment as, if anything, this is Ellroy extra-lite.
I enjoyed the one Red Riding book that i've found so far but this felt a little lightweight and I couldn't help but get enraged at the amount of story that seemed to be missed as Peace jumps from one storyline to another, telling none of them fully and leaving you to assume events from later dialogue. And that's really where I was disappointed, the novel seemed to be all reaction and no action with very little in the way of historical education. I know as little about the miners strike now as I did before I started the book.
I guess I should read an actual historical study instead of fiction if I want to learn something but the very best historial fiction does both, witness .
I enjoyed the one Red Riding book that i've found so far but this felt a little lightweight and I couldn't help but get enraged at the amount of story that seemed to be missed as Peace jumps from one storyline to another, telling none of them fully and leaving you to assume events from later dialogue. And that's really where I was disappointed, the novel seemed to be all reaction and no action with very little in the way of historical education. I know as little about the miners strike now as I did before I started the book.
I guess I should read an actual historical study instead of fiction if I want to learn something but the very best historial fiction does both, witness .
May 13, 2018
📚La novela se mueve entre la sutil línea de la ficción y la realidad .Con un ritmo lento y certero .
📍De un lado la parte novelada que se lee en forma de columnas y se apoya en hechos históricos .La más “real”acompañamos a los mineros durante 365 días...si día a día.
Se basa en la huelga que paralizó la industria del carbón en 1984 en Gran Bretaña.
🇬🇧 La derrota final de los huelguistas que debilitó el movimiento sindical británico.Se vivió como una victoria de la Primera Ministra y líder del partido conservador Margaret Thatcher.
🤔Pero que victoria se consigue con manipulación de prensa,violencia,detenciones por “alteración del orden público �.Familias aterrorizadas ,luchando por comer.Esto es lo que nos plasma Peace . 📚Por otra parte tenemos la parte al más puro estilo novela negra:espionaje,intereses,sexo. Entremezclado con la base de la novela:fines políticos y económicos,huelgas,sindicatos,piquetes ,esquiroles ,estribadores ,policías .
🖋La pluma es lenta,repetitiva...no repetitiva es un sentido de repetir hechos,los que lo hayáis leído me entenderéis.Sus frases se encadenan,se repiten y crean una atmósfera,la de la opresión vivida en los hechos reales.
No es un libro de lectura ágil ,pero sin duda merece la pena.Te obliga a querer saber más de la dureza de una realidad histórica y a ser consciente mediante la objetividad que da el paso del tiempo de cómo se nos maquilla la realidad política en muchas ocasiones.Casi 700 páginas que dan mucho en que pensar.
❤️El momento dulce lo tuve cuando me encuentro con una alusión a mi querido Dickens,David Peace de forma magistral introduce a Scrooge y al fantasma de las Navidades futuras como una metáfora de la posibilidad que tenemos de cambiar el futuro.
📌�...no estamos presenciando el fascismo de Hitler o Mussolini ,ni la dictadura militar de un Pinochet o un Franco,sino la creación de una democracia controlada,una forma de fascismo respetable ,una mezcla de valores victorianos de Tacher y técnicas modernas.Un granhermanismo orwelliano en el que se mantiene a trabajadores mientras sepan dónde está su sitio :al fondo del montón�.
📍De un lado la parte novelada que se lee en forma de columnas y se apoya en hechos históricos .La más “real”acompañamos a los mineros durante 365 días...si día a día.
Se basa en la huelga que paralizó la industria del carbón en 1984 en Gran Bretaña.
🇬🇧 La derrota final de los huelguistas que debilitó el movimiento sindical británico.Se vivió como una victoria de la Primera Ministra y líder del partido conservador Margaret Thatcher.
🤔Pero que victoria se consigue con manipulación de prensa,violencia,detenciones por “alteración del orden público �.Familias aterrorizadas ,luchando por comer.Esto es lo que nos plasma Peace . 📚Por otra parte tenemos la parte al más puro estilo novela negra:espionaje,intereses,sexo. Entremezclado con la base de la novela:fines políticos y económicos,huelgas,sindicatos,piquetes ,esquiroles ,estribadores ,policías .
🖋La pluma es lenta,repetitiva...no repetitiva es un sentido de repetir hechos,los que lo hayáis leído me entenderéis.Sus frases se encadenan,se repiten y crean una atmósfera,la de la opresión vivida en los hechos reales.
No es un libro de lectura ágil ,pero sin duda merece la pena.Te obliga a querer saber más de la dureza de una realidad histórica y a ser consciente mediante la objetividad que da el paso del tiempo de cómo se nos maquilla la realidad política en muchas ocasiones.Casi 700 páginas que dan mucho en que pensar.
❤️El momento dulce lo tuve cuando me encuentro con una alusión a mi querido Dickens,David Peace de forma magistral introduce a Scrooge y al fantasma de las Navidades futuras como una metáfora de la posibilidad que tenemos de cambiar el futuro.
📌�...no estamos presenciando el fascismo de Hitler o Mussolini ,ni la dictadura militar de un Pinochet o un Franco,sino la creación de una democracia controlada,una forma de fascismo respetable ,una mezcla de valores victorianos de Tacher y técnicas modernas.Un granhermanismo orwelliano en el que se mantiene a trabajadores mientras sepan dónde está su sitio :al fondo del montón�.
July 3, 2018
Lo cierto es que esperaba más. Había leído otro título del autor del que salí más que contenta y este tenía tan buenas opiniones que al final me ha dejado buen sabor de boca pero no ha sido deslumbrante
November 26, 2020
GB84 son dos novelas en un solo volumen. En una que explora el conflicto social de los mineros británicos contra el cierre de algunas minas decretadas por el gobierno de la liberal Margaret Tatcher en 1984. La otra novela es de corte negro. En el marco del conflicto se produce un asesinato. Si bien ambas narraciones comparten el mismo tratamiento: una construcción mediante sensaciones, el resultado, en uno y otro caso, es muy desigual. El conflicto minero es una buena obra. A veces, puede ser tediosa, del mismo modo que debió ser una huelga de más de un año de duración. Se exponen los distintos sufrimientos, la evolución en la resistencia, los medios y los titubeos. David Paice profundiza en todos los caminos. Pero lo hace a través de el marque leve de las sensaciones. Es el lector el que debe encargarse de unir los puntos, de construir el dibujo de lo que representó el conflicto para parte de la sociedad británica.
�
Si acaso, patina un poco esta novela con el personaje de El judío. El malo malísimo. El encargado en la sombra por Tatcher de boicotear la resistencia minera. Más allá de servir al poder y de su ideología anticomunista desconocemos los motivos que lo empujan a actuar de la manera en que lo hace, el afán por destruir. Es un personaje de segunda en una novela de primeras.
La otra novela es vaga. Poco sabemos de la comisión de un asesinato. Y poco sabemos, pese a que el personaje que lo comete no deja de aparecer. Transcurren las páginas y la sensación no desaparece.
Más allá de las propias páginas, Paice subraya la importancia de un hecho histórico, como el principio de un cambio de paradigma económico, el neoliberalismo, que alcanza hasta día de hoy y que es el impulsor y culpable de la crisis económica global de 2008.
De todos los puntos de la novela, me quedo con la resistencia de los mineros de a pie, los soldados rasos. Nada que ver con los líderes sindicales y otros destacados actores sociales. Esa resistencia llevada hasta el extremo más que por los objetivos a conseguir, para evitar ser considerado un esquirol y perder el respeto de la comunidad.
"Huelguista 360 días, esquirol 1 día y serás recordado como un esquirol".
�
Si acaso, patina un poco esta novela con el personaje de El judío. El malo malísimo. El encargado en la sombra por Tatcher de boicotear la resistencia minera. Más allá de servir al poder y de su ideología anticomunista desconocemos los motivos que lo empujan a actuar de la manera en que lo hace, el afán por destruir. Es un personaje de segunda en una novela de primeras.
La otra novela es vaga. Poco sabemos de la comisión de un asesinato. Y poco sabemos, pese a que el personaje que lo comete no deja de aparecer. Transcurren las páginas y la sensación no desaparece.
Más allá de las propias páginas, Paice subraya la importancia de un hecho histórico, como el principio de un cambio de paradigma económico, el neoliberalismo, que alcanza hasta día de hoy y que es el impulsor y culpable de la crisis económica global de 2008.
De todos los puntos de la novela, me quedo con la resistencia de los mineros de a pie, los soldados rasos. Nada que ver con los líderes sindicales y otros destacados actores sociales. Esa resistencia llevada hasta el extremo más que por los objetivos a conseguir, para evitar ser considerado un esquirol y perder el respeto de la comunidad.
"Huelguista 360 días, esquirol 1 día y serás recordado como un esquirol".
June 14, 2013
GB84 is a novel about the Miners Strike that took place in Great Britain between March 1984 and March 1985. It is not a straightforward retelling of the events that took place over that year but rather a fictionalised account of the time and certain events that happened during the strike.
The book has a large cast of characters from striking miners, to members of the national union of miners, to policemen and members of the special services, government ministers.
The narrative is sprawling, taking the reader on a journey through the strike itself and how it affected all of the players in the novel. The novel is unremittingly grim, much like the time itself, and you really get a feeling of what it must have been like in those dark times, and it is hard to believe that it was only thirty years ago, as a lot of what is said in this book is still relevant today.
I only know little bits of what happened during the miners strike as I was only 9 years old at the time and have only read about it after the event but I am not sure that I know much more than I did before apart from the sheer brutality of some of the events and how it ripped families and communities apart.
As a bit of a lefty myself I found myself more sympathetic to the miners and the unions than I were to a lot of the other characters in the book, especially the government types.
The writing style was different and did take a bit of getting used to but once you were used to it, it really worked and it started to actually be quite hypnotic.
If you want an idea of what it might have been like back in those days, and the atmosphere of the times then read this book, but, if you want a factual account of the strike, then read one of the books that is listed at the back of the book instead.
The book has a large cast of characters from striking miners, to members of the national union of miners, to policemen and members of the special services, government ministers.
The narrative is sprawling, taking the reader on a journey through the strike itself and how it affected all of the players in the novel. The novel is unremittingly grim, much like the time itself, and you really get a feeling of what it must have been like in those dark times, and it is hard to believe that it was only thirty years ago, as a lot of what is said in this book is still relevant today.
I only know little bits of what happened during the miners strike as I was only 9 years old at the time and have only read about it after the event but I am not sure that I know much more than I did before apart from the sheer brutality of some of the events and how it ripped families and communities apart.
As a bit of a lefty myself I found myself more sympathetic to the miners and the unions than I were to a lot of the other characters in the book, especially the government types.
The writing style was different and did take a bit of getting used to but once you were used to it, it really worked and it started to actually be quite hypnotic.
If you want an idea of what it might have been like back in those days, and the atmosphere of the times then read this book, but, if you want a factual account of the strike, then read one of the books that is listed at the back of the book instead.
November 25, 2010
A book in three stories
Story 1 - the tale of the miners - if i could give this 10 out of 5 i would, amazing, powerful and relevant today
Story 2 - A crime thriller focusing on a botched special branch job and its cover up, decent if occasionally uninspiring though it sort of bids the book together well though it does get a bit wrapped up in itself towards the end
Story 3 - The tale of terry, Chief Executive Officer of the NUM - Bloody awful, and the denouement actually made me throw the book across the room whilst shouting "oh go f*ck yourself"
Story 1 - the tale of the miners - if i could give this 10 out of 5 i would, amazing, powerful and relevant today
Story 2 - A crime thriller focusing on a botched special branch job and its cover up, decent if occasionally uninspiring though it sort of bids the book together well though it does get a bit wrapped up in itself towards the end
Story 3 - The tale of terry, Chief Executive Officer of the NUM - Bloody awful, and the denouement actually made me throw the book across the room whilst shouting "oh go f*ck yourself"
September 4, 2015
A plunge, and a plunge after plunge after plunge: If there's one word to describe David Peace's extrapolative version of the 1984 Great Britain miner's strike, it's "headlong." His staccato style gets you right there, at the tables, chairs, lines along the road, the backs of cars, etc., feeling the bad vibes and latent (and not-so-latent) hostilities along with the cigarette smoke and cold, crisp air. Who knew?
February 6, 2012
Noir as black as the Yorkshire coals that fuel it! David Peace dips his brush in the facts to paint a vivid portrait of a nation divided by class, greed and politics. I experienced Thatcher's Britain as the teenage son and grandson of miners, It's a time that is easy to remember, but not to understand. Peace helps...
May 11, 2018
Un llibre dur, angoixant, a voltes incòmode i exigent però necessari com pocs n'he llegit darrerament.
Ressenya sencera aquí:
Ressenya sencera aquí:
February 28, 2019
Estoy dividida con este libro. Aborda un tema muy interesante, que ha definido nuestra sociedad, pero a su vez no me ha gustado el estilo del escritor. Es demasiado reiterativo y monótono. Me ha aburrido e interesado a partes iguales, pero sobre todo me ha indignado lo que cuenta.
February 22, 2014
Astounding. The best book I've read in a long time. Does everything wrong and it all turns out right.
November 24, 2017
Whilst it is not obvious from the title, this book covers the UK miners� strike that took place between 1984 and 1985. This turbulent time in British history is fairly well documented, usually on every 10th anniversary, but the book takes a much deeper look under the hood and gives a view of the conflict that is unremittingly grim and downbeat but is an accurate reflection of life in the UK. The miners side of the story is told through the eyes of Terry Winters, the NUM president, and National Coal Board, effectively a proxy for the government, by Neil Fontaine, ostensibly a driver for Margaret Thatcher’s hatchet man but also a man who gets his hands dirty in the war against the unions in other ways that aren’t always that clear but are obviously highly illegal. No one is clean in this story and you tend to walk away feeling more than a little grubby.
This is a difficult book to read for a number of reasons. The first is the fact that it is effectively two stories in one. Each week of the strike is covered in a chapter that opens with the story of a miner called Martin who is caught at the sharp end of the strike before we find ourselves in the heart of the struggle between the Nation Union of Mineworkers and the Tory government of Margaret Thatcher. The strike plays out in a way that means that we see the real world effects of decisions made by the government and the NUM in Martin’s world and, to this end, the book is required reading as a pointed lesson in what happens when the reality of the everyday life is ignored to make a bigger point.
That having been said, I had a problem with the way that the author chose to tell the story through so many different viewpoints. This got confusing and meant that I was constantly having to go back and check who was who and exactly what it was that they were doing. Also, there is pretty much no punctuation in the story of Martin, which means that the last word of Martin’s story in one chapter flows straight into the first word of his story in the next chapter. I’m not sure what the author was trying to achieve with this but I found it annoying and pretentious and it was off putting to say the least. All this means that this is definitely not the sort of book that you can put down for a few days and then come back to a week or so later, you have to commit some time to this and get through it in a fairly continuous manner.
As someone who lived through this period, I found it an interesting, if bleak and disturbing, window in to this period of time. It showed how ruthless governments can be when defending the state and how blind unions can be when defending a point of principal. I’m not sure it made for the greatest of books as I constantly felt like I was being preached at and this meant that I enjoyed the story a lot less than if the author had been a lot more even handed.
I was in two minds as to what to rate this book but I have settled for three stars as I felt that, whilst the author has written a very good book, the issues I laid out above meant that I did not enjoy it as much as I might otherwise have done.
This is a difficult book to read for a number of reasons. The first is the fact that it is effectively two stories in one. Each week of the strike is covered in a chapter that opens with the story of a miner called Martin who is caught at the sharp end of the strike before we find ourselves in the heart of the struggle between the Nation Union of Mineworkers and the Tory government of Margaret Thatcher. The strike plays out in a way that means that we see the real world effects of decisions made by the government and the NUM in Martin’s world and, to this end, the book is required reading as a pointed lesson in what happens when the reality of the everyday life is ignored to make a bigger point.
That having been said, I had a problem with the way that the author chose to tell the story through so many different viewpoints. This got confusing and meant that I was constantly having to go back and check who was who and exactly what it was that they were doing. Also, there is pretty much no punctuation in the story of Martin, which means that the last word of Martin’s story in one chapter flows straight into the first word of his story in the next chapter. I’m not sure what the author was trying to achieve with this but I found it annoying and pretentious and it was off putting to say the least. All this means that this is definitely not the sort of book that you can put down for a few days and then come back to a week or so later, you have to commit some time to this and get through it in a fairly continuous manner.
As someone who lived through this period, I found it an interesting, if bleak and disturbing, window in to this period of time. It showed how ruthless governments can be when defending the state and how blind unions can be when defending a point of principal. I’m not sure it made for the greatest of books as I constantly felt like I was being preached at and this meant that I enjoyed the story a lot less than if the author had been a lot more even handed.
I was in two minds as to what to rate this book but I have settled for three stars as I felt that, whilst the author has written a very good book, the issues I laid out above meant that I did not enjoy it as much as I might otherwise have done.
November 3, 2018
Así como devoré los cuatro libros del Red Riding quartet, entre de lleno en la historia y me encantó, este libro en su manera de relatar me ha dejado con bastantes lagunas y sé que me he perdido mucho de la subtrama.
De todas maneras, la huelga y sus múltiples consecuencias en la vida de los mineros y sus familias son lo bastante potentes como para darle al libro una oportunidad.
De todas maneras, la huelga y sus múltiples consecuencias en la vida de los mineros y sus familias son lo bastante potentes como para darle al libro una oportunidad.
April 17, 2020
El fin de una época. La imposición de un sistema. GB84 nos lleva a ese momento en el que todo cambió para siempre. Un evento que se extendió durante todo un año, la huelga de mineros de 1984 en el Reino Unido. Sin romanticismos, pero con una mirada crítica y bien posicionada, David Peace recrea el paro que amenazó con derrocar a la dama de hierro. Desde la perspectiva de varios de sus involucrados, mineros en huelga, líderes sindicales, inversionistas avariciosos y agentes encubiertos, se desmenuza, semana a semana, día a día, el devenir de un conflicto que llevó a sus protagonistas a situaciones extremas en las que los más fuertes valores y convicciones se ponen en duda.
Más que un evento local, o nacional, la huelga del 84 representa un quiebre a nivel global. Mucho antes de la caída del muro de Berlín o la desintegración de la Unión Soviética. En la República Socialista de South Yorkshire se llevó a cabo, quizá, la última batalla en busca de una sociedad con menos desigualdades, en la que los trabajadores pudieran seguir controlando, aunque sea un poco, su fuerza de trabajo. Una sociedad en la que la dignidad no tuviera precio, ni se viera amenazada por el hambre. La última batalla obrera, su última batalla juntos, codo a codo, cantando The Red Flag en todo momento. El último piquete antes de que fueran atomizados, divididos.
Sí, porque, no es ningún spoiler, esa lucha se perdió. Hay muchas voces que dicen el neoliberalismo inició en marzo de 1985, coincidiendo con el fin, la derrota, de la huelga de mineros británicos. El nuevo sistema económico, social y cultural llegó de Margaret Thatcher y lo hizo con mano de hierro, volcando todo el poder estatal en contra de los mineros que querían seguir conservando sus trabajos, llegó desmantelando el estado de bienestar. Entregando todas las luchas sindicales y obreras, que durante décadas habían procurado un poco de dignidad a sus agremiados, al capital, al mejor postor.
GB84, es una obra de otra época, una que fue y que parece no volverá. Pero, también es un llamado de conciencia a pensar que las cosas pueden ser diferentes.
Más que un evento local, o nacional, la huelga del 84 representa un quiebre a nivel global. Mucho antes de la caída del muro de Berlín o la desintegración de la Unión Soviética. En la República Socialista de South Yorkshire se llevó a cabo, quizá, la última batalla en busca de una sociedad con menos desigualdades, en la que los trabajadores pudieran seguir controlando, aunque sea un poco, su fuerza de trabajo. Una sociedad en la que la dignidad no tuviera precio, ni se viera amenazada por el hambre. La última batalla obrera, su última batalla juntos, codo a codo, cantando The Red Flag en todo momento. El último piquete antes de que fueran atomizados, divididos.
Sí, porque, no es ningún spoiler, esa lucha se perdió. Hay muchas voces que dicen el neoliberalismo inició en marzo de 1985, coincidiendo con el fin, la derrota, de la huelga de mineros británicos. El nuevo sistema económico, social y cultural llegó de Margaret Thatcher y lo hizo con mano de hierro, volcando todo el poder estatal en contra de los mineros que querían seguir conservando sus trabajos, llegó desmantelando el estado de bienestar. Entregando todas las luchas sindicales y obreras, que durante décadas habían procurado un poco de dignidad a sus agremiados, al capital, al mejor postor.
GB84, es una obra de otra época, una que fue y que parece no volverá. Pero, también es un llamado de conciencia a pensar que las cosas pueden ser diferentes.
June 7, 2022
Después de vivir unos cuantos de años en Inglaterra, me interesa conocer más su historia. Es por ello que este libro me llamara tanto la atención cuando me lo encontré en la feria del libro de Sevilla. Tenía muchas ganas de tener algo más de tiempo libre para adentrarme en sus cerca de 700 páginas.
Lo empecé con gusto y le pegué un buen bocado en los primeros días de lectura. Sin embargo el estilo del autor hizo que la lectura me resultara cada vez más y más pesada. Palabras y frases que se repiten sin cesar, además de situaciones y personajes muy confusos hicieron que no captara la trama al 100%. Mi atención fue decayendo página a página.
En resumen, una pena porque la historia me resultaba muy atrayente pero no he podido con el estilo del autor.
Lo empecé con gusto y le pegué un buen bocado en los primeros días de lectura. Sin embargo el estilo del autor hizo que la lectura me resultara cada vez más y más pesada. Palabras y frases que se repiten sin cesar, además de situaciones y personajes muy confusos hicieron que no captara la trama al 100%. Mi atención fue decayendo página a página.
En resumen, una pena porque la historia me resultaba muy atrayente pero no he podido con el estilo del autor.
December 8, 2022
Zu sachbuchmäßig. Außerdem interessierten mich weder die Geschichte noch die Charaktere.
February 12, 2015
If you're expecting GB84 to be a work of historical fiction, laying out the ins and outs of the Miners' Strike, you're going to be disappointed in this book.
If you approach it as a satire framed as a crime thriller, you might get along with it.
It took me half the book to work out how I felt about it. My conclusion: it's an odd book. I've now read three of Peace's books and this is the second where I've found his style hard to tune into. Tokyo Year Zero was similar, with the main story interspersed with disjointed inner monologues that break off mid sentence, sitting on a left hand page in between chapters.
The crime thriller style is an interesting choice. It reminds me in places of Derek Raymond's style - all brittle, chippy sentences and world weary despair. The difference with Raymond is that I feel sympathy with his main character. Apart from Pete who organises the flying pickets, I didn't feel much at all for any of the people in GB84. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. Maybe that was the point - it wasn't about people, it was about Peace wanting to show how ridiculous the whole thing was, in some way, and that the miners were duped by Scargill and the NUM into thinking it was about jobs and lives. The structure of farcical exposé of the machinations between NUM and government against a background of MI5 weirdness, juxtaposed with the experiences of the flying pickets almost works, because I certainly felt even more depressed about this moment of British history as a result of seeing the striking miners' struggles next to the idiots with their power plays.
One thing really niggled - the naming of one character as 'the Jew'. I didn't see the need for Peace to refer to that character by his religion or ethnicity rather than his name. Or at least not without context, i.e. to clearly show the antisemitism of the establishment he was trying to break into.
Overall, GB84 isn't the book I was hoping it would be. The elements of a great book are all there - the researched facts, the intelligent suppositions about what is missing from the historical record - but the first part of the book reads as though Peace was more interested in showing off his style than writing anything meaningful, and by the end of the second part the main narrative has slipped fully into pantomime and farce. From part three, all the disparate strands start to come together, the pace picks up and I did start to feel gripped, but it shouldn't take two thirds of a book to get me to that point. There was a lull around 60 pages from the end, where I just wanted it to end but it seemed never ending. When I finally got there, the ending was simply bizarre.
If you approach it as a satire framed as a crime thriller, you might get along with it.
It took me half the book to work out how I felt about it. My conclusion: it's an odd book. I've now read three of Peace's books and this is the second where I've found his style hard to tune into. Tokyo Year Zero was similar, with the main story interspersed with disjointed inner monologues that break off mid sentence, sitting on a left hand page in between chapters.
The crime thriller style is an interesting choice. It reminds me in places of Derek Raymond's style - all brittle, chippy sentences and world weary despair. The difference with Raymond is that I feel sympathy with his main character. Apart from Pete who organises the flying pickets, I didn't feel much at all for any of the people in GB84. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. Maybe that was the point - it wasn't about people, it was about Peace wanting to show how ridiculous the whole thing was, in some way, and that the miners were duped by Scargill and the NUM into thinking it was about jobs and lives. The structure of farcical exposé of the machinations between NUM and government against a background of MI5 weirdness, juxtaposed with the experiences of the flying pickets almost works, because I certainly felt even more depressed about this moment of British history as a result of seeing the striking miners' struggles next to the idiots with their power plays.
One thing really niggled - the naming of one character as 'the Jew'. I didn't see the need for Peace to refer to that character by his religion or ethnicity rather than his name. Or at least not without context, i.e. to clearly show the antisemitism of the establishment he was trying to break into.
Overall, GB84 isn't the book I was hoping it would be. The elements of a great book are all there - the researched facts, the intelligent suppositions about what is missing from the historical record - but the first part of the book reads as though Peace was more interested in showing off his style than writing anything meaningful, and by the end of the second part the main narrative has slipped fully into pantomime and farce. From part three, all the disparate strands start to come together, the pace picks up and I did start to feel gripped, but it shouldn't take two thirds of a book to get me to that point. There was a lull around 60 pages from the end, where I just wanted it to end but it seemed never ending. When I finally got there, the ending was simply bizarre.
July 6, 2008
Great Britain 1984, and parts of the country are effectively under martial law, as Thatcher's government tries to break the unions in what's been described as the third English civil war.
Peace covers the strike from all (or most) angles - the miners, the police, the government, the union, the secret services. Nobody but the miners come out of this looking good, and it's clear that it's the miners, as the troops, that take the beatings. Most of all, Peace highlights how the government was prepared to stop at nothing in order to win, and how the media (including the BBC - so much for impartiality) colluded in this. As Malcolm Morris in the novel considers - The Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament, The Trade Unions, The Socialist Workers Party, The Worker's Revolutionary Party, The National Front, The British Nationalist Party, Combat 18 - the government decides which causes will succeed and which will fail - even when it seemed that victory was moments away, the workers probably didn't have a chance, but some of them died trying.
The romantic in me would have liked to know more about mining, but it's probably a deliberate decision to remove the men from the pits, and not even imaginatively allow them to go back under. It's touching that as the strike comes to an end, many of the men are distraught at the idea of going back underground, having experienced nearly a year up above in the light, even if they were having the living shit kicked out of them by the police on a daily or weekly basis. A few interesting literary techniques, and the comparisons to James Ellroy's style aren't undeserved, it's an engrossing book, confusing(there are strands of the novel that just didn't add up for me except in a dramatic sense), dark and grim. It's very hard to have anything but Peace's perspective while you're reading it, so we'll see what happens as the effect wears off over the next couple of weeks...
Peace covers the strike from all (or most) angles - the miners, the police, the government, the union, the secret services. Nobody but the miners come out of this looking good, and it's clear that it's the miners, as the troops, that take the beatings. Most of all, Peace highlights how the government was prepared to stop at nothing in order to win, and how the media (including the BBC - so much for impartiality) colluded in this. As Malcolm Morris in the novel considers - The Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament, The Trade Unions, The Socialist Workers Party, The Worker's Revolutionary Party, The National Front, The British Nationalist Party, Combat 18 - the government decides which causes will succeed and which will fail - even when it seemed that victory was moments away, the workers probably didn't have a chance, but some of them died trying.
The romantic in me would have liked to know more about mining, but it's probably a deliberate decision to remove the men from the pits, and not even imaginatively allow them to go back under. It's touching that as the strike comes to an end, many of the men are distraught at the idea of going back underground, having experienced nearly a year up above in the light, even if they were having the living shit kicked out of them by the police on a daily or weekly basis. A few interesting literary techniques, and the comparisons to James Ellroy's style aren't undeserved, it's an engrossing book, confusing(there are strands of the novel that just didn't add up for me except in a dramatic sense), dark and grim. It's very hard to have anything but Peace's perspective while you're reading it, so we'll see what happens as the effect wears off over the next couple of weeks...
October 14, 2017
Thank God that is finished. Every time I picked this book up I couldn't wait to put it down. The only reason I kept on reading was for university purposes - it may be a possible assignment choice, so I had to read even though it killed me inside to do so.
As suggested through the title, this book centres on Great Britain in 1984 - the year of the miners strike. There are multiple narratives from the likes of government officials, to the Lefties, to people who are actively involved in this strike. To me, this turbulent time in my country always seemed a subject of interest - I won't lie, my interest for the mining strike definitely sprung from my love of Billy Elliot. But this book was such a let down. I didn't care for the behind-the-scenes making of the strikes, nor did I care for the government and the Committee. I wanted to read about the people who fought in this strike - the working-class men who were losing their jobs, facing the brutality of the policemen and their batons, and so on.
I also really hated Peace's writing style. Every single sentence was like. Short. Not holding much depth. Not giving me the detail to think, and to feel. I think this was the reason why I disliked this book so much; reading felt like a chore. It's much simpler to read longer, more detailed sentences than a thousand shorts one, trying to make sure they all make sense in your head before moving on. I probably wouldn't have minded if this was a 200 page book, but it was nearly 500, so it was my idea of a nightmare.
I definitely wouldn't recommend this one, unfortunately.
As suggested through the title, this book centres on Great Britain in 1984 - the year of the miners strike. There are multiple narratives from the likes of government officials, to the Lefties, to people who are actively involved in this strike. To me, this turbulent time in my country always seemed a subject of interest - I won't lie, my interest for the mining strike definitely sprung from my love of Billy Elliot. But this book was such a let down. I didn't care for the behind-the-scenes making of the strikes, nor did I care for the government and the Committee. I wanted to read about the people who fought in this strike - the working-class men who were losing their jobs, facing the brutality of the policemen and their batons, and so on.
I also really hated Peace's writing style. Every single sentence was like. Short. Not holding much depth. Not giving me the detail to think, and to feel. I think this was the reason why I disliked this book so much; reading felt like a chore. It's much simpler to read longer, more detailed sentences than a thousand shorts one, trying to make sure they all make sense in your head before moving on. I probably wouldn't have minded if this was a 200 page book, but it was nearly 500, so it was my idea of a nightmare.
I definitely wouldn't recommend this one, unfortunately.
March 25, 2019
A través de la presentación de diferentes puntos de vista y estilos narrativos, “GB84� nos sumerge dentro de la huelga de los mineros británicos de 1984. Este acontecimiento marcó un punto de inflexión en la sociedad occidental de finales del siglo 20. Fue una confrontación a cara de perro, entre los síndicatos de mineros, todavía imbuídos del relato socialista, y el gobierno conservador de Margareth Tatcher.
Durante el conflicto, Gran Bretaña vivió en estado de alerta permanente, con la paz social pendiente de un hilo. La victoria de la postura liberal cimentó el camino hacia el dominio de los grandes grupos económicos y a la dictadura de mercado en la que vivimos.
Las “historias� dentro de la Historia
Aunque Peace sitúa la novela dentro de un contexto específico de tiempo y espacio y dota a la obra de un rigor histórico en lo que tiene que ver con los fechas y lugares de los acontecimientos, no estamos ante una investigación periodística. La verosimilitud de las circunstancias (reales) que presenta no evita que estemos ante una obra de ficción. Tanto los personajes que tienen un correlato en la realidad como aquellos que encarnan a un sujeto colectivo son ficcionales.
Entre los puntos más sobresalientes de la huelga está el hecho de que se extendió durante un año. En la actualidad sería impensable algo de esas características en una industria vital para la generación de energía de un país y nos habla del poder que tenía el movimiento obrero. Al ser el componente temporal tan relevante , la cronología de los acontecimientos es lo que estructura la trama y dota de sentido a las dos líneas narrativas que se intercalan a lo largo de la historia. Las línes narrativas, además difieren en sus tipografías y en su presentación espacial.
Los huelgistas, la visión desde la trinchera
La voz de la clase trabajadora está presentada a través de testimonios de primera mano de dos mineros, Martin y Peter. Ellos cuentan lo que ocurre en el “campo de batalla�. Son los que sufren en carne propia las penurias económicas de no cobrar sus salarios y los que tienen problemas familiares como consecuencia de estas mismas estreches. Son también los que forman los “piquetes voladores�, desplazándose cada día a distintas minas y plantas eléctricas para evitar que operen y son, sobre todo, los que reciben los palazos en la cabeza de las fuerzas policiales. Estas voces adoptan un estilo de monólogo interior, con un registro caótico, frases entrecortadas y una dicción típica del norte de Inglaterra.
“Muchos ya están allí. No son tantos como ayer.La mayoría están sentados al sol. Sin camisetas. Hay naipes. Cerveza barata. Estamos rojos como tomates. Al contrario de los esquiroles, a quienes se podría identificar por su palidez. Se juega al fútbol � camisetas versus pechos al aire. Hasta que el encuentro se detiene � Botas marchan hacia nosotros. En líneas de cuatro � Los camiones deben estar llegando. Empujamos hacia adelante. Hacia los bastones y los escudos. Caen piedras. Golpean a algunos. Mientras otros gritan que paren con las piedras. Me ato la camiseta a la cabeza � como si fuera a servir de algo � Me arrastran hacia el frente. Después hacia atrás � Como un horrible mar de mierda. Vuelan cascos. Cachiporra. Palos. Piedras. Huesos rotos. Algunos caen. Las botas los pisan.Hasta que los camiones entran y todos retroceden. Busco a Keith o a John.Todos están intentando hacerse a un lado de la calle cuando � Mierda. Los putos caballos cargan sobre nosotros (�)�
La manipulación de los centros de poder
La otra mitad de la narración se sirve de un estilo más clásico. Un narrador omnisciente con atisbos de monólogo interior que se centran sobre diversos personajes. Entre ellos Terry Winters, uno de los lugartenientes del “Rey� Arthur Scargill, el mesiánico presidente del síndicato de mineros y también el “Judío� Stephen Sweet, monje negro de Tatcher, a cargo de digitar la campaña operativa y mediática contra los huelgistas. Otros dos personajes siniestros ocupan un lugar preponderante en la trama. Neil Fontaine, chofer del judío y agente de los servicios de inteligencia británicos y “El maquinista�, uno de esos sujetos a quienes el poder llama cuando necesita ensuciarse las manos.
Y si Martin y Peter pueden parecer el arquetipo de “soldados� del bando minero, Neil y el Maquinista se presentan como operadores desde la sombra del régimen de Tatcher. Infiltrándose, espíando llamadas o dando palizas clandestinas a víctimas de uno y otro bando para inflamar la histeria.
“El jefe entra en las celdas. Les da instrucciones. Uniformes. Se ponen sus overoles nuevos. Se sientan en sus camas. Hacen crujir sus nudillos. Rechinan sus dientes.
El jefe les da píldoras. El jefe los hace esperar.
Las fugonetas llegan al anochecer. Son diez. Sus puertas abiertas.
Cada equipo entra a su furgoneta. Se sientan detrás con los cascos puestos. Beben. Escuchan música. Ace of Spades a todo volumen
La furgoneta que lleva al Mecánico y a su equipo se detiene. Las puertas se abren
El Mecánico y su equipo salen. Se dirigen al centro del pueblo. Llegan a un pub. Esperan fuera.Rechinan los dientes.
Y esperan.
Los objetivos salen. Fáciles de identificar con sus chapas. Y stickers de huelgistas.
Se han cascado más que unas pocas estos mineros en huelga
El Mecánico les pregunta, “A dónde van?�
“A casa�, responden.
El Mecánico y sus hombres se quitan del medio.
Los huelguistas siguen su camino.
El Mecánico y sus hombres los siguen.
Uno de los huelguistas está bastante ebrio.
El Mecánico lo coge.Lo empuja.Le da una palmada en la nuca.
El huelguista borracho se detiene.(�) El resto de los huelguistas vuelven sobre sus pasos.
El Mecánico y sus hombres saca sus bastones.
ٴDz.�
GB84 de David Peace, escritura de alta tensión
El estilo de este autor es difícil de seguir. Su prosa, plagada de oraciones cortas y fragmentadas, busca dotar de intensidad a la narración. Este tipo de habla en la que se interrumpe de manera constante el flujo natural de la voz es conocida como Staccato y es habitual en situaciones de extremo nerviosismo. Se entiende que el autor haya recurrido a este dispositivo para dotar a la obra de una tensión constante. Desde mi punto de vista lo logra con creces. Mi sensación en muchos pasajes era la de peligro inminente. De fin del mundo. Y no estaba tan errado. Un mundo (el de los mineros, el de los sindicatos poderosos) llegó a su fin. Y nació la bestia que ahora nos domina.
Durante el conflicto, Gran Bretaña vivió en estado de alerta permanente, con la paz social pendiente de un hilo. La victoria de la postura liberal cimentó el camino hacia el dominio de los grandes grupos económicos y a la dictadura de mercado en la que vivimos.
Las “historias� dentro de la Historia
Aunque Peace sitúa la novela dentro de un contexto específico de tiempo y espacio y dota a la obra de un rigor histórico en lo que tiene que ver con los fechas y lugares de los acontecimientos, no estamos ante una investigación periodística. La verosimilitud de las circunstancias (reales) que presenta no evita que estemos ante una obra de ficción. Tanto los personajes que tienen un correlato en la realidad como aquellos que encarnan a un sujeto colectivo son ficcionales.
Entre los puntos más sobresalientes de la huelga está el hecho de que se extendió durante un año. En la actualidad sería impensable algo de esas características en una industria vital para la generación de energía de un país y nos habla del poder que tenía el movimiento obrero. Al ser el componente temporal tan relevante , la cronología de los acontecimientos es lo que estructura la trama y dota de sentido a las dos líneas narrativas que se intercalan a lo largo de la historia. Las línes narrativas, además difieren en sus tipografías y en su presentación espacial.
Los huelgistas, la visión desde la trinchera
La voz de la clase trabajadora está presentada a través de testimonios de primera mano de dos mineros, Martin y Peter. Ellos cuentan lo que ocurre en el “campo de batalla�. Son los que sufren en carne propia las penurias económicas de no cobrar sus salarios y los que tienen problemas familiares como consecuencia de estas mismas estreches. Son también los que forman los “piquetes voladores�, desplazándose cada día a distintas minas y plantas eléctricas para evitar que operen y son, sobre todo, los que reciben los palazos en la cabeza de las fuerzas policiales. Estas voces adoptan un estilo de monólogo interior, con un registro caótico, frases entrecortadas y una dicción típica del norte de Inglaterra.
“Muchos ya están allí. No son tantos como ayer.La mayoría están sentados al sol. Sin camisetas. Hay naipes. Cerveza barata. Estamos rojos como tomates. Al contrario de los esquiroles, a quienes se podría identificar por su palidez. Se juega al fútbol � camisetas versus pechos al aire. Hasta que el encuentro se detiene � Botas marchan hacia nosotros. En líneas de cuatro � Los camiones deben estar llegando. Empujamos hacia adelante. Hacia los bastones y los escudos. Caen piedras. Golpean a algunos. Mientras otros gritan que paren con las piedras. Me ato la camiseta a la cabeza � como si fuera a servir de algo � Me arrastran hacia el frente. Después hacia atrás � Como un horrible mar de mierda. Vuelan cascos. Cachiporra. Palos. Piedras. Huesos rotos. Algunos caen. Las botas los pisan.Hasta que los camiones entran y todos retroceden. Busco a Keith o a John.Todos están intentando hacerse a un lado de la calle cuando � Mierda. Los putos caballos cargan sobre nosotros (�)�
La manipulación de los centros de poder
La otra mitad de la narración se sirve de un estilo más clásico. Un narrador omnisciente con atisbos de monólogo interior que se centran sobre diversos personajes. Entre ellos Terry Winters, uno de los lugartenientes del “Rey� Arthur Scargill, el mesiánico presidente del síndicato de mineros y también el “Judío� Stephen Sweet, monje negro de Tatcher, a cargo de digitar la campaña operativa y mediática contra los huelgistas. Otros dos personajes siniestros ocupan un lugar preponderante en la trama. Neil Fontaine, chofer del judío y agente de los servicios de inteligencia británicos y “El maquinista�, uno de esos sujetos a quienes el poder llama cuando necesita ensuciarse las manos.
Y si Martin y Peter pueden parecer el arquetipo de “soldados� del bando minero, Neil y el Maquinista se presentan como operadores desde la sombra del régimen de Tatcher. Infiltrándose, espíando llamadas o dando palizas clandestinas a víctimas de uno y otro bando para inflamar la histeria.
“El jefe entra en las celdas. Les da instrucciones. Uniformes. Se ponen sus overoles nuevos. Se sientan en sus camas. Hacen crujir sus nudillos. Rechinan sus dientes.
El jefe les da píldoras. El jefe los hace esperar.
Las fugonetas llegan al anochecer. Son diez. Sus puertas abiertas.
Cada equipo entra a su furgoneta. Se sientan detrás con los cascos puestos. Beben. Escuchan música. Ace of Spades a todo volumen
La furgoneta que lleva al Mecánico y a su equipo se detiene. Las puertas se abren
El Mecánico y su equipo salen. Se dirigen al centro del pueblo. Llegan a un pub. Esperan fuera.Rechinan los dientes.
Y esperan.
Los objetivos salen. Fáciles de identificar con sus chapas. Y stickers de huelgistas.
Se han cascado más que unas pocas estos mineros en huelga
El Mecánico les pregunta, “A dónde van?�
“A casa�, responden.
El Mecánico y sus hombres se quitan del medio.
Los huelguistas siguen su camino.
El Mecánico y sus hombres los siguen.
Uno de los huelguistas está bastante ebrio.
El Mecánico lo coge.Lo empuja.Le da una palmada en la nuca.
El huelguista borracho se detiene.(�) El resto de los huelguistas vuelven sobre sus pasos.
El Mecánico y sus hombres saca sus bastones.
ٴDz.�
GB84 de David Peace, escritura de alta tensión
El estilo de este autor es difícil de seguir. Su prosa, plagada de oraciones cortas y fragmentadas, busca dotar de intensidad a la narración. Este tipo de habla en la que se interrumpe de manera constante el flujo natural de la voz es conocida como Staccato y es habitual en situaciones de extremo nerviosismo. Se entiende que el autor haya recurrido a este dispositivo para dotar a la obra de una tensión constante. Desde mi punto de vista lo logra con creces. Mi sensación en muchos pasajes era la de peligro inminente. De fin del mundo. Y no estaba tan errado. Un mundo (el de los mineros, el de los sindicatos poderosos) llegó a su fin. Y nació la bestia que ahora nos domina.
July 28, 2011
Wow, this is tough going at times, but on balance it's worth it. The stacatto prose really can be offputting: it's so blunt and seemingly affectless. But the cumulative effect is really very powerful.
What is especially rewarding with this novel is the juxtaposition of the "behind the scenes" stuff - the NUM, the cops, Special Branch, the lackeys to Margaret Thatcher, etc - with the really quite heart-breaking strikers diaries of Martin and Peter which are interleaved throughout the main text. This "micro" level stuff really brings it home how the individual strikers suffered for their class, and to such little positive effect.
I wasn't sure if the strikers' diaries were presented in the style of newspaper columns for any satirical purpose, and the way the prose would just tail off while the next week of the main narrative unfolded did pose some problems. I solved this by flicking forwards then back again, so as to find more natural breaks in the text.
The "macro" level was often a revelation to me, I knew that the government had tried every trick in the book to defeat Arthur Scargill, but even so a lot of this was a revelation.
(Not quite sure how Hilda Murrell fitted into it all though.)
What is especially rewarding with this novel is the juxtaposition of the "behind the scenes" stuff - the NUM, the cops, Special Branch, the lackeys to Margaret Thatcher, etc - with the really quite heart-breaking strikers diaries of Martin and Peter which are interleaved throughout the main text. This "micro" level stuff really brings it home how the individual strikers suffered for their class, and to such little positive effect.
I wasn't sure if the strikers' diaries were presented in the style of newspaper columns for any satirical purpose, and the way the prose would just tail off while the next week of the main narrative unfolded did pose some problems. I solved this by flicking forwards then back again, so as to find more natural breaks in the text.
The "macro" level was often a revelation to me, I knew that the government had tried every trick in the book to defeat Arthur Scargill, but even so a lot of this was a revelation.
(Not quite sure how Hilda Murrell fitted into it all though.)
March 12, 2020
I so wanted to like this book. A definitive fictional examination of the 1984 miner's strike; right up my street. As I was trying to get comfortable with the difficult style it dawned on me that David Peace was also entwining a theory about the contemporaneous Hilda Murrell murder. So much the better.
But each page was a struggle against Peace's repetitive staccato prose and I gave up. I feel bad about it � if only I was cleverer and had more gumption. But I'm old-fashioned about writing. I believe in the contract between the author and the reader - best epitomised by The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers introducing one of their songs at an amazing concert in The Royal Albert Hall. He said, "We got one more song left. We're gonna play it as hard as we can play it. Are you willing to receive it as hard as you can receive it?"
I tried as hard as I could to receive this book but I feel that David Peace could have written it in a way (trying harder or less hard?) that made it more accessible.
But each page was a struggle against Peace's repetitive staccato prose and I gave up. I feel bad about it � if only I was cleverer and had more gumption. But I'm old-fashioned about writing. I believe in the contract between the author and the reader - best epitomised by The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers introducing one of their songs at an amazing concert in The Royal Albert Hall. He said, "We got one more song left. We're gonna play it as hard as we can play it. Are you willing to receive it as hard as you can receive it?"
I tried as hard as I could to receive this book but I feel that David Peace could have written it in a way (trying harder or less hard?) that made it more accessible.
October 31, 2015
This should have been so good. But it failed for me. The plot was thin and all too obvious. As soon as a plot line became interesting the book switched to another character's story. The interweaving of the different voices / stories just didn't work for me.
The staccato beat of the narrative was so off putting.
The newspaper columns didn't work with the rest of the plot.
It felt and read like a mess.
I have no doubt there are nuggets of a brilliant story in this book but it felt like devices got in the way of its telling.
The staccato beat of the narrative was so off putting.
The newspaper columns didn't work with the rest of the plot.
It felt and read like a mess.
I have no doubt there are nuggets of a brilliant story in this book but it felt like devices got in the way of its telling.
April 2, 2016
But please note that I'm not saying this is a bad book!
It's just that here David Peace stretches his style to limits I just can't come to grips with. I was 12 during the miner's strike and I'm French so I don't have enough background to put the book in any perspective I can relate to one way or another. And the kind of cut/paste/Straight-to-your-face narration certainly doesn't help.
Guess that as much as I liked the Red Riding Quartet, GB84 just wasn't made for me...
It's just that here David Peace stretches his style to limits I just can't come to grips with. I was 12 during the miner's strike and I'm French so I don't have enough background to put the book in any perspective I can relate to one way or another. And the kind of cut/paste/Straight-to-your-face narration certainly doesn't help.
Guess that as much as I liked the Red Riding Quartet, GB84 just wasn't made for me...
October 27, 2016
I just didn't get this book. Was three vastly different narratives that didn't really work.
Section about the miners was top notch and really put you there, in their shoes and what they went through.
Secret service bit haven't a clue about this. Who was Malcolm? Diane? Mechanic etc - relevance?
Terry winters part was so dull and dross. By the end I didn't have a clue what was going on with this segment.
Huge fan of his work but thought this didn't gel.
Section about the miners was top notch and really put you there, in their shoes and what they went through.
Secret service bit haven't a clue about this. Who was Malcolm? Diane? Mechanic etc - relevance?
Terry winters part was so dull and dross. By the end I didn't have a clue what was going on with this segment.
Huge fan of his work but thought this didn't gel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.