Reviews

Nineteen Seventy Four by David Peace

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mkinne's review against another edition

4.0

Watching the trilogy of movies, now reading the quartet of books to see what I missed & what wasn't included in the movies (which were excellent, btw).
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Excellent writing. Peace creates an atmosphere in a way I haven't seen for a long time and though it's unpleasant & close to discomfiting, it's worth it. Also, no new nuggets of plot or insight that I didn't grok from the movie but I did take forever to read this & might not've been as attentive as usual.

acannaeread's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tizzwozz49's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

nick_jenkins's review against another edition

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5.0

I saw the film (which, along with its two companions, is a masterpiece of the first order) first, and was briefly worried that the novel would be somehow spoiled. Not at all. The writing is astonishingly effective, more gripping than any thriller I've read, stylized beyond belief but tauter than one can possibly imagine. The plot is, at least for me, impossible to unwrap: I still don't know who did what, or when, or why, but that is incomparably beside the point. What Peace creates is an atmosphere, a culture which is far scarier than an individual killer or criminal: the novel's horror doesn't pursue you, it envelops you.