• Nineteen Seventy Four

  • Red Riding Quartet
  • By: David Peace
  • Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
  • Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
  • 2.8 out of 5 stars (303 ratings)

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Nineteen Seventy Four  By  cover art

Nineteen Seventy Four

By: David Peace
Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
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Publisher's summary

Jeanette Garland, missing Castleford, July 1969. Susan Ridyard, missing Rochdale, March 1972. Claire Kemplay, missing Morley, since yesterday. It’s winter, 1974, Yorkshire, Christmas bombs, Lord Lucan on the run, the Bay City Rollers, and Eddie Dunford’s got the job he wanted – crime correspondent for the Yorkshire Evening Post. He didn’t know it was going to be a season in hell. A dead little girl with a swan’s wings stitched into her back. A gypsy camp in a ring of fire. Corruption everywhere you look.

In Nineteen Seventy Four, David Peace brings passion and stylistic bravado to this terrifyingly intense journey into a secret history of sexual obsession and greed, and starts a highly acclaimed crime series that has redefined how the genre is approached.

David Peace (born 1967) is an English author. He was named one of the Best of Young British Novelists by Granta in 2003 and won the 2004 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. He is also known for his novels GB84 and The Damned United; the latter was made into a feature film starring Michael Sheen.

*Please note this audiobook contains explicit language.

©2000 David Peace (P)2010 Audible

Critic reviews

" Nineteen Seventy Four is raw and furiously alive, the literary equivalent of a hard right to the jaw. David Peace has delivered the finest crime fiction debut of the year and joined a select group of novelists who are transforming the genre with passion and style." (George Pelecanos)
"Quite simply, this is the future of British crime fiction." ( Time Out)
"The pace is relentless, the style staccato-plus and the morality bleak and forlorn....Peace's voice is powerful and unique." ( Guardian)

What listeners say about Nineteen Seventy Four

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Vulgarity To The EXTREME

The writer cannot get past 1 minute without using the F word or other vulgarities....I don't consider myself a prude . . . I am a fan of Pulp Fiction! I'm surprised the Audio found a clip for the listener to hear that did not have bad words in it. I tried to get past the "F" word but then his use of Sh*t plus the "C" word involving sex with his lover finally did me in. There may be a story in there somewhere but the obscene language is extremely distracting. A BIG disappointment since Audible has chosen to showcase it this month. I asked for and received my credit back for the first time ever.

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61 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

On The Button

I am a retired UK police officer, and this novel takes place at a time when I was serving.

When I read policiers, entertaining though they are, the coppers are rarely anything like the smelly, sexist, cussing, fighting fellers I worked with.

The coppers, and the journos in this book, are perfectly drawn. This is exactly what policing was like in those times.

Quite brilliantly written, not a word wasted, and spoken in the vernacular of the time. Chilling, accurate and entertaining.




brendan

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Disturbing, Uncomfortable - Real Crime Fiction

This is my first exposure to David Peace and his writing style. I read the other reviews so I had an idea of what to expect. I was immediately drawn in to this world of corruption, secrecy, violence, brutality, and ugliness. He tells the story unapologetically, in no-holds-barred detail. It made me nauseous at times, but I could not put it down. It is not an easy listen, in that the subject matter is graphic, disturbing, and raw. All this said, I would listen again... now. This is a story that will stay long after the listen. It is not for everyone, but it is certainly one I would recommend to anyone looking for a graphic, realistic picture of a horrific world that most of us, thankfully, know nothing about. I look forward to the remainder of the Quartet being offered. If it takes too long, I may have to resort to reading them!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly refreshing and original

An excellent work from a writer with an original voice. I notice there have been a great many complaints about the "swearing and cursing", but the whole point of Peace's gritty realism is surely (as the author has said himself) that violence and death and the circumstances surrounding them should not be sanitized. They are awful things.

As to the grimness, well, this is what life was like in the North of England in 1974. I remember. And when working class people have their backs against the wall there are even more expletives than usual... plus the Brits swear *a lot* in the natural course of things.

Myself, I can't wait for the rest of the series - and Audible... where have Mr Peace's books disappeared to? A lot of us want more... not to have the Quartet shelved (to my dismay I can't even find the first two books - which I've bought - in Audible's listings any more) presumably because a few people say they are "personally offended" by all the swearing, and asking (rather cheekily) if the characters are speaking English?! Rather juvenile criticisms, to say the least.

What happened to free speech? And besides, the rest of the world deals very cheerfully with American accents from all the states in the US - indeed the accents usually enrich the work. I think in fairness that the same courtesy should be extended to the British Isles.

My question now, Audible, is where is the rest of the Red Riding Quartet? Bring it on! Please... It's first class stuff, and some of us are hooked on it.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very, very noir

This is exceptional writing. Any fan of James Ellroy will find much to enjoy here. Profane, obscene, crude, horrific - with all that said it is a top-notch story and brilliantly written. Not for everyone, as the other reviews note, but if you are willing to face an absolutely bleak world filled with nasty characters, you will get your money's worth here. Everything about this book is vicious - including the sexuality, but all in all more realistic and better drawn than the gratuitous sex scenes thrown in to far to many contemporary works.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Miss Marple this is not

More like Silence of the Lambs. Although I'm not offended by graphic sex and violence and the use of the *F* word, there is a self consciousness or heavy handedness about its over use that just doesn't ring true. This keeps a gripping and troubling story from being 5 stars in my opinion.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I didn't get it

I tried really hard to finish this book but just could not. I loved Saul Reichlin narration of the Millenium series but here his work was not so good. The never ending swearing bothered me and seemed unnecessary.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fine crime writing

The four books that comprise this series, "1974", "1977," "1980," and "1983," are some of the best works of crime fiction I've read. They're "gritty," incredibly emotional, quite often brutal, but absolutely stellar works of literature. They follow a series of crimes which occur in Yorkshire during the 70s and the effects it has not just on the victims, but survivors, police, journalists, and others.

Don't make the mistake of purchasing these books if you're looking for an Agatha Christie "cozy." Don't buy them if you have difficulty with excessive profanity. The sex is often ugly and the violence truly horrifying, which is probably very close to the realities of prostitution, corruption, and serial murder. Expect to be hit over the head with it.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • MR
  • 11-18-10

A great series of books

Ignore the criticisms from listeners who couldn't stand the cussing. If you're interested in listening to a series of books that transcend the usual crime fiction genre, this is it. It's literature in the best sense of the word. Aspects of the story are truly ugly and the descriptions are visceral, but it's a work of art. The swearing is a necessary part of the language used by the characters and isn't over-the-top. I'm British and I spent years living in Yorkshire, so I'm sensitive to whether or not the language in a book is an accurate reflection of how people really speak. I found it to be right on target. If you're offended by it, you'd probably be better off downloading some Agatha Christie. I've listened to the entire series of four books, which need to be heard together in succession as they intertwine and illuminate each other. This is truly a great work of modern British literature.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Realistic language and gripping writing style

An excellent book that keeps you listening. Those complaining of the language clearly have no experience of working class England and especially "The North" in the 1970's. This is how real people speak - get over it.
It is brutal, it is graphic and that is why it is important. It is not a nice clean, factual report on a crime. Its a nasty first hand, first person account of the emotions and affects that violent crime and corruption have on a community and society at large. Great writing by Peace and an excellent narration by Saul Reichlin.
The Channel 4 series of these books - turned into 3 movies for the US - are also excellent.

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6 people found this helpful