For anyone unconvinced of the need to Not build a new hard border between Northern Ireland and Eire, I think Music Love Drugs War should be required reading over the next few weeks. Set in early 1980s Derry, Quigley's novel is essentially the story of how a group of teenagers deal with the usual angst of leaving school and entering into adulthood. The story mostly follows the boys of the group as the girls' options - other than potential university student Liz - are already restricted by social customs and expectations. For the boys however there are the competing appeals of signing on, taking a drudge job, or maybe leaving the country in search of a real opportunity. There is also the shadier course of joining the IRA and discovering a cause worth dying for.



I loved Quigley's portrayal of daily life in 1980s Northern Ireland. Much of the mundane detail wasn't far removed from my own experiences as a child in 1980s England, but the constant violence and lack of trust between communities and even between households in Music Love Drugs War was shocking to read about. I was reminded of Asian novels I have read (Entangled Lives by Imran Omer sprang to mind) where directionless young men are turned towards violence and an almost-religious fervour for a cause on lieu of genuine personal prospects and a sense of a future for themselves. These fictional characters are shown believing that their contributions are making a difference yet, as the novels show a wider view, we as readers see them as disposable pawns in a much larger scheme. I felt that Quigley had a real understanding for her characters and their motivations. I appreciated her evocation of the historical period too, especially the weaving of real events into the fictional tale which never felt forced.



I can't imagine how stressful emotionally it must be to live in a country under occupation. Reading the scenes of British army personnel randomly stopping people in the streets or marching in and searching homes almost apparently on a whim helped me to clearly see how it wouldn't take much more provocation, after years of such treatment, to push these boys into 'fighting back', especially when alternative choices are limited. What I found particularly effective was Quigley's presentation of attitudes and reactions from all parties. The boys might envisage themselves as potential heroes and martyrs, but how difficult must it be for a parent to actually see exile as a better option for their child?

“Music Love Drugs War” is a coming of age novel set in Derry 1981, as the end of the school arrives, the novel follows four characters as they make their way into the real world, not only having to choose their future but about which side they are on, and facing the consequences of that. The novel axis spins on one moment early in the novel when a best friend of theirs is killed. Despite this big event, the novel takes far to long to really click into gear. There is a hazy mist that falls upon all our characters in the aftermath, but is quite a slog to read. The novel cannot decide what our characters really care about: 
“sex was for fun, music was the most important thing in the world” is a bold statement but never really fulfilled, the title demonstrates the mess of the novel gets itself in. The novel does kick into gear in the later stages, when the characters finally move on and show that anger and frustration we have been hearing about. Ultimately the novel felt incredibly messy and I didn’t feel I cared for any of the characters as they decided where their elegances lied.

An authentic coming-of-age tale of a group of friends in Belfast, 1981, set against the Troubles and especially the IRA hunger strike. I found this quite uneven as the writing doesn't always flow and the characterisation is quite thin with the girls more or less dropping out of the story (apart from Liz). Some of the 'action' scenes are rendered more vividly and the writing feels more seamless in the second half. So it's worth sticking with this despite the slow start: 3.5 stars.