Manyebook

4 a.m.

"So, where were yous in the '90s? Knocking out shapes on the dance flair, grinding yer teeth intae dust? Eyes going thegither Monday mornings fae a weekend's raving and misbehaving? Join the club... but life isnae all pills and thrills, eh? As we were about tae find out... "

Set in the early '90s, 4 a.m. tells the story of Cal and Manny, two British Army chefs posted to Germany. Burned out from long, hot days in the cookhouse, the pair soon succumb to the neon temptations of Hamburg's red-light district and a seedy world of all-night raves. But it's only a matter of time before hedonism and army discipline clash head on, with comic and poignant consequences.

Life-affirming raving soon gives way to gloomy, drug-fuelled nights in fast-food restaurants, at sex shows, and in Turkish dive bars. As a succession of events ratchets up the pressure on Cal and Manny their friendship is tested, a secret is revealed, and a shocking betrayal changes their lives forever.

Drawing on personal experience and extensive research, 4 a.m. depicts life in a peacetime Army, and a civilian milieu in which conflict is never far away. Driven by two distinctive young voices, Nina de la Mer's debut novel holds a mirror up to youth culture at the end of the twentieth century. The reflection is not always a flattering one.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 263
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780956559951
  • Genres
  • fiction
  • Release date
  • 2011