Book review: UNKNOWN PLEASURES (Inside Joy Division) by Peter Hook

In my opinion, whatever may be missing from the books “Touching from a Distance” and “Joy Division and the making of Unknown Pleasures” (and let’s even count “24-Hour Party People”), you will find right here… in sheer abundance!… I mean, really! You’ll understand what I’m raving about once you read it! So, what are you waiting for? You will surely thank me, I guarantee it! :p

Hooky did an excellent job on this and, to be honest, I didn't even expect it! I seriously didn't know he could be 'this good!'-- such raw storytelling, full of wit and humor, so much so that it made me want to finish the book in one sitting! (and, oh man, if only I could!). I swear, it was such a struggle to put the book down!, and this doesn't happen often!

He tried his best to talk about everything he could manage to remember from those very early days, sometimes to the point of  embarrassing himself!- hilariously too!… and I particularly like the fact that when he’s not sure of how some events happened, he would simply say so... and that is just fine (I have selective memory myself, so I'm not surprised, LOL!).

Ok, so the first few pages had me breaking into fits of laughter – Hooky, the then young and mischievous charmer!... later on unleashing his antics to his poor victims Barney and Steve, and the rest of the gang!... but I won't ruin the story for you here, so I will just say that there are so many cracking incidents throughout the book, that I can absolutely assure you, you'll never get bored! Simply put, this is one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life! Not exaggerating!

Anyway, as suggested by Hooky here, you should listen to the particular albums while reading his own personal accounts re: “The making of Unknown Pleasures"… and “Closer” too. It would certainly elicit a more poignant feeling and would give you a much deeper understanding of the songs (not only about the lyrics per se, but also for the sequencing and musical instruments used). Makes sense.

Suffice it for me to say, I have been utterly hooked... and you shall be too.

Book: JOY DIVISION and the making of Unknown Pleasures

To be honest, I’m not even sure if this is worth reading! Personally, I'm not very happy with the content. It does give an interesting overview to “Warsaw” and the gigs and various tracks released under this band name prior to evolving into the mighty Joy Division. Each track from the UP album is indeed discussed to a considerable extent... but well, to my dismay, it’s all purely based on speculations by the author (although most are quite valid if you'd ponder on it, but... speculations just the same).

I was hoping to read first-hand revelations from the guys themselves- Barney and Hooky in particular!, but yeah, what a letdown!... The book also dwells lightly on the Joy Division-The Fall rivalry from those days although Marc Riley's comments are, um, fair enough, if I must say.

The brains behind Factory Records (incl. Mr. Manchester himself- bless his soul) are profoundly mentioned and given credit in this book, but then again, no direct comments from the concerned peeps whatsoever. So, you won't get the feeling that you are getting the facts at all- that's the annoying part (to me, at least, grrrr!).

Other bands are also mentioned here and there and it's notable that Joy Division was closely knitted with Buzzcocks (another one of my favorite bands, yay!) and in fact played numerous gigs in support of the band. Great guys!

The book also touches minimally on Ian's struggle with epilepsy, marital difficulties, and yes- of Annik Honore. No, don't get too eager, coz really it's devoid of any details, heh!

I would rate this 3 1/2 stars (er, ok, make that 4stars just coz it's freakin' Joy Division anyway!!!).