SCRAPER
A Novel About Punk
by James Gilberd

Rather than let this first novel fester in the bottom drawer as a personal exercise in how to write longer fiction (or how not to), here it is, for free! Link below.

What is Scraper about?

It's the story of a young punk rocker, Steve Bryant, who's hell bent on getting a band going. He has continual run-ins with skinheads, hippies, girlfriends, streetkids, tunnels, hyperactive drummers, the police, rugby thugs, proto-Goths, and most of all his father, Tom.

As New Zealand becomes increasingly divided over Apartheid and the 1981 Springbok Tour, Scraper transforms into a political band. This is a development that has its ups and downs, or maybe disasters.

If you must pigeonhole things, Scraper is young adult fiction, I guess. It's a coming-of-age story aimed at teenagers. Or middle-aged people who maybe once played in a band or just love music, are a bit left-wing, and sometimes get nostalgic for more passionate times, like me.

Disclaimer

Scraper is a work of fiction. It's set somewhere in New Zealand in 1981, but the characters are not in any way based on or drawn from actual people, and the events and locations are totally made up. While there is reference to the infamous Springbok Tour of that year, there is no attempt at historical accuracy.

Autobiographical?

No, it ain't. Yes, I know that all first novels are autobiographical to some extent; and true, I was in a sort of post-punk band at the time of the novel's setting, but I draw on that experience only for authenticity (hopefully). Nobody in our band was anything like these guys, and the situations and action are entirely made up.

Bad language

This is a story told in first person by an angry young man, and so for realism contains a fair amount of swearing. The word fuck and its variations appears around 160 times, which is an average of almost once per page. (I first counted 163 fucks, culled three then gave up.) There is also some mild drug use (mostly centred around the hippy character), some masturbation and a little bit of actual sex. If you think any of this will offend your delicate sensibilities, don't read the novel.

Feedback

You can leave comments on the Scribd site, where I will most likely delete them if they are unfavourable :-)

But seriously, say what you want, and don't forget to give it a star rating and readcast it on Facetube.

I hope you enjoy the book. If you do, please tell your friends. If not, tell your enemies. If you are a publisher or publishing agent and are interested in this work, please get in touch!

Download

* * * Download or read SCRAPER on Scribd website * * *

If you have any difficulty downloading Scraper, or wish to report a fault, please email me.

Links to related sites:

www.scribd.com
Internet publishing website

www.obooko.com
There's a book in everyone (Scraper is on here too)

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