Sunday 14 September 2014

The book of the film


By way of doing some preparation for this blog, I've been reading 'Contact' by AFN Clarke [no relation.] Originally published by Secker & Warburg in 1983 this is the memoir on which the film Contact is based. AFN Clarke was an officer in the Parachute Regiment during the 1970s, and the book describes his experiences in Belfast and Armagh.

I came at it with some trepidation, based on memories of reading those Soldier X books as an early teen. Actually it's a well written, if very bitter, document. You can see why its directness and stripped back style attracted Alan Clarke. Currently a steal at £1.83 for the Kindle.

I wonder if David Peace read it at some point. Not just for the time period, the violence and hatred it describes, but for the construction and writing. Every chapter begins like this:

" 2200 hrs. July 1973

Warm night,
Cool head,
Sore feet.
The shot you don't hear
Is meant for you.

etc."