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Stephen Larkin #4
Born Under Punches
Switching continuously between 1984 and the present day, the plot follows the intertwined lives of five characters, all linked in various ways to the miners' strike. As the lives of the characters unfold, it becomes clear the strike will have devastating repercussions.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Martyn Waites
46 books108 followersMartyn Waites (b. 1963) is an English actor and author of hard-boiled fiction. Raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, he spent his post-university years selling leather coats, working in pubs and doing stand-up comedy. After a stint in drama school, Waites pursued life on the stage, performing regionally in theaters across England. TV and commercial work followed, and he continued to act full-time until the early 1990s, when he began writing his first novel: a noir mystery set in the city of his birth. Mary’s Prayer was published in 1997, and Waites followed it with three more novels starring the same character, an investigative journalist named Stephen Larkin.
Since then he has divided his time between acting and writing. After concluding the Larkin series in 2003, he created another journalist, troubled reporter Joe Donovan, who made his first appearance in The Mercy Seat (2006). Waites’ most recent novel is Speak No Evil (2009). Along with his wife and children, he lives and works in Hertfordshire, a county north of London.
Since then he has divided his time between acting and writing. After concluding the Larkin series in 2003, he created another journalist, troubled reporter Joe Donovan, who made his first appearance in The Mercy Seat (2006). Waites’ most recent novel is Speak No Evil (2009). Along with his wife and children, he lives and works in Hertfordshire, a county north of London.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 12, 2012
When someone tells me I am missing out on an author I usually check out their bibliography and if they have 8 or 10 books and have really no following and poor/average Amazon ratings it is a good indication that I should just stay away. Music and writing are both arts forms, but I think it is far easier to be a misunderstood or undiscovered musician then it is an author. Music is so diverse and complex. While writing is simple, you string words together to form stories and some people and make beauty in their literary symphonies. Now this is not to say people don't have opposing tastes in reading, science fiction may not be a subject you care about, but H.G. Wells is still a great writer whether you care about alien invaders or not. Good writing is good writing, its about the stories we enjoy.
As I digress, if I haven't heard of a writer and they have a fairly respectable size catalog or their books have low ratings, it is likely the masses are right, the author is probably not very good.
Martyn Waites is an exception to that rule. Not because he has bad ratings or that he is misunderstood, but because he is British. As Jerry Seinfeld would say, "Not that there is anything wrong with that." But here is a fact, British music across all genres invaded the U.S., authors, not so much. Sure you will bring up Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens, even Austin, but those are classic authors, dead authors. Name me 5 living British authors not named J.K. Rowling, that sell atop the U.S. sales charts. I am not saying British authors are bad, just saying the transition to the U.S. has not been taken as openly as their music.
Into the forth paragraph and I have still yet to mention the book, that is because I want to make it clear, Martyn Waites is worth the time to invest in a new writer that you have yet to explore.
Born Under Punches is one of Waites older works finally released in ebook format for the new age of readers and hopefully a new generation of U.S. fans. This was my first delve into a non-Joe Donovan book which I believe is number four in the series. While you can read these books without the others I do wish I had actually read atleast the first title to get a better feel and background for the Stephen Larkin character who helms the series.
If by chance you have read the Donovan Series, and if you haven't you should start, you will find Born Under Punches far grittier and blue collar focused than the sometimes upscaled lifestyles Donovan encounters. Bouncing from 1984 to present day (2001ish) the story begins with a once vibrant coal mining industry town torn apart by teamster strikes that planned to bring England to a standstill and resume a more lucrative profit margin, instead the government took their ball elsewhere and left the citizens jobless, poor and angry. Now controlled by gangsters, bookies and hooligans the town not only barely survives but similarly its residents hold on from day-to-day as it could be their last.
As it seems common in a Waites' novel seemingly unattached storylines converge in the end to bring a larger picture to the reader. Instead of one storyline that follows a sole character, multiple angles converge and bring together what could be nearly multiple novellas with a single shared ending. Very much like the 6th Season of Lost, what could have been two separate shows that all tie up nicely in the end.
Waites has a way about his writing a raw, undisturbed talent to make you fear the dark alleys, quiver during the hooligan shakedowns and feel the flow of the football (soccer) match when Woodhouse takes to the pitch. His knack for dialogue gives characters a voice that can identify individually and bring their personality closer to the page. Not as wordy as Stephen King, but what he does use to describe a neighborhood will give as vibrant an image in your mind, so much so you should need a passport to travel to Tottingham, London and Newcastle as you dart from location to location through the his stories.
Call me foolish, but romance, sci-fi and fantasy all seem to be not exclusive to, but very much do certain genders dominate the reader pool, not so with mystery and suspense. It is a genre with no boundaries, this book should be passed to your mom, brother, aunt, uncle and grandpa, it is a story that anyone old enough to enjoy a good ass kicking will say, "thanks, do you have any more of his books I can read."
If you are going to start reading Waites books I really would encourage the Donovan series first, the writing is more polished and characters are just better. But a seasoned reader with an appetite for more will enjoy the new characters, new settings and and the same grainy tales expected of his work.
It is easy to call Martyn Waites one of the best contemporary noir writers in the business today, but I would go so far as to say Waites is on of my top five (living) writers in the business.
As I digress, if I haven't heard of a writer and they have a fairly respectable size catalog or their books have low ratings, it is likely the masses are right, the author is probably not very good.
Martyn Waites is an exception to that rule. Not because he has bad ratings or that he is misunderstood, but because he is British. As Jerry Seinfeld would say, "Not that there is anything wrong with that." But here is a fact, British music across all genres invaded the U.S., authors, not so much. Sure you will bring up Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens, even Austin, but those are classic authors, dead authors. Name me 5 living British authors not named J.K. Rowling, that sell atop the U.S. sales charts. I am not saying British authors are bad, just saying the transition to the U.S. has not been taken as openly as their music.
Into the forth paragraph and I have still yet to mention the book, that is because I want to make it clear, Martyn Waites is worth the time to invest in a new writer that you have yet to explore.
Born Under Punches is one of Waites older works finally released in ebook format for the new age of readers and hopefully a new generation of U.S. fans. This was my first delve into a non-Joe Donovan book which I believe is number four in the series. While you can read these books without the others I do wish I had actually read atleast the first title to get a better feel and background for the Stephen Larkin character who helms the series.
If by chance you have read the Donovan Series, and if you haven't you should start, you will find Born Under Punches far grittier and blue collar focused than the sometimes upscaled lifestyles Donovan encounters. Bouncing from 1984 to present day (2001ish) the story begins with a once vibrant coal mining industry town torn apart by teamster strikes that planned to bring England to a standstill and resume a more lucrative profit margin, instead the government took their ball elsewhere and left the citizens jobless, poor and angry. Now controlled by gangsters, bookies and hooligans the town not only barely survives but similarly its residents hold on from day-to-day as it could be their last.
As it seems common in a Waites' novel seemingly unattached storylines converge in the end to bring a larger picture to the reader. Instead of one storyline that follows a sole character, multiple angles converge and bring together what could be nearly multiple novellas with a single shared ending. Very much like the 6th Season of Lost, what could have been two separate shows that all tie up nicely in the end.
Waites has a way about his writing a raw, undisturbed talent to make you fear the dark alleys, quiver during the hooligan shakedowns and feel the flow of the football (soccer) match when Woodhouse takes to the pitch. His knack for dialogue gives characters a voice that can identify individually and bring their personality closer to the page. Not as wordy as Stephen King, but what he does use to describe a neighborhood will give as vibrant an image in your mind, so much so you should need a passport to travel to Tottingham, London and Newcastle as you dart from location to location through the his stories.
Call me foolish, but romance, sci-fi and fantasy all seem to be not exclusive to, but very much do certain genders dominate the reader pool, not so with mystery and suspense. It is a genre with no boundaries, this book should be passed to your mom, brother, aunt, uncle and grandpa, it is a story that anyone old enough to enjoy a good ass kicking will say, "thanks, do you have any more of his books I can read."
If you are going to start reading Waites books I really would encourage the Donovan series first, the writing is more polished and characters are just better. But a seasoned reader with an appetite for more will enjoy the new characters, new settings and and the same grainy tales expected of his work.
It is easy to call Martyn Waites one of the best contemporary noir writers in the business today, but I would go so far as to say Waites is on of my top five (living) writers in the business.
May 13, 2022
When I picked this up, I didn't realize it was the fourth (and final) book featuring Stephen Larkin, a middle-aged investigative journalist barely hanging on to a career. Apparently the framework for the series is that he's based in London, but then returns to his hometown of Newcastle for a specific purpose that forms the basis of each story. In this one, he's moved back to write a book about the legacy of the 1984-85 coal union strikes and their shattering by Thatcher's policies, as enacted by truncheon-wielding police. And so the story moves back and forth between 1984 and 2001, visiting characters in their youth and later, drawing a very direct and pointed portrait of the destruction of a community.
In addition to Larkin, there's his unhappily married sister, her long-ago flame, a Newcastle footballer who was injured and now runs a treatment center for addicts, his assistant, various gangsters, miners past and present, and their kids. The whole enterprise is dark and quite bleak -- the promise of the 1980s has all been replaced with drab, rundown buildings and lives. Youth have no prospects and are adrift in heroin, and there are multiple depictions of sexual violence.
As in all these types of stories, there are a few who are striving for redemption, but the odds are against them. All the best crime novels have a good dose of social history to them, and this one leans heavily into that, as it retells the breaking of the strike and knockon effects. It's all just perhaps a little too miserablist though, and the story just never quite engaged me. It really felt like a documented series of events with little suspense or narrative drive.
In addition to Larkin, there's his unhappily married sister, her long-ago flame, a Newcastle footballer who was injured and now runs a treatment center for addicts, his assistant, various gangsters, miners past and present, and their kids. The whole enterprise is dark and quite bleak -- the promise of the 1980s has all been replaced with drab, rundown buildings and lives. Youth have no prospects and are adrift in heroin, and there are multiple depictions of sexual violence.
As in all these types of stories, there are a few who are striving for redemption, but the odds are against them. All the best crime novels have a good dose of social history to them, and this one leans heavily into that, as it retells the breaking of the strike and knockon effects. It's all just perhaps a little too miserablist though, and the story just never quite engaged me. It really felt like a documented series of events with little suspense or narrative drive.
February 28, 2017
A novel that struggles to be realistic but that just aligns clichés of archetypal characters: the mean guys are very very mean, the good guys truly don't have luck and are very very sad victims of a very very mean system. Very very sad novel very very boring to read.
September 13, 2012
This is my first in the Larkin series. I thought the titles was quite unique and in the course of reading the book, I learned it is a song title from The Talking Heads "Remain in Light" album.
It took me a couple chapters to get the rhythm.
The chapters alternate between then and now. The Then is the Thatcher years, the now is now. There is a lot of history of miner's strikes and Mrs. Thatcher. Being an American, I didn't have much knowledge of this. I always love a book that makes me want to learn more on a subject and this book does that.
The book follows a small group of characters through this timeline. Stephen Larkin and his sister Louise. Tony Woodhouse a former pro soccer player, Tommy Jobson and various others. Waites does a great job of letting us into these lives and what has happened to them over the years.
I liked it a lot and I will definitely read more in the series.
It took me a couple chapters to get the rhythm.
The chapters alternate between then and now. The Then is the Thatcher years, the now is now. There is a lot of history of miner's strikes and Mrs. Thatcher. Being an American, I didn't have much knowledge of this. I always love a book that makes me want to learn more on a subject and this book does that.
The book follows a small group of characters through this timeline. Stephen Larkin and his sister Louise. Tony Woodhouse a former pro soccer player, Tommy Jobson and various others. Waites does a great job of letting us into these lives and what has happened to them over the years.
I liked it a lot and I will definitely read more in the series.
July 11, 2012
Taking it's title from a Talking Heads song, Born Under Punches moves back and forth through time from the 80s to the early 2000s examining what has happened to a small mining town in Britain and it's inhabitants during and since the miner's strike that occurred during the begin of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It's a well written book that draws you into the characters lives while slowly piecing the together the connections between the characters and what is happening in the two different time periods.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews