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Wreckage
"[ Wreckage ] is a really remarkable piece of work. In the foreground is a caper story; in the background, a poetically expressed, apocalyptic history of Liverpool." ― The Daily Telegraph
That woman with the grey hair and the specs and the kind face and the accent all like his grandmother, his nain in hospital and when she can talk that is what she sounds like. Don'thitmepleasedon'thitme. These women falling, sliding off this earth and not just from violence but the one commonality that turns life to a wreck―age.
After their botched and brutal mission to punish a one-armed man in a small Welsh village, Darren and Alastair head back to Liverpool to report to their mob boss. On the way home, Darren robs a rural postal office in Wales that serves as a bank and needlessly cracks the skull of a little old postal lady. Darren's eyes are full of fire. "We're rich , Alastair!" But Alastair sees his own nain in this elderly woman and falls victim to his conscience. Darren has finally gone too far.
As Alastair and Darren weave their way through the lowlife milieu of Liverpool, we hear many the alky, the crack addict, the busman, the whores, the gangsters, and Darren's many victims. But we also hear the voices of their ancestors going back generations of unthinkable grief and poverty.
A fascinating sequel to Niall Griffiths' Stump , which Irvine Welsh calls "a magnificent novel of loss and obsession . . . [by] a major talent."
That woman with the grey hair and the specs and the kind face and the accent all like his grandmother, his nain in hospital and when she can talk that is what she sounds like. Don'thitmepleasedon'thitme. These women falling, sliding off this earth and not just from violence but the one commonality that turns life to a wreck―age.
After their botched and brutal mission to punish a one-armed man in a small Welsh village, Darren and Alastair head back to Liverpool to report to their mob boss. On the way home, Darren robs a rural postal office in Wales that serves as a bank and needlessly cracks the skull of a little old postal lady. Darren's eyes are full of fire. "We're rich , Alastair!" But Alastair sees his own nain in this elderly woman and falls victim to his conscience. Darren has finally gone too far.
As Alastair and Darren weave their way through the lowlife milieu of Liverpool, we hear many the alky, the crack addict, the busman, the whores, the gangsters, and Darren's many victims. But we also hear the voices of their ancestors going back generations of unthinkable grief and poverty.
A fascinating sequel to Niall Griffiths' Stump , which Irvine Welsh calls "a magnificent novel of loss and obsession . . . [by] a major talent."
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Niall Griffiths
33 books100 followersNiall Griffiths was born in Liverpool to a Welsh/Irish/Romany lineage. He’s been a labourer, a barman, a server of fish and chips, a burglar, a farmhand, a tree feller, a factory worker and many other things too tedious to relate. Now, he’s a full-time writer, living at the foot of a mountain in mid-Wales, with seven novels published, several works of non-fiction and more short stories and radio plays and travel pieces and reviews than he cares to, or possibly even can, count. His fourth novel, Stump, won the Wales Book of the Year Award. A film adaptation of his third novel, Kelly+Victor, won a BAFTA. He’s now working on the screenplay for his sixth, Wreckage. His latest novel is Broken Ghost.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 13, 2018
Ομολογώ ότι διαβάζοντας το οπισθόφυλλο γειωθηκα λίγο.. Υπέθεσα πως θα ήταν άλλο ένα βιβλίο - ωδή στην βία, στυγνο και ανελέητο. Τι άλλο θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα βιβλίο που πραγματευεται το χούλιγκανισμο της δεκαετίας του 80 μεταξύ Λίβερπουλ κι Ουαλίας.
Κιομως ο τύπος ζωγράφισε. Υπέροχη και πλούσια χρήση της γλώσσα, ιδιόρρυθμη συγγραφή (η ιστορία μέσα από τους ίδιους τους πρωταγωνιστές αλλά και από κάθε άτομο που τους περιβάλλει η κάπως περιπλέκεται στην ιστορία τους) και η ολοκληρωτική αποκαθήλωση και απομυθοποιηση της βίας. Της βίας που κρύβουμε όλοι μέσα μας.
Επέλεξε να κάνει την διαφορά ο τύπος με αυτό το βιβλίο και πραγματικά το πέτυχε. Ευχάριστη έκπληξη ομολογώ.
Κιομως ο τύπος ζωγράφισε. Υπέροχη και πλούσια χρήση της γλώσσα, ιδιόρρυθμη συγγραφή (η ιστορία μέσα από τους ίδιους τους πρωταγωνιστές αλλά και από κάθε άτομο που τους περιβάλλει η κάπως περιπλέκεται στην ιστορία τους) και η ολοκληρωτική αποκαθήλωση και απομυθοποιηση της βίας. Της βίας που κρύβουμε όλοι μέσα μας.
Επέλεξε να κάνει την διαφορά ο τύπος με αυτό το βιβλίο και πραγματικά το πέτυχε. Ευχάριστη έκπληξη ομολογώ.
April 10, 2022
Η αρκετά απλοϊκή ιδέα του βιβλίου (μια ληστεία από δύο περιθωριακούς losers που έχει μια άσχημη συνέχεια) γίνεται αφορμή για να ξεδιπλώσει ο Griffiths το ταλέντο του στην ποιητική πρόζα παρά στην μυθοπλασία. Ανύπαρκτη υπόθεση που γεμίζει 250 σελίδες, γλαφυρή αναπαράσταση της περιθωριακής παρακμής της Αγγλίας-Ουαλίας χωρίς όμως να παίρνει κοινωνικές διαστάσεις ή πολιτική θέση. Μόνο συναισθήματα και προσπάθεια του συγγραφέα να ζήσει μέσα από τον κάθε χαρακτήρα. Ωραίο ανάγνωσμα, όχι ακριβώς απολαυστικό αλλά με κράτησε παρά το γεγονός ότι οι συνεχής μετάβαση της διήγησης στην μεριά άλλων χαρακτήρων (αναλύθηκε ακόμα και η ιστορία του κοπιδιού του Ντάρεν) δημιουργούσε μια επιτήδευση. Πάντως είναι αρκετά ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο.
August 31, 2016
Στο δρόμο που χάραξε ο Irvin Welsh την δεκαετία του '90, έρχεται να προστεθεί ένα απο τα καλύτερα του είδους του τουλάχιστον για την πρώτη δεκαετία του 2000.
Όλα ξεκινάν όταν η φαινομενικά απλή δουλειά που έχει ανατεθεί στον Αλαστερ και τον Νταρεν πάει στραβά καθώς ληστεύουν ένα μικρό τοπικό ταχυδρομείο και τραυματίζουν σχεδόν θανάσιμα μια γριούλα. Μεθυσμένοι απο την επιτυχία της ληστείας τους, κάνουν όνειρα για το πως θα ξοδέψουν τις 4.000£ της λείας. Ανάμεσα τους όμως κυριαρχεί η καχυποψία και η προδοσία. Βήμα βήμα θα παρατηρήσουμε πως οι δυο πρώην συνεργάτες και ουδέποτε πραγματικοί φίλοι, θα μπλεχτούν σε ένα κυνηγητό βίας στην Αγγλία που ακόμα κουβαλάει πάνω της την δεκαετία του '90. Ναρκωτικά, βία, πορνες και πρεζακια κυριαρχούν και εδώ.
Εγώ προσωπικά είμαι φαν του είδους και πιστεύω πως πέρα απο το προφανές τέτοιων βιβλίων, θα βρούμε μια βαθιά μετάνοια και ειλικρίνεια για την κακή εποχή που πέρασαν τόσο οι συγγραφείς όσο και η νήσος της μεγάλης Βρετανίας γενικότερα. Όσο οξύμωρο και αν ακούγεται ή ψευτοκουλτουριαρικο, πέρα απο την υπόθεση νομίζω πως σε τέτοια βιβλία βρίσκουμε και τις κοινωνικές συνθήκες της εποχής. Τι λέτε;
Όλα ξεκινάν όταν η φαινομενικά απλή δουλειά που έχει ανατεθεί στον Αλαστερ και τον Νταρεν πάει στραβά καθώς ληστεύουν ένα μικρό τοπικό ταχυδρομείο και τραυματίζουν σχεδόν θανάσιμα μια γριούλα. Μεθυσμένοι απο την επιτυχία της ληστείας τους, κάνουν όνειρα για το πως θα ξοδέψουν τις 4.000£ της λείας. Ανάμεσα τους όμως κυριαρχεί η καχυποψία και η προδοσία. Βήμα βήμα θα παρατηρήσουμε πως οι δυο πρώην συνεργάτες και ουδέποτε πραγματικοί φίλοι, θα μπλεχτούν σε ένα κυνηγητό βίας στην Αγγλία που ακόμα κουβαλάει πάνω της την δεκαετία του '90. Ναρκωτικά, βία, πορνες και πρεζακια κυριαρχούν και εδώ.
Εγώ προσωπικά είμαι φαν του είδους και πιστεύω πως πέρα απο το προφανές τέτοιων βιβλίων, θα βρούμε μια βαθιά μετάνοια και ειλικρίνεια για την κακή εποχή που πέρασαν τόσο οι συγγραφείς όσο και η νήσος της μεγάλης Βρετανίας γενικότερα. Όσο οξύμωρο και αν ακούγεται ή ψευτοκουλτουριαρικο, πέρα απο την υπόθεση νομίζω πως σε τέτοια βιβλία βρίσκουμε και τις κοινωνικές συνθήκες της εποχής. Τι λέτε;
September 29, 2024
This work of Transgressive Fiction is darker than Stump, but I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed Stump. We do meet Darren and Alastair again, but there is no humor here. Darren has committed a terrible, violent crime and Alastair struggles to comes to grips with it.
As with Stump, Niall Griffiths doesn’t only tell a gripping story, he explores the dark and the light of human nature, and what forces guide our choices that we aren’t even aware of.
Why are some people good and other seemingly devoid of simple humanity? In Wreckage Griffiths goes even deeper into family histories, historical and current events, and cultural influences on the individual.
I highly recommend Wreckage and will be reading everything Niall Griffiths wrote.
As with Stump, Niall Griffiths doesn’t only tell a gripping story, he explores the dark and the light of human nature, and what forces guide our choices that we aren’t even aware of.
Why are some people good and other seemingly devoid of simple humanity? In Wreckage Griffiths goes even deeper into family histories, historical and current events, and cultural influences on the individual.
I highly recommend Wreckage and will be reading everything Niall Griffiths wrote.
March 13, 2017
Αμφιταλαντεύομαι μεταξύ 3,5 και 4 αστεριών. Διαβάζοντας τα ανθρώπινα συντρίμμια έχεις την αίσθηση ότι ολόκληρο το βιβλίο μοιάζει με εκείνες τις παιδικές λάμπες που γυρνάνε γύρω-γύρω προβάλλοντας διάφορες φιγούρες στον τοίχο. Έτσι, κάθε χαρακτήρας μας δίνει και την δική του εκδοχή των γεγονότων φτιάχνοντας μια κάπως διαφορετική ροή αφήγησης.
Ένας, σε σημεία, παραληρηματικός χορός οξέος λόγου γύρω από την λάμπα μιας κατά βάση βίαιης ιστορίας με στοιχεία που έχουν να κάνουν με την ηθική, την μετάνοια, την κοινωνία (συνθήκες, ανοχές, εθελοτυφλία, εδώ παίζουν όλα), τις ανθρώπινες επιλογές και το προσωπικό σκοτάδι.
Κάπως σοκαριστικό σε ορισμένες σελίδες του, λίγο σκοτεινό μα ταυτόχρονα αποτυπώνοντας απόλυτα μια πραγματικότητα στην οποία, συνειδητά ή όχι, επιλέγουμε να στρέψουμε αλλού το κεφάλι.
Ένας, σε σημεία, παραληρηματικός χορός οξέος λόγου γύρω από την λάμπα μιας κατά βάση βίαιης ιστορίας με στοιχεία που έχουν να κάνουν με την ηθική, την μετάνοια, την κοινωνία (συνθήκες, ανοχές, εθελοτυφλία, εδώ παίζουν όλα), τις ανθρώπινες επιλογές και το προσωπικό σκοτάδι.
Κάπως σοκαριστικό σε ορισμένες σελίδες του, λίγο σκοτεινό μα ταυτόχρονα αποτυπώνοντας απόλυτα μια πραγματικότητα στην οποία, συνειδητά ή όχι, επιλέγουμε να στρέψουμε αλλού το κεφάλι.
April 28, 2022
Once again the form triumphs over the plot. Some of the vantage points are really obscure but the language still makes this a useful read when absorbing the local atmosphere.
August 11, 2008
not as good as grits, sheepshagger, or stump, but overall ok. not the best summer reading thats for sure
August 3, 2022
Wreckage. Niall Griffiths
📖📖📖
You don't find its beauty in the obvious parts of its plot. You detect it in its gaps, in the inward thoughts of its heroes, in the glimpses of humanity that spring from their consciousness, not completely hypnotized, despite the exaltation to which reality has condemned them.
📖📖📖
Ανθρώπινα συντρίμμια. Niall Griffiths
📖📖📖
Την ομορφιά του δεν την συναντάς στα αυτονόητα σημεία της πλοκής του. Την εντοπίζεις στα χάσματά της, στη στροφή προς τα μέσα που πραγματοποιεί στις σκέψεις των ηρώων, στις αναλαμπές της ανθρωπιάς που ξεπηδούν απ'τη συνείδησή τους, όχι εντελώς υπνωτισμένη, παρά την εξαρχρείωση στην οποία τους έχει καταδικάσει η πραγματικότητα. Η γραμμικότητα της αφήγησης του Griffiths υποδέχεται τις διαλογικές παρεμβολές σαν αιτιακή εξήγηση, συχνά σαν αποτίμηση της συμπεριφοράς των τραγικών ηρώων του που η περιορισμένη τους ενόραση, λόγω της ανεξήγητης ή απόλυτα λογικής οργής τους, τούς ωθεί σε μια παροξυστική(και γι' αυτό ίσως κατανοητή ή αναμενόμενη) βία που στοχεύει σε λάθος αντικείμενο.
📖📖📖
You don't find its beauty in the obvious parts of its plot. You detect it in its gaps, in the inward thoughts of its heroes, in the glimpses of humanity that spring from their consciousness, not completely hypnotized, despite the exaltation to which reality has condemned them.
📖📖📖
Ανθρώπινα συντρίμμια. Niall Griffiths
📖📖📖
Την ομορφιά του δεν την συναντάς στα αυτονόητα σημεία της πλοκής του. Την εντοπίζεις στα χάσματά της, στη στροφή προς τα μέσα που πραγματοποιεί στις σκέψεις των ηρώων, στις αναλαμπές της ανθρωπιάς που ξεπηδούν απ'τη συνείδησή τους, όχι εντελώς υπνωτισμένη, παρά την εξαρχρείωση στην οποία τους έχει καταδικάσει η πραγματικότητα. Η γραμμικότητα της αφήγησης του Griffiths υποδέχεται τις διαλογικές παρεμβολές σαν αιτιακή εξήγηση, συχνά σαν αποτίμηση της συμπεριφοράς των τραγικών ηρώων του που η περιορισμένη τους ενόραση, λόγω της ανεξήγητης ή απόλυτα λογικής οργής τους, τούς ωθεί σε μια παροξυστική(και γι' αυτό ίσως κατανοητή ή αναμενόμενη) βία που στοχεύει σε λάθος αντικείμενο.
March 9, 2012
This condensed slice of life criss-crosses Wales and Liverpool as it follows the hopeless protagonists whilst also switching perspective to other characters and perspectives to create a full experience. At first it gives the appearance of a crime caper, but soon it becomes clear that the focus is lives and locations: people and places and the way they shape each other. However, the crime committed does drive every action, the fruits of the crime a cursed chalice that brings bad luck to each possessor.
The scale of the dangers the protagonists face is both sinister and consciously bathetic. While the novel includes its fair share of sliced and burnt faces, disfigured with knives or irons or boots or hammers, the fundamental golden object being chased and causing all this wreckage is not some huge figure as in many crime capers. Instead, after hearing:
"Fuckin rich, Ally! Fuckin brewstered, lar! ... Pure fuckin rich we are, lad! Pure fuckin loaded, man!"
we find out it is a pathetic £4,000. That life can be so cheap and characters have so little imagination does a huge amount to make concrete the reality of their existences.
I have heard some people say that Niall's books can be difficult and depressing due to the colloquial dialects and desperate subject matter. However, reading them breaks down that perception. Taking this novel as an example, you don't have to look far for humour, poetry, and great turns of phrase that make me jealous that I didn't come up with them first, such as "Litterfruited bushes" (p56). The poetry in Niall's work combines with the patois to prevent it being a "Vomit Novel" (a genre one of the peripheral characters is obsessed with, though Niall is playful with the idea and does include vomit in one horrific scene).
The humour erupts amidst the carefully constructed chaos as frequently as the violence does. For example on p53 a pensioner complains about the bad language used nowadays compared to the past, along with drugs, shootings and burglaries: "we had none of it back then, oh no. Things were much quieter, more peaceful, during the War." Classic.
Politics is also woven throughtout the novel. Take this example from p17:
"People in this room in a hovering purple light. The music is loud and a TV is on with the sound turned down, some local news programme or something showing a concerned councillor in a yellow hard hat on a building site, bulldozers and cranes around him and he besuited and whiskery. Nothing comes from his mouth. He talks but makes no noise. The real people talking in the room glance..."
One thought that came to me while reading was: what has created these people, these places? It is one thing to show monsters, but without knowing where they come from it is difficult to reconcile them with any hope. The answer builds up throughout the novel, often through digressions into the pasts of the characters until by the end it has the force of an argument. The cause of this world, one of exploitation and violence, is History. A cruel, selfish, mindlessly callous history: a past of exploitation and violence for the benefit of those in power, whether it be slave trading in Liverpool docks or the imperialism of the English in Ireland. This is the underlying angry force of the novel.
In May 2011, Niall - good bloke that he is - emailed me when he'd read this review on my blog, saying "Lovely stuff, Karl. And perceptive - apocalyptic history is behind it all. Break up the title like this - Wreck:Age, or Wreck, Age. You've got it, mate."
We've really got to make sure that we all try and build a future free from exploitation, so that we don't create even more problems further down the line.
The scale of the dangers the protagonists face is both sinister and consciously bathetic. While the novel includes its fair share of sliced and burnt faces, disfigured with knives or irons or boots or hammers, the fundamental golden object being chased and causing all this wreckage is not some huge figure as in many crime capers. Instead, after hearing:
"Fuckin rich, Ally! Fuckin brewstered, lar! ... Pure fuckin rich we are, lad! Pure fuckin loaded, man!"
we find out it is a pathetic £4,000. That life can be so cheap and characters have so little imagination does a huge amount to make concrete the reality of their existences.
I have heard some people say that Niall's books can be difficult and depressing due to the colloquial dialects and desperate subject matter. However, reading them breaks down that perception. Taking this novel as an example, you don't have to look far for humour, poetry, and great turns of phrase that make me jealous that I didn't come up with them first, such as "Litterfruited bushes" (p56). The poetry in Niall's work combines with the patois to prevent it being a "Vomit Novel" (a genre one of the peripheral characters is obsessed with, though Niall is playful with the idea and does include vomit in one horrific scene).
The humour erupts amidst the carefully constructed chaos as frequently as the violence does. For example on p53 a pensioner complains about the bad language used nowadays compared to the past, along with drugs, shootings and burglaries: "we had none of it back then, oh no. Things were much quieter, more peaceful, during the War." Classic.
Politics is also woven throughtout the novel. Take this example from p17:
"People in this room in a hovering purple light. The music is loud and a TV is on with the sound turned down, some local news programme or something showing a concerned councillor in a yellow hard hat on a building site, bulldozers and cranes around him and he besuited and whiskery. Nothing comes from his mouth. He talks but makes no noise. The real people talking in the room glance..."
One thought that came to me while reading was: what has created these people, these places? It is one thing to show monsters, but without knowing where they come from it is difficult to reconcile them with any hope. The answer builds up throughout the novel, often through digressions into the pasts of the characters until by the end it has the force of an argument. The cause of this world, one of exploitation and violence, is History. A cruel, selfish, mindlessly callous history: a past of exploitation and violence for the benefit of those in power, whether it be slave trading in Liverpool docks or the imperialism of the English in Ireland. This is the underlying angry force of the novel.
In May 2011, Niall - good bloke that he is - emailed me when he'd read this review on my blog, saying "Lovely stuff, Karl. And perceptive - apocalyptic history is behind it all. Break up the title like this - Wreck:Age, or Wreck, Age. You've got it, mate."
We've really got to make sure that we all try and build a future free from exploitation, so that we don't create even more problems further down the line.
December 17, 2012
Style - Vernacular, speech driven, told by the everyone's viewpoint - including passers by, the rain, the city, ancestors...
Themes - Difficult to say - there is a sense of aging throughout - but mainly, I believe that it is for entertainment and a voice for the dispossessed and criminal. Violence, and its after effects are unflinchingly told.
Hugely entertaining, this book moves along at an alarming pace - mainly through the short sections passed on different peoples viewpoints. Everything is speech driven, with few descriptions and everything is told in native language.
The story is simple - Alistair and Darron are returning from the expedidition in Stump and Rob a post office. Darron uses too much force and half kills the elderly propeitor. They return to Liverpool with the swag - alisatair tries to con darron and the money is stolen and then their bossess - Tommy Maguire - try to get involved. Alistair then manages to get hold of the money again, and when trying to return it to the shop where they stole it - gets shot by the womans husband in an ending that feels a little tacked on.
Once again, Griffiths describes the low lifes and scumbags of Liverpool in this uncritical and unflinching manner. What is particulary pleasing is the repeated nods to other books and other characters from other books. Like Irvine Welsh - he makes you feel part of a club when reading through and seeing how the world that he has created is inter-related.
No new territory here and you know exactly what you are going to get - but this isn't a problem.
Themes - Difficult to say - there is a sense of aging throughout - but mainly, I believe that it is for entertainment and a voice for the dispossessed and criminal. Violence, and its after effects are unflinchingly told.
Hugely entertaining, this book moves along at an alarming pace - mainly through the short sections passed on different peoples viewpoints. Everything is speech driven, with few descriptions and everything is told in native language.
The story is simple - Alistair and Darron are returning from the expedidition in Stump and Rob a post office. Darron uses too much force and half kills the elderly propeitor. They return to Liverpool with the swag - alisatair tries to con darron and the money is stolen and then their bossess - Tommy Maguire - try to get involved. Alistair then manages to get hold of the money again, and when trying to return it to the shop where they stole it - gets shot by the womans husband in an ending that feels a little tacked on.
Once again, Griffiths describes the low lifes and scumbags of Liverpool in this uncritical and unflinching manner. What is particulary pleasing is the repeated nods to other books and other characters from other books. Like Irvine Welsh - he makes you feel part of a club when reading through and seeing how the world that he has created is inter-related.
No new territory here and you know exactly what you are going to get - but this isn't a problem.
November 23, 2011
a follow up to "Stump"
but from the two bad guys perspective. they never do catch the one-armed guy, so head back to scouse land, but these dudes are mean and unconscionable and decide to knock over a post office/bank. typical gruesome niall grifftiths prose, he can describe what goes on in the head of a drug/drink addled mind better n most any writer i have read. experience?
but from the two bad guys perspective. they never do catch the one-armed guy, so head back to scouse land, but these dudes are mean and unconscionable and decide to knock over a post office/bank. typical gruesome niall grifftiths prose, he can describe what goes on in the head of a drug/drink addled mind better n most any writer i have read. experience? 
February 9, 2015
Interesting premise for a story but too oversimplified for it to really work -- for me anyway. Too neat and tidy. Regardless, it's a fast read and definitely takes the reader down an unusual path.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews