Product Description

'We all know what this could be: we know it could be dysentery, we know it could be typhoid. In the "Occupied City", we all know what this could mean -' Tokyo, January 26th, 1948. As the third year of the US Occupation of Japan begins, a man enters a downtown bank. He speaks of an outbreak of dysentery and says he is a doctor, sent by the Occupation authorities, to treat anyone who might have been exposed. Clear liquid is poured into sixteen teacups. Sixteen employees of the bank drink this liquid according to strict instructions. Within minutes twelve of them are dead, the other four unconscious. The man disappears along with some, but not all, of the bank's money. And so begins the biggest manhunt in Japanese history. In "Occupied City", David Peace dramatises and explores the rumours of complicity, conspiracy and cover-up that surround the chilling case of the Teikoku Bank Massacre: of the man who was convicted of the crime, of the legacy of biological warfare programmes, and of the victims and survivors themselves. The second part of his acclaimed "Tokyo Trilogy" - and an extraordinary picture of a city in mourning - "Occupied City" is further evidence of a singular and formidable novelist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12335 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
David Peace single-handedly forged a new crime genre: Yorkshire Noir. The lacerating Nineteen Seventy Four (1999), inaugurated his Red Riding Quartet, with Nineteen Eighty (2001) and Nineteen Eighty Three (2002) equally powerful and disturbing, showing that innovation was still possible in an exhausted genre. Amazingly, Peace demonstrated that he could create another sequence of breath and ambition -- and Occupied City, the second part of his already acclaimed Tokyo trilogy continues the momentum of the first book, Toyo Year Zero. The contrast with the earlier Yorkshire-set sequence could not be more extreme – except for a similarly dark and merciless view of humanity.

Tokyo Year Zero married a sweeping historical canvas with a tough crime narrative. In the new book, we are in Tokyo in January 1948. The city is occupied (for the third year), and a man arrives at a bank talking of a dysentery outbreak that he has been set to treat. Members of the bank staff are given a liquid which, he says, will save them from the outbreak – but within minutes they are dead. The murderer leaves the bank, having robbed it – and a manhunt the like of which Japan has never seen before is inaugurated. The mainspring of Peace’s plot here allows him to create blistering and brilliantly imagined picture of a whole society at a significant moment in its history, riven with betrayal and guilty complicity – and no crime is too massive for cover-up.

As ever, Peace does not grant us an easy read – he’s not for everyone. But those with a readiness to confront the less comfortable side of human nature – and who feel that the best books are designed to challenge us – will not hesitate to investigate Occupied City, and will be impatient for the third and concluding part of the sequence. --Barry Forshaw

About the Author
David Peace - named in 2003 as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists - was born and brought up in Yorkshire. He is the author of the Red Riding Quartet which was adapted into a three part Channel 4 series, GB84 which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Award, and The Damned Utd, the film version of which was released in Spring 2009. Tokyo Year Zero, the first part of his Tokyo Trilogy, was released in 2007.

Customer Reviews

Peace's Most Disappointing Offering
Firstly, in response to a previous review, I fail to see how anyone can give a 4 star review to a book they admit to not having read!?

I have read Occupied City, as I have all David Peace's books going back to 1974 when it was first published 10 years ago. Like most others who buy Peace's books, I accept that they aren't an easy read. I enjoy his unique writing style--the short sentences, the repetition of phrases, the different character viewpoints, the recent introduction of Japanese phrases. Gari Gari...

I therefore bought Occupied City as soon as it was available, and I was very disappointed. The subject matter is excellent--like Year Zero, its based on actual events in Post war Japan. An obscure crime which leads you to want to research more. The format of the book, writing from the viewpoint of multiple characters is also what we'd expect of Peace.

My problem is the actual execution. It took me a few chapters to actually work out what was going on. Even then, half the time, I didnt know who the characters were or how they related to each other. Also, to me, the writing appeared tired compared to previous offerings. I was left wondering whether Peace is contracted to produce 3 books in this series and has lost interest somewhat.I'm also thinking that we may have entered 'emporers new clothes territory' ie Peace is now so well known, he's obviously the star turn with his publisher and maybe is surrounded by 'yes men' who are scared to tell him that his latest book is actually not very good? Would an unknown David Peace have had Occupied City published back in the mid 90's?

After reading the book, I was left wondering whether Peace is just too clever or maybe I'm too stupid to get his latest work? Even if the latter is true, it should be of concern to Peace and his publishers, as I consider myself a fan of the man's work and have previously bought all his work immediately. Maybe I'll exercise more caution with Book 3 in the trilogy.

A real disappointment
I can only echo the point of other contributors; disappointing, obscure and a tough read with very little on the positive side to offset all the negativity. I will admit that I am strugglong to finish this toom. Be warned!

In Defence of Peace
I have read all of Peace's previous work, beginning with the Damned United, through to the Red Riding quartet and am currently reading Tokyo Year Zero. I have not read Occupied City, but in this process of ordering I happened to notice a rather unhelpful 1 star review, and felt compelled to leap to the defence of David Peace.
I suspect the author of said review has fallen into the same trap as many others who have tried to read any of Peace's work. His books can be very hard work, as he constantly breaks up the narrative to give an insight into the character thoughts/feelings, or to flesh out the surroundings of a particular event etc. Not particularly unusual but I literally mean constantly - every two sentences or thereabouts.
This makes for a daunting read at times just to keep pace with what is actually happening. However for any who have read A Clockwork Orange (I'm not comparing Peace to Burgess - thats silly) the feeling of breaking through this jarring story telling method is akin to that of suddenly understanding the jargon used in ACO and no less enjoyable.
Certainly I'm hooked on Peace at the moment, and despite some early misgivings with his style, I have come to appreciate and even cherish his stop-start style, just as I fell in love with A Clockwork Orange's once unintelligible language.