Scraper a novel about punk, a novel set in 1981, by James Gilberd, now available in print in New Zealand, or internationally via Amazon
Printed copies of Scraper now available from Photospace, $20 + $4 P&P within New Zealand

'Scraper - a novel about punk'
by James Gilberd
Update: Kindle version of Scraper now US$0.99

My novel Scraper is now available in paperback, US$8.99 from Amazon.
ORDER YOUR COPY
Or it can be bought directly from Photospace Gallery, 1st floor 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington, NZ$20.00 (Eftpos, Visa, Mastercard available on site. Please add $4.00 for postage and packing of orders within New Zealand. Enquire by email and I'll forward internet banking instructions.

What is Scraper about?

Set in 1981, Scraper is 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, hyperactive drummers, the police, rugby thugs, racism, proto-Goths, and most of all his father, Tom.

As New Zealand becomes increasingly divided over Apartheid and the 1981 anti-Springbok Tour protests, Scraper transforms into a political band. This development has its ups and downs, or disasters - depending on how you look at it.

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 rugby tour of that year, historical accuracy.has been deliberately sidestepped.

Autobiographical?

No, it ain't. Yes, I know that all first novels are autobiographical to some extent; and true, I played drums 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 about 160 times. There is also some mild drug use (mostly centred around the hippy character), some masturbation and a little bit of actual sex. Standard teenage behaviour, really, but if you think any of this will offend your delicate sensibilities, don't read the fucking novel.

Previously...

Before this version of SCRAPER was published via Amazon, it was made available for a couple of years as a free download from both Scribd and Obooko. During this period the novel was downloaded more than 16,000 times. Interestingly, the majority of these downloads were to India and Asia.

Updated: 13th April 2017   
©2009-2017, James Gilberd, Wellington/NZ
Picture
Cover of Scraper, by James Gilberd

Links to related sites

Picture
Photo by Andrew Ross, care of Photospace Gallery, Wellington NZ
The photo above, by Andrew Ross, would've been my first choice for a cover  for Scraper - it captures the exact atmosphere and the lonesome guitarist could easily be Steve - had it not already been used for the VUP reprint edition of Nigel Cox's 'Dirty Work'.