Overview

Set in the early 1990s on a British army base, 4 a.m. tells the story of Cal and Manny, soldiers posted to Germany as army chefs. Bored and institutionalised, the pair soon succumb to the neon temptations of Hamburg's red-light district, where they dive into a seedy world of recreational drugs and all-night raves. But it is only a matter of time before hedonism and military discipline clash head on, with comic and poignant consequences. Life-affirming raving soon gives way to gloomy, drug-fuelled nights in fast-food restaurants, at sex shows, and in Turkish dive bars. As a succession of events ratchets up the pressure on Cal and Manny their friendship is tested, a secret is revealed, and a shocking betrayal changes one of their lives forever. Drawing on personal experience and extensive research, 4 a.m. is an iconic novel of friendship and betrayal, hedonism and military discipline. Driven by two distinctive voices, and written in a lively and buzzing style, Nina de la Mer's debut novel holds a mirror up to youth culture at the end of the twentieth century. The reflection is not always a flattering one.

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9780956559951

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Reviews

Bookgroup.info: 'Set on a British army base and in the anarchic club scene of '90s Hamburg, 4 a.m. tells the story of Cal and Manny, squaddies and diehard ravers, whose individual voices resonate in a sparkling debut novel of friendship, love and betrayal. An anthem for the E generation.' John Niven: 'Mesmerizing. And kind of frightening that a female writer can crawl so far into the male psyche.'

'Set on a British army base and in the anarchic club scene of '90s Hamburg, 4 a.m. tells the story of Cal and Manny, squaddies and diehard ravers, whose individual voices resonate in a sparkling debut novel of friendship, love and betrayal. An anthem for the E generation.' - Bookgroup.info 'Mesmerizing. And kind of frightening that a female writer can crawl so far into the male psyche.' - John Niven 'A genre defining tale of the early '90s rave scene.' - Brighton Magazine 'The depiction of a troubled masculinity in an urban setting is something we have long associated with male Scottish writers, and it's encouraging to see a woman take this subject on board.' - Scottish Review of Books '4 a.m. is very original, with really credible characters and a great sense of time and place.' - Ian Rankin

Author Information

Nina de la Mer is a Scottish novelist who lives and works in Brighton. After studying modern languages at the University of Sussex, de la Mer worked for ten years in book publishing before she began writing fiction herself. Shortlisted for the 2010 Writer’s Retreat Competition and warmly and widely reviewed, her debut novel, 4 a.m., was published in 2011 by Myriad. In 2012, de la Mer was awarded an Arts Council England Grant for the Arts to write her second novel. Layla was published in February 2014 and saw de la Mer’s work compared to that of James Kelman and Alan Bissett, who declared Nina ‘a vital British novelist’. Between her day job as an e-learning script writer and the practical demands of looking after her two young children, de la Mer is currently writing a third novel, The Decadents, an ensemble piece about two very different Brighton families. An enthusiastic and committed writer, de la Mer regularly appears at salons such as Grit Lit and Ace Stories, has contributed original short stories to spoken word events and has helped judge several writing competitions. Her work has been covered in the press in outlets as varied as the Guardian, Hello! Magazine, The Daily Record and The Herald, whose reviewer remarked of her debut: ‘It’s about time we had a female Irvine Welsh.’

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