Set in Derry in 1981, Music Love Drugs War is a coming-of-age tale about a group of friends growing up in a turbulent time and period in history that is well-known, yet perhaps not known so well from this everyday perspective. Grace Keane welcomes a striking fictional debut.
Teenage friends Christy, Kevin and siblings Paddy and Liz are approaching the end of the school year and about to embark on their life as adults. Their main concerns are where they will meet their friends for a drink, who’s shifting who, what they smoke, what college they want to get into and what music they are listening to. They enjoy the buzz of the punk lifestyle, taking each day as it comes and navigating the trials and tribulations of young adulthood.
Taken for granted however in their sphere of reality is the armed British army patrolling the street, dawn raids on houses in their local community, being searched on the street, broken glass and burnt out cars - this is simply life, another part of their life.
Bobby Sands is on hunger strike, tensions rise and there is unrest on the streets. Riot frequency increases along with bolder actions and more danger on the streets. During one such riot a terrible turn of events unfolds resulting in the death of a friend of the gang, throwing everything into sharp relief. The Troubles can no longer be compartmentalised as one of the many threads of their lives, alongside studies, music and relationships, and the gang can no longer be nonchalant.
The unexpected and tragic death affects each one in their own way, Paddy and Christy have an anger awoken in them that they did not realise they held. No longer do they join in throwing stones with the rioters simply for fun but they now do so with a sense of purpose. This not only changes their lives but strains their relationships with family members as they now must now deal with the ramifications of the boys' decisions to take protest more seriously.
Liz’s ambition has always been her studies, to progress and grasp every opportunity afforded to her. Derry holds no prospects for her, while the UK holds a plethora of new and exciting experiences. If she chooses to leave does mean she is a traitor?
Does it mean she doesn’t care or that she is selfish? Then for those who engage with the Provos and choose to fight, do they know why they doing it? Are they doing it for the right reason? Do they even care? The friends all find themselves asking serious questions of not only themselves but of each other.
With a novel such as this is would have been very easy to get sucked into the politics alone and have that at the forefront of the book. Quigley deftly portrays things in such a way that this is predominantly a story about a group of friends, growing up, growing apart and changing. The Troubles weave in and out of the lives of the friends but for the most part, and at least the first half of the novel, it is about going out and having fun.
Despite the seemingly hostile environment, Quigley reminds readers that no matter what situation, what tragedy, people are always living out their ordinary lives. With a cool humour and tenderness, Quigley contemplates, to quote the blurb, "the slippery reasons behind the decisions we make". Whether getting high, drinking or smoking too much, enjoying the thrill of budding romance, or experiencing the anxiety of the future may hold. This is life for the gang, a life of Music Love War and Drugs.
