“Like talking to a bawdy uncle after his fourth beer. “A comprehensive, illuminating portrait of the band that often takes the piss out of its doom-ridden legacy.” - Cincinnati City Beat “A surprisingly funny-and gleefully profane-portrait.” - Entertainment Weekly The passages where Hook details the recording of the Unknown Pleasures album are fantastic and insightful. and, in the middle of it all, the transformative power of music.” - Los Angeles Times a portal into a vivid moment in rock history. There’s nothing like hearing the story straight from Hooky’s foul mouth.” - Rock Cellar Magazine It’s the best document yet to be produced on Joy Division. “A tiny gem written by a monster musician. this is required reading for anyone who ever felt moved by Joy Division’s cold, dark music.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Hook peels away the romantic sheen colored by its dark history and gives unfettered insight into the band’s origins and inspirations.

“Vivid, funny, and unexpectedly touching, Peter Hook’s memoir strips away the shroud of myth surrounding Joy Division to offer a refreshingly gritty perspective on the story of four ordinary young men who together made extraordinary music.” - Simon Reynolds, author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 “It’s a window like no other into the reality of life in this most aloof of bands.” - Metro London

Having read Hook’s book, you’ll feel like you were he fifth member of the band.” - GQ (UK) “An immense account of Joy Division’s rise, cataloguing the group’s struggle for recognition, their rapidly gained superiority on the Manchester scene and the epic numbness following Ian Curtis’ shock suicide. If you like Joy Division you really have to read it.” - Ian Harrison, Q Magazine recalled with Hook’s winning Manc gallows humor. “A bittersweet, profanity-filled recollection of their brief existence. Hook evokes the spirit of the age with a bluff authenticity that no outsider could hope to emulate…explaining the creation of his band’s remarkable music with all the passion and insight it deserves. The most colorful and intimate account of Joy Division ever written.

Unknown pleasures inside joy division