JOY DIVISION: PIECE BY PIECE: Writing About Joy Division 1977–2007

A cerebral, spectacular look inside the Manchester scene from one of the best writers in rock history. The book takes you back to the post punk era then to the present for Morley's feelings, and inspirations for his writings, which are very poignant, especially his revealing how his fathers death boookends the journey of Joy Division, and how it may have subconciously influenced him.This is the best book I have read on the enigmatic Manchester scene, which I have always been fascinated with. If you are the same, this is a must have.If you have read or own the 1984 book "An Ideal For Living" which chronicled every gig of Joy Division with the writings of Paul Morley, you will be reading things that you have in the past, but "Piece By Piece" is presented in such a more organized and engrossing fashion that it is worth purchasing.I would give 5 stars, but would like to have seen more rare or unseen illustrations.Title quote is from the song "Heart and Soul" by Joy Division

Thought provoking and entertaining. Thank you, Paul Morley, for giving your point of view on such a pivotal moment in rock history to which you were a witness.

Not quite what I had expected. Although this book is slightly entertaining, it lacks the minutia that die-hard Joy Division and Ian Curtis fans crave. It's not the easiest book to read, as it's intentionally written in an unconventional manner. A section of this book is included in the Joy Division Best Of liner notes. Add it to your collection if you must, but I recommend the book From Joy Division to New Order: The Factory Records Story by Mick Middles.

Love it

I got this book because I am still a bit obsessed with Joy Division after all these years - after what seems like a commonly experienced 15 years of avoiding them. And so of course I bought a book with this title. I even enjoyed quite a bit of it. Be warned - it is not easy reading. Morley makes a point of not wanting to write a standard book, e.g. who did what, where and when, arguing that others have and will, and that the subject matter requires a different approach. It is deliberately disjointed. This can be understood and accepted. There is also a lot of word-for-word repetition (is this deliberate?). My main disappointment is the fact that a lot of the book is about other things. Some of this is interesting, particularly his attempt to come to terms with his father's suicide (note: a suicide in the family does not seem to be a prerequisite for obsession with this band, but it probably helps). But there's a lot of other stuff, like on the general music scene at the time. The final straw for me was when I reached a very lengthy "interview" with Cab Voltaire. One could argue that this puts things in context but I reckon not. Like another reviewer, after I had established what the real title of the book should have been, I ended up skimming through looking for words like "Joy" and "Division" where I would pause and read for a bit. On the main subject matter of the book: when all's said and done, no one will ever "understand" Joy Division, not the members themselves, not those close to them and not those interested from afar. Certainly, Morley doesn't in the slightest seem (or claim?) to have come to an understanding of them and what happened and why it happened and why their music affects us still.

For any fan of Joy Division (of which I am one) I recommend this book with some reservations. This collection of articles (by the same writer) on the band are of varying interest. I found however that as the collection progressed the articles become less about the band and more about the writer. They also tended to repeat themselves and by the final third of the book I was merely scanning the text and flipping through pages searching for anything of interest.

The complete review

Mr Morley does it again! Fantastic read for anyone with even a passing interest in one of the greatest bands of all time. A must for anyone.

Excellent value and excellent service.