Red or Dead: David Peace's novel on Bill Shankly and Liverpool divides opinion
REVIEWS AND OPINIONS David Peace's novel about Bill Shankly, Red or Dead, has divided opinion among reviewers. At 700 pages, it is a novel of epic proportions, certainly - the kind of length for which a novelist in a prime seeking to set down a tour de force might strive. Peace's admirers have declared it to be a masterpiece. Others are less sure. It was a similar story with The Damned United , in which Peace interwove fact with fiction to tell the tale of Brian Clough's ill-starred 44 days as manager of Leeds United. Many readers loved it, placing it among the best books about football ever written, On the other hand, the Clough family and those close to them were horrified, regarding Peace's portrayal of the central character as a travesty. This time it is not so much the content but the highly stylised writing has met with mixed views. Peace is renowned for his staccato, rhythmic prose, and his use of repetition as a literary device. It characterised his