Book Review: Scarred for Life, Vol. 1 by Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence

APRIL is MORE 'Dystopian Britain Novels' Month 

 

Scarred for Life Volume One: the 1970s

by Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence

5 / 5 Stars

 

Here's some pop culture exotica from the UK: 'Scarred for Life,' published in 2017 by LuLu, a print-on-demand publisher. 

 

It's one of three 'Scarred for Life' volumes from Brotherstone and Lawrence, with Volume Two and Volume Three devoted to 1980s TV and pop culture, respectively. All three 'Scarred' books can be ordered online from Lulu, either as print books or ebooks. It took about two weeks from the placement of my order until the book shipped, and then another few days before it arrived in my mailbox.

'Scarred' is, at 740 pages, a thick chunk of a trade paperback. The contents are printed in black and white, and (older people be warned) the font is 5 point, so I needed to use reading glasses when sitting down with this book.

 

Britons Brotherstone and Lawrence were kids in the 1970s, so the essays collected in the book are observations of UK popular as perceived by children. Affection and nostalgia suffuse their observations, one example being Brotherstone's reminiscences of reading the first issues of 2000 AD comics when these were published in March of 1977. The references to 'scarring' are an acknowledgement that some of the media consumed by Brit Kids in the 1970s was transgressive enough to leave a mark on those youthful psyches. I'm sure anyone can relate to this; for me, watching Monster Movie Matinee as a kid in the mid-1960s left me with plenty of enduring nightmares.........

The first half of the book is devoted to TV and film, while the second half turns its attention to other media: books, comics, board games, and novelties like trading cards.

I should state that many of the essays on the TV shows and Public Information Films (PIF) covered in 'Scarred' are inscrutable for Americans, even if you - like me - had some familiarity with Brit TV from the airings of The Goodies and Monty Python and Dr. Who on PBS in the 1970s and early 1980s (I never, ever watched Upstairs, Downstairs).

There is sufficient crossover in some of these categories with what was present in the US at the time, and thus, while some of the content in 'Scarred' is a bit obscure, there is much that will resonate with American readers. Paperback Fanatics certainly will enjoy the coverage of the 'Pan Book of Horror Stories,' while the chapters on Action and 2000 AD franchises will appeal to the comic book readership.

Much like John Szpunar's own weighty tome, 'Xerox Ferox,' 'Scarred' strikes the right notes of affection and nostalgia for the material in its pages. The authors were gradeschool kids during the 70s, so their memories and perceptions are colored by that child's point of view. Tendentious excursions into 'critical analysis,' and Woke thinking, are gratifyingly thin in the pages of 'Scarred.'  

 

The book has sociological value. In his essay on the rather depressing sitcom Romany Jones, Brotherstone reminisces that his family, who lived in Liverpool, were hardworking and of modest means. As such, not until the late 1970s / early 1980s did they purchase a refrigerator (prior to that time food was stored in the 'outside lavatory') and also, a phone. They never got a microwave oven, and the family car was something called a 'Reliant Robin,' a tiny three-wheeled vehicle that was driven into the ground, as a more comfortable car was simply too expensive. 

These revelations from Brotherstone remind us modern-day readers how much the consumer society has advanced since the 1970s, and how many things are taken for granted in this year of 2026. And, last but not least, 'Scarred' reminds us how so many UK families made do with the economic limitations attendant to life in the second half of the 20th century; they had no sense of entitlement or grievance, and did not complain, but simply 'got on' with it............

 

At the end of the day, 'Scarred' is a must-have for Brits who grew up in the sci-fi and horror pop culture of the 1970s, and curious Americans also will find things of interest in the book. And for those who want to get really, really deep into the 'Scarred' mythology, there is a podcast available at Spotify.