Anyone know of books that are set in the 1980's ? I tried looking for some because the daily life of the decade interests me but outside of Brett Easton Ellis' books and "The Secret History" by Donna Tart (which is probably set then) I haven't really had much luck finding any

Is it too early for books to be set then ? I'm not sure , with the 80's revival and nostalgia movement gaining popularity...

Good question - I wonder about that myself.

Even though we're starting to see a retro 80's style, I don't think they'll truly be "old" enough to be classic until 2010 or so.

Interestingly, now that we're on the subject, Bob Gale -- screenwriter for the BTTF movies -- said, not long after Part 1 came out, something to the effect of he felt the 50's were (then) too recent to do something nostalgic/historic about.

I remember a book that came out around 1988, called C/O The Bartons by Jocelyn Moorhouse , based on a TV series of the same name. It's about a typical Australian family in the 80s, with their Hills Hoist standing proudly in the back yard. Written from the point of view of their 11-year old daughter, Ellie, it is very funny.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140342575/qid=1115354616/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-8262040-6635316?v=glance&s=books
A real classic, written for teens but interesting to adults, is Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein. It is about a bunch of highschool kids who play a computer game, find themselves stuck inside it and are forced to overcome their personal "demons".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0803705344/qid=1115354655/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-8262040-6635316?v=glance&s=books

Please clarify. Are you referring to modern books about life in the 1980's or books published before the '80's and set in that time frame?

There must be some teen books that were written in the 80's and set in that time period.

What about The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend for example.  Not sure how much 80's culture it contains but I think some is in there.

I thinkthe  Adrian Mole books were set in the 70s, cos I remember a punk named Barry Kent being sent home from school for wearing an Anarchy T shirt. There were plenty of teeny girl books set in the 80s, such as Sweet Valley High, but I wouldn't reccomend them. ::)

The reason I suggested Adrian Mole was that it came out in the 80's.  I guess it was the very early 80's.  That said you still whould have punks with Anarchy t-shirts getting sent home from school then.  I know because it happened to me in 1985!

http://www.adrianmole.com/Sue/biography.html

The reason I suggested Adrian Mole was that it came out in the 80's.  I guess it was the very early 80's.  That said you still whould have punks with Anarchy t-shirts getting sent home from school then.  I know because it happened to me in 1985!
http://www.adrianmole.com/Sue/biography.html

I'm not fron the UK and I wasn't born til '76. I thought the Anarchy thing was just about over come the early 80s. Interesting to hear otherwise. :) It's been a little while since I read the Adrian Mole diaries, but another way of picking the decade is thru the clothes characters wore. I remember some rich kids going roller skating(very 80s) in silk shorts and Adrian's beloved Pandora wearing a split skirt (again very 80s.) You could be right after all, Karen!

i think Holy Blood, Holy Grail was written in the 80's...

Thanks for your replies , I'll check out some of these . I'm specifically looking for books that are set in the 80's (whether they came out in the 80's or later) , not books that were written earlier and speculated on what life would be like then ("1984" being a glaringly obvious example)

Hope this clarifies what I meant when I asked :) I think those of you that pointed out it might still be too early to see books set in the 80's might be right , but it's interesting to know I'd missed quite a few. Come to think of it the coming-out-fiction classic "Annie on my mind" (which came out between 1982-1984) was probably set around that time period , but I've already read that one

Thanks again and keep them coming, there might still be more...

Relic took place in 1988.

I'm not fron the UK and I wasn't born til '76. I thought the Anarchy thing was just about over come the early 80s. Interesting to hear otherwise. :) It's been a little while since I read the Adrian Mole diaries, but another way of picking the decade is thru the clothes characters wore. I remember some rich kids going roller skating(very 80s) in silk shorts and Adrian's beloved Pandora wearing a split skirt (again very 80s.) You could be right after all, Karen!


in one of the Adrian Mole books they go to see E.T. at the cinema, so yes it was early 80's.

I am not familiar with his work but I wondered if Nick Hornby any of his stuff in the 80's?