X-Book

The Smiths

Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

Click Buy to Log in and see personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app

Added to cart

Continue shopping or head to checkout

View cart
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

I am sure that what I remember is not necessarily what actually happened, but I can only write what I remember.

Wildly inventive and magnificently surreal, The Smiths: A Novella recounts the impact of an unconventional pop group from Manchester on one man's life. Taking the form of a flâneuring journey through the landscape of memory, our anonymous protagonist is accompanied by the iconic French actress Carole Bouquet, who becomes his guide and interlocutor, asking about his life during the years The Smiths were together and the profound effect of their music upon him.

As the unlikely couple perambulate from the old Selfridge Hotel to West Hollywood by way of a park bench in Cavendish Square, their conversation interrogates and celebrates the joys of outlandish pop genius, the zealous dedication of fans and the cult of outsider disaffection given uproarious voice. As such, this is not a book about The Smiths but one that emerges from their music, their emotional register and their literary resonance.

Michael Bracewell's novella-cum-fairy tale is at once deeply romantic and laced with comedy - not unlike the band themselves - and perhaps (in fictional form) the most astute and celebratory portrait of The Smiths to date.

Critics Review

The Smiths is so evocative of the intense and self-defining power of pop: when a listener can feel their emotions uncannily expressed by an artist
Neil Tennant, one half of Pet Shop Boys
Bracewell is a writer unlike any other. His prose is astute and bewitching. The Smiths is a waking dream
Gwendoline Riley
As seductive and inscrutably anthemic as its subject matter; like discovering The Smiths for the very first time, twice
Lias Saoudi
Bracewell is so brilliant with oblique detail and his reflections on a dank, forgotten London chime perfectly with the band that he is so lovingly remembering. Again and again I found myself reaching for my notebook for phrases to steal
Brett Anderson
In an onrush of exquisite observation and sensual recall that is almost pornographic in its intensity, The Smiths is an act of baroque transmission from another time and another place, reported in transcendent prose that goes beyond the limits of what fiction can do. Like the band it celebrates, it is an active, ongoing performance, couched in comic pathos, careering and glorious, to be experienced in one breath. Blink and you'll miss it. Read it and you may wonder what it was all about. You won't know unless you do
Philip Hoare
I love his language, his almost laughably high pretensions and how he possesses an enviable talent for writing cultural criticism so poetic that it is impossible to decide whether it should be published in regular review form or immortalised between the hard covers of a poetry collection
Andres Lokko
Author Michael Bracewell
Narrator Ben Miles
Duration 2 hours and 15 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781399638630
Format Audiobook
Publisher Orion
Genre Biographical fiction, Fiction: general and literary, Musicians, singers, bands and groups, Novella (Short Novel)
Availability AU, GB, IE

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.

{{ toast.text }}