The Smiths' Meat is Murder

Okay, I knew from reading the reviews that this book would offer virtually zero insights into the album "Meat is Murder, " but there's plenty of great Smiths/Morrissey bio's that will go into great detail about the album. What this is, is an extremely entertaining and witty novel about high school life/emotions. We've all been there and this brings it all back. This guy is one terrific writer. I'm waiting for his next novel!!

I've loved all of the 33 1/3 books I've read so far - ...The Village Green Preservation Society, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Forever Changes, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sign'O'the Times, Endtroducing... - but this is my favourite one thus far.Joe Pernice is a sometime poet and the driving force behind some of the greatest records of the last decade - from his work with Scud Mountain Boys (Big Star meets The Smiths with a knowledge of alt-country), on to his solo work, his band The Pernice Brothers and the Chap-Skyline side-project worth investigating for his New Order cover.As other reviews have pointed out this isn't a track by track analysis as some of the 33 1/3 books are - if you want that kind of music writing, best read a Smiths book by Johnny Rogan. Pernice writes an autobiographical piece located in the US in the 1980s - a stunning reminder of that history and the spirit of the age. Meat is Murder is the background to his life, or his life is the background to Meat is Murder as he falls in love and someone's beaten up and he learns to play bass and I smoke cos I hope for an early death and he suffers the high school ritual...Pernice does mention the record lots, whether nodding to lines from MIM in a style akin to Douglas Coupland's Smiths-allusions in 'Girlfriend in a Coma' , or to posit the importance of the Smiths in his life. The scene where his mother misunderstands them is hilarious and reminded me of a time when my parents were shocked and made me play There is a Light...at a barbie - couldn't quite believe what they were hearing (though I suspect the Moz resonated - coming from the same dull 1960s and films like Billy Liar and Saturday Night Sunday Morning).Meat is Murder proves to be a revelation to Joe as he forms a band and begins to connect with others and connects with his fantasy, Alison...& Pernice and other characters display anglophile aspects that show how similar we are - if anyone wants to know why the Smiths are universal, look no further. Pernice mentions other British acts too - The Cure, The Clash, Japan, Kate Bush, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Furs...but The Smiths ruled!!!This book around Meat is Murder is a bold move for this series and shows that music criticism can really be anything - on the strength of this I hope Joe attempts a novel soon. Just 70-something pages long, but had me having Proustian recollections of a High School I never went to. This sits well alongside the aforementioned Coupland book, early Bret Easton Ellis, & 'Bright Lights Big City.' My favourite 33 1/3 book so far...would love to write one myself, possibly on Sulk. Or Songs to Remember. Or Cut. Or A Trip to Marineville. Or Fire of Love. Or..."I've seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in mine..."

well written and comprehensive account of this great album

People complain that this book isn't what they expected. Well, no, this book is not ABOUT the Smiths, but rather the protagonist's relationship with their music. For anyone who has ever been a teenager and felt alone (so everyone really), and found music as a way to cope, this book will resonate with you.It really is a great read, especially if you turn on Meat is Murder while reading it.

After starting to give this novella/memoir one star for false marketing, I re-read it and found it somewhat interesting. It's no Catcher in the Rye (not that I think much of that sacred cow) but it's at least as good as yer average New Yorker fiction. I'm left wondering about the threads left dangling (Alison, Paul, etc.), but that's just as well. Since the author (of whom I've never heard, so I'm not a fanboy like some of the reviewers) was presumably a full-grown adult when he wrote this, some more adult reflection would be beneficial, but it is what it is. I'll keep it on my shelf.