Fiction book set around the rock music scene

[lexloofah]

Trying to get DH a book a little different to his usual crime/thriller/mystery ones

He loves rock music, especially from the 70s so I thought there might be a good one set around that time in that scene

I saw a book called Arc of a Shooting Star that looked ok: washed up rocker, gets band back together, but local bookshop say they can't order as it is an Amazon exclusive and the paperback on there is £12.99 so a bit of a gamble without a recommendation plus would like to order locally

Any ideas? Thnx

Daisy Jones and The Six sounds just what you’re looking for

He might like David Keenan This is Memorial Device set around a fictional rock group in 70s Scotland. Or there’s Nick Hornby’s Juliet Naked the lead character is a musician or High Fidelity set in a record shop, if he hasn’t read those ones. There’s also Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude set in the 70s, music plays a large role in the narrative and also references comic books and other popular culture.

Gimme More by Liza Cody is about rock music and a mystery. I really enjoyed it.

The Wishbones by Tom Perotta

Definitely daisy Jones and the six

What do you think about a quirky, humorous mystery series about a collector of vinyl records? There are 4 in the series ,written by Andrew Cartmel .

Agree with Espedair Street and Daisy Jones, and adding another recommendation: Greatest Hits by Laura Barnett, which actually has an album of the fictional songs on Spotify to go with it. I've also heard good things about Song For A New Day by Sarah Pinsker (a music journalist) although haven't read it yet.

Another recommendation for Espedair Street by Iain Banks. It's one of my favourite books - have read it at least half a dozen teams and never get fed up of it!

Martin Millar’s Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me might work. Or Michael Zadoorian’s Beautiful Music. Both 70s settings for music- driven coming of age novels (one in Glasgow, the other Detroit).

The Vampire LeStat by Anne Rice

Kitsten Krauth’s Almost A Mirror is set around Melbourne's punk scene in the 1980s. I’ve tead a couple of chapters ... it reminded me a little of Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip from a decade or so earlier.

Wow such a diverse range of suggestions. Apart from Nick Hornby I had not come across any of these so would never have known.

I think I can get a few birthday and Christmas books for him out of this list thank you.

Wyldling Hall by Elizabeth Hand.

DanceLike ooh I loved Monkey Grip

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan is quite difficult to explain but it centres around a washed up record label boss and it looks at people connected to him in various points in time. It's a good read and a bit different.

David Mitchell has a new one out in a week or so which is about a band. Obviously no idea what it’s like though! It’s called Utopia Avenue

Stories We Could Tell by Tony Parsons - I haven’t read this for about 20 years but loved it at the time!

hvae just bought Utopia Avenue for DP a noted fictionphobe, but the subject matter could have been designed especially for him (I live in hope....High Fidelity and Fever Pitch failed to convert him though

YY to Espedair Street. My favourite Iain Banks book and he's one of my favourite writers.

(when I read it I pictured the band as being Deacon Blue but maybe that's just me)

Came on to say Espedair St.... and yes @highlandcoo, Deacon Blue. Or maybe Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.

Some good reads here. I also enjoyed The Thrill of It All by Joseph O'Connor.

@ChessieFL

David Mitchell has a new one out in a week or so which is about a band. Obviously no idea what it’s like though! It’s called Utopia Avenue

It's brilliant. I love David Mitchell anyway and this is well up to his usual standard.

I'd just read Daisy Jones and The Six , which is very good but Utopia Avenue takes it to a new level.

It's 561 pages and I read it in 4 days. I was totally immersed in the band's world.

that's a relief, it had a poor review on the Observer, fortunately DP never reads book reviews