Title: An insult to the Smiths, and I'm not even a fan
Product review: This book is an insult to the Smiths, and I'm not even a fan of the band. I like their music well enough, though, and respect them for trying to make honest, insightful songs. I like novels about pop and fandom, though, so I picked this up -- what a mistake. This is so self-indulgent it makes Morrissey look positively retiring. There are some good lines, but as a reader you pay for them by slogging through half a dozen bad ones first. I'm not as disappointed in the author, who presumably was trying his best, as in the publisher for trying to fob off this Nick Hornby cash-in. Skip Spitz (and for that matter Hornby, too) and for great writing about fandom and obsession, try Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes. I like football even less than the Smiths, but THAT's great writing.
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