simmo

I had thought this book would be about the 20th Century German philosopher. It is not. It does however have more than a hint of existentialism about it, which I assume was a deliberate.

The book is presented as a final script of the life of a fictional mega-band through the eyes of a pivotal non-member of the band, Evie, with comments added by the other band members in the margins, as if the script had been passed around for approval.

No really being 'part' of the band, but being central to its success and life puts Evie in the position of being an outsider, which parallels how Evie feels about her own body. The story of the bands complexities, both in terms of personalities and it's unusual make up, reflects the journey that Evie (now Evan) takes through her own sexuality.

The writing is excellent throughout, the multi layered approach works very well, the humour is excellent and the characters easy to sympathise with and like (despite being unlikeable!). This combined with the whole late nineties Canadian music scene, bought back a lot of memories for me too. I imagine the judges of the 2012 International 3-Day Novel Contest knew they had a winner on their hands as soon as they read it.

This was a Goodreads Giveaway, and signed by the author too! Thank you very much. I enjoyed it a lot.