The Only Thing Worse For Smoking Than

We've Been Hearing About The Death Of The Novel Ever Since The Day After Don Quixote Was Published.

He Insisted On A Single Trade Secret: That You Had To Survive, Find Some Quiet, And Work Hard Every Day.

A Modest Critique Of An Age In Which An Actor Is The President, In Which Fashion Models Are Asked For Their Opinions, In Which Getting Into A Nightclub Is Seen As A Significant Human Achievement.

Tim Thornton's Portrait Of A Pop Culture Obsession Is So Convincing That One Can't Help Wishing That His Fictional Alt Rock Band Actually Existed, Or Suspecting That They Did. The Alternative Hero Is A Weirdly Compelling Portrait Of Fanatic Fandom Which Reads Like High Fidelity At High Volume.

You Keep Thinking That With Practice You Will Eventually Get The Knack Of Enjoying Superficial Encounters, That You Will Stop Looking For The Universal Solvent, Stop Grieving. You Will Learn To Compound Happiness Out Of Small Increments Of Mindless Pleasure.