The Great Rock N Roll Novel....

Wouldn't it be nice to write the great Rock N Roll novel? I had a brief fleeting idea about an Agatha Christie style novel and started to think about basing it around a band (Rock n Roll or not!). Searching on the net, I came across an article by Graeme Thomson; Where is the novel that can capture the essence of rock'n'roll? which gave me a few novels to start with http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/07/looking_for_a_rocknroll_hero.html

I was surprised to find one of them already on my shelf - Espedair Street by Iain Banks which I think an old boyfriend bought me about 20 years ago and I had never read (shameful I know!). Google books sums it up like this; Daniel Weir used to be a famous rock star. He's made a lot of mistakes that have paid off and a lot of smart moves he'll regret forever. Daniel Weir has gone from rags to riches and back, and managed to hold onto them both, though not much else. And now Daniel Weir is all alone. But don't let that put you off. I really liked it!! I liked it a lot better than the other 'Rock n Roll novel' I read (and Theakston Short listed) - Piece of My Heart by Peter Robinson. In the course of twin narratives (it says here) Robinson weaves the stories of two interconnected murders that occur decades apart. It was 527 pages which was about 300 too long, as all the action / clues / build up happened in the last few pages. Disappointing.....

I asked around for peoples ideas of what is / was a great Rock N Roll novel. A friends son recommended Nick Hornby: High Fidelity which I found on ebay.....it duly arrived for me to realise that I had already read it (lasting impression then!).

However, I had decided that what I don't need at the moment is another started novel, so I am going to use the ideas that I collected to write a short story as a competition entry in an attempt to get the juices flowing again.....