"List of the Lost" review in the London Evening Standard

Re: Review of List of the Lost in the London Evening Standard by Samuel Fishwick.

I'm still waiting for my copy of LOTL to arrive, so I cannot comment on the merits of the book. At this point it does seem doubtful that I'll be able to plow through it given the density of both the prose and my upcoming schedule.

I will say this: most celebrities "write" books with the help of a co-author (who has both publishing experience and talent). The co-author guides them through the process, takes their raw material and spins it into something readable. The manuscript is then edited, further refining the text into something easily digestible, marketable, and (often) forgettable.

Some celebrities just ask their agents to find them a ghostwriter, cut a check, and essentially bow out of the process.

But not Morrissey. In his lifelong, steadfast refusal to cede any amount of control to another human being in any aspect of his life, he has bypassed all the rules and safety regulations and gone full-on DIY. I wouldn't expect anything less. The result (sadly hilarious to judge by reviews thus far) is the price you pay for extreme self-possession. This strategy seems to have worked out for him musically (although it might finally drag him down in the end), but literature is a whole different animal. Perhaps he has learned something from this experience. Perhaps this is a teachable moment. Probably not.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm nearly done with LOTL, so I can't say how it ends yet, but I've enjoyed it and there are some truly beautifully-written moments in it. The part where Harri loses his mother in particular is one of the most touching and well-crafted bits I've read anywhere, particularly about the loss of a parent. There is also a part early on explaining how the boys functioned as a team, and I could see in it that emotion behind the bond in his own band. If nothing more, fans should read this to get a glimpse of how Morrissey's mind works on a wide range of topics that we don't often hear about. These two are case in point. But it takes a bit of thought and contemplation to make the connection, which I'm not sure the average reader is up for.

I've yet to see anyone on here read and review this book who I trust to have a reading comprehension level beyond middle school, so until someone who reads like I do offers up the same type of criticism, I continue to be glad that I didn't listen to the uneducated masses and chose to read it for myself. I also truly believe that if this same book were released by a most-loved Brit (McKellan, Dench, Mirren, etc.) that the media reviews would be much more ass-kissy and cutting a hell of a lot more slack. Morrissey's name on the cover has people taking up the red pen out of spite/habit.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm nearly done with LOTL, so I can't say how it ends yet, but I've enjoyed it and there are some truly beautifully-written moments in it. The part where Harri loses his mother in particular is one of the most touching and well-crafted bits I've read anywhere, particularly about the loss of a parent. There is also a part early on explaining how the boys functioned as a team, and I could see in it that emotion behind the bond in his own band. If nothing more, fans should read this to get a glimpse of how Morrissey's mind works on a wide range of topics that we don't often hear about. These two are case in point. But it takes a bit of thought and contemplation to make the connection, which I'm not sure the average reader is up for.

I've yet to see anyone on here read and review this book who I trust to have a reading comprehension level beyond middle school, so until someone who reads like I do offers up the same type of criticism, I continue to be glad that I didn't listen to the uneducated masses and chose to read it for myself. I also truly believe that if this same book were released by a most-loved Brit (McKellan, Dench, Mirren, etc.) that the media reviews would be much more ass-kissy and cutting a hell of a lot more slack. Morrissey's name on the cover has people taking up the red pen out of spite/habit.

people often find what they went in looking for and seeing what people write here most days im not of the opinion that they went in objectively one way or the other

 

[Jamie]

I'm nearly done with LOTL, so I can't say how it ends yet, but I've enjoyed it and there are some truly beautifully-written moments in it. The part where Harri loses his mother in particular is one of the most touching and well-crafted bits I've read anywhere, particularly about the loss of a parent. There is also a part early on explaining how the boys functioned as a team, and I could see in it that emotion behind the bond in his own band. If nothing more, fans should read this to get a glimpse of how Morrissey's mind works on a wide range of topics that we don't often hear about. These two are case in point. But it takes a bit of thought and contemplation to make the connection, which I'm not sure the average reader is up for.

I've yet to see anyone on here read and review this book who I trust to have a reading comprehension level beyond middle school, so until someone who reads like I do offers up the same type of criticism, I continue to be glad that I didn't listen to the uneducated masses and chose to read it for myself. I also truly believe that if this same book were released by a most-loved Brit (McKellan, Dench, Mirren, etc.) that the media reviews would be much more ass-kissy and cutting a hell of a lot more slack. Morrissey's name on the cover has people taking up the red pen out of spite/habit.

You could argue just as readily that many are content to overlook the book's flaws simply because Morrissey's name is on the cover out of unquestioning devotion/habit.

 

[Anonymous]

You could argue just as readily that many are content to overlook the book's flaws simply because Morrissey's name is on the cover out of unquestioning devotion/habit.

i did

 

[Detritus]

You could argue just as readily that many are content to overlook the book's flaws simply because Morrissey's name is on the cover out of unquestioning devotion/habit.

Yep.

It's also amusing that many people who have enjoyed the book are accusing those who don't of being feeble-minded plebs incapable of thinking for themselves, simply for having a difference of opinion. Fair enough if you think the many negative reviews may be influencing opinions. It's also fine if you think the book has merit and the jeering newspaper reviews are unfair; part of the joy of literature is the subjective nature of our experience as readers, and the multiplicity of interpretation. But the constant dismissal of critical posts about the book, without really acknowledging or challenging the arguments put forward, is ludicrous and childish. There have been numerous assertions that it seems like none of the dissenters have read the book or are intelligent enough to understand it, and yet no one can offer support as to why they think so, other than pointing out the crime of daring to disagree.

At least Irregular Regular and the lit nerd anon here who brought up Melville and Proust have actually addressed arguments made about the book. The rest is just petty lashing out at Morrissey being criticized.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep.

It's also amusing that many people who have enjoyed the book are accusing those who don't of being feeble-minded plebs incapable of thinking for themselves, simply for having a difference of opinion. Fair enough if you think the many negative reviews may be influencing opinions. It's also fine if you think the book has merit and the jeering newspaper reviews are unfair; part of the joy of literature is the subjective nature of our experience as readers, and the multiplicity of interpretation. But the constant dismissal of critical posts about the book, without really acknowledging or challenging the arguments put forward, is ludicrous and childish. There have been numerous assertions that it seems like none of the dissenters have read the book or are intelligent enough to understand it, and yet no one can offer support as to why they think so, other than pointing out the crime of daring to disagree.

At least Irregular Regular and the lit nerd anon here who brought up Melville and Proust have actually addressed arguments made about the book. The rest is just petty lashing out at Morrissey being criticized.

lol if i ever do make a profile im gonna make that my user name. made me laugh (jovially of course)

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey's name on the cover has people taking up the red pen out of spite/habit.

A plot that is centred around male characters struggling to express their own homosexual desires; bizarre dismissive attitudes towards women (unless it's your mother, who must be worshipped) ; fat-shaming; all the characters are vegetarians who break off in mid-sentence to randomly muse on how humans are not really very humane; page after page of sniping rage against judges, the police, the British Royal Family and Margaret Thatcher; acres of alliteration and internal rhyme in practically every sentence - even if this was published under the pseudonym 'Chesty Normous', everyone and his dog would be able to tell it was Morrissey. That's part of the problem.