Reviews
"Highly pleasurable. And unusual, not least because this is a rock and roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about."-Peter Carey, " Wonderkid is a gem, a rock and roll novel written from the inside, with an insider's knowledge of music and the music business, and all the exhilaration and indignities that come with the territory. Wesley Stace is a wise and witty guide to the career of Blake Lear and the Wonderkids, a fictional band that becomes so real over the course of the novel that you'll think you heard them on the radio." -Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children "Highly pleasurable. And unusual, not least because this is a rock and roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about."-Peter Carey, Praise for Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer "A tremendously imaginative novel that's really several novels in one, for beneath its sparkling surface there are some very murky depths. A wonderfully disquieting read." -Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith "Wesley Stace's tale of music and murder is a baroque intellectual thriller, wittily erudite and psychologically acute. Charles Jessold joins Thomas Mann's Adrian Leverkühn and Randall Jarrell's Gottfried Rosenbaum in the gallery of memorable composers in fiction." -Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century "I read Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer in the white noise of a long plane ride; afterward I felt as though I had spent hours listening to symphonies, snatches of music in the midst of being composed, and a low persuasive voice telling me about bad behaviour and surprising sins. This is one of the few novels I have read that is truly musical. Wesley Stace is a brilliant and intensely original writer and this is his most unusual book yet." -Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, "Rock and roll is an infantile business, but never more so than in the hands of the Wonderkids, a group of post-teens, playing music for pre-teens, whilst living chaotic adult lives. In Wonderkid , Wesley Stace absolutely captures the band experience: the triumphs, the letdowns, the sell-outs, the success, and the scandal, with an extra helping of absurdity. There were times reading this book that I could actually smell the dank dressing rooms, or feel the bus rolling down the highway to the next gig." -Peter Buck " Wonderkid is a gem, a rock and roll novel written from the inside, with an insider's knowledge of music and the music business, and all the exhilaration and indignities that come with the territory. Wesley Stace is a wise and witty guide to the career of Blake Lear and the Wonderkids, a fictional band that becomes so real over the course of the novel that you'll think you heard them on the radio." -Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children "Highly pleasurable. And unusual, not least because this is a rock and roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about."-Peter Carey, "Wesley Stace's Wonderkid is a marvelous satiric mashup of rock and roll and pack and plays . It's sweet and funny and knowing and this is me, holding up my lighter for more." Joshua Ferris, author of The Unnamed "Wesley Stace has always been the only genuinely gifted fiction writer who also happens to be a rock star, but Wonderkid is the book he was born to write. And if you prefer your novels brazen, poignant and hilarious, as I do, you were born to read i t. Like a great show, this will stay with you long after the last cymbal crash and power strum." Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask "Rock and roll is an infantile business, but never more so than in the hands of the Wonderkids, a group of post-teens, playing music for pre-teens, whilst living chaotic adult lives. In Wonderkid , Wesley Stace absolutely captures the band experience: the triumphs, the letdowns, the sell-outs, the success, and the scandal, with an extra helping of absurdity . There were times reading this book that I could actually smell the dank dressing rooms, or feel the bus rolling down the highway to the next gig." Peter Buck " Wonderkid is a gem, a rock and roll novel written from the inside, with an insider's knowledge of music and the music business , and all the exhilaration and indignities that come with the territory. Wesley Stace is a wise and witty guide to the career of Blake Lear and the Wonderkids, a fictional band that becomes so real over the course of the novel that you'll think you heard them on the radio." Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children " Highly pleasurable . And unusual, not least because this is a rock and roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about ." Peter Carey, author of Parrot and Olivier in America "Finally, a sex, drugs and rock and roll book for Dan Zanes fans ! Wonderkid also happens to be one of the best books about fathers and sons since Turgenev." Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story Praise for Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer "A tremendously imaginative novel that's really several novels in one, for beneath its sparkling surface there are some very murky depths. A wonderfully disquieting read." Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith "Wesley Stace's tale of music and murder is a baroque intellectual thriller, wittily erudite and psychologically acute. Charles Jessold joins Thomas Mann's Adrian Leverkühn and Randall Jarrell's Gottfried Rosenbaum in the gallery of memorable composers in fiction." Alex Ross, author of T he Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century "I read Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer in the white noise of a long plane ride; afterward I felt as though I had spent hours listening to symphonies, snatches of music in the midst of being composed, and a low persuasive voice telling me about bad behaviour and surprising sins. This is one of the few novels I have read that is truly musical. Wesley Stace is a brilliant and intensely original writer and this is his most unusual book yet." Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, "Wesley Stace has always been the only genuinely gifted fiction writer who also happens to be a rock star, but Wonderkid is the book he was born to write. And if you prefer your novels brazen, poignant and hilarious, as I do, you were born to read it . Like a great show, this will stay with you long after the last cymbal crash and power strum." -Sam Lipsyte, author of The Fun Parts "Wesley Stace has written one of the very few novels about rock bands and the music business that doesn't have a single false note or outsider-wannabe pretensions. It's a relief-and a joy-to read about the weird particularities of the lives of musicians by someone who knows the world so intimately. He deconstructs, with an elegant and sharp eye, the heightened sense of the unreality of fame, the relentless grind of touring, and the Ego and the Id made deliciously manifest in the Wonderkids (my favorite new band). He is both ruthless and compassionate, but never cynical. I thought about these characters even when I wasn't reading the book, and the story will stay with me for a very long time. Wonderkid has both enormous entertainment value and serious literary worth, a very hard trick to pull off ." -Rosanne Cash, author of Composed " Highly pleasurable . And unusual, not least because this is a rock 'n' roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about ." -Peter Carey, author of The Chemistry of Tears "Rock 'n' roll is an infantile business, but never more so than in the hands of the Wonderkids, a group of post-teens, playing music for pre-teens, whilst living chaotic adult lives. In Wonderkid , Wesley Stace absolutely captures the band experience : the triumphs, the letdowns, the sell-outs, the success, and the scandal, with an extra helping of absurdity. There were times reading this book that I could actually smell the dank dressing rooms, or feel the bus rolling down the highway to the next gig ." -Peter Buck "Finally, a sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll book for Dan Zanes fans ! Wonderkid also happens to be one of the best books about fathers and sons since Turgenev." -Gary Shteyngart, author of Little Failure "I can't believe that this amazing book exists. Wonderkid is by far the best music novel I've ever read, and the most unexpectedly wild ride I've ever been on . Every detail is perfect. Do you want to read about the music business? Family dynamics? Children's entertainment? The often uneasy relationship between the US and the UK? The creative process? This book lays it all out with love and wild imagination. Wonderkid is uplifting, inspiring, unhinged, and unpredictable, just like rock 'n' roll itself ." - Dan Zanes "Wesley Stace's Wonderkid is a marvelous satiric mashup of rock 'n' roll and pack 'n' plays . It's sweet and funny and knowing -and this is me, holding up my lighter for more." -Joshua Ferris, author of The Unnamed "At turns illuminating and heartbreaking-but always funny- Wonderkid is A Visit from the Goon Squad for the kiddie music world. A pitch-perfect excavation into the lighter heart of the music industry ." - Colin Meloy " Wonderkid is a gem, a rock 'n' roll novel written from the inside, with an insider's knowledge of music and the music business, and all the exhilaration and indignities that come with the territory . Wesley Stace is a wise and witty guide to the career of Blake Lear and the Wonderkids, a fictional band that becomes so real over the course of the novel that you'll think you heard them on the radio." -Tom Perrotta, author of Nine Inches "Wesley Stace writes with verve, pace, and great good humor. Wonderkid is a flamboyant novel about rock 'n' roll, sex and drugs, broken dreams, and Brits on tour in America. Buy it at once ." -Patrick McGrath, author of Constance, "Wesley Stace's Wonderkid is a marvelous satiric mashup of rock and roll and pack and plays . It's sweet and funny and knowing -and this is me, holding up my lighter for more." -Joshua Ferris, author of The Unnamed "Wesley Stace has always been the only genuinely gifted fiction writer who also happens to be a rock star, but Wonderkid is the book he was born to write. And if you prefer your novels brazen, poignant and hilarious, as I do, you were born to read i t. Like a great show, this will stay with you long after the last cymbal crash and power strum." -Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask "Rock and roll is an infantile business, but never more so than in the hands of the Wonderkids, a group of post-teens, playing music for pre-teens, whilst living chaotic adult lives. In Wonderkid , Wesley Stace absolutely captures the band experience: the triumphs, the letdowns, the sell-outs, the success, and the scandal, with an extra helping of absurdity . There were times reading this book that I could actually smell the dank dressing rooms, or feel the bus rolling down the highway to the next gig." -Peter Buck " Wonderkid is a gem, a rock and roll novel written from the inside, with an insider's knowledge of music and the music business , and all the exhilaration and indignities that come with the territory. Wesley Stace is a wise and witty guide to the career of Blake Lear and the Wonderkids, a fictional band that becomes so real over the course of the novel that you'll think you heard them on the radio." -Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children " Highly pleasurable . And unusual, not least because this is a rock and roll novel written by someone who actually knows what he's talking about ." -Peter Carey, author of Parrot and Olivier in America "Finally, a sex, drugs and rock and roll book for Dan Zanes fans ! Wonderkid also happens to be one of the best books about fathers and sons since Turgenev." -Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story, "Wesley Stace has always been the only genuinely gifted fiction writer who also happens to be a rock star, but Wonderkid is the book he was born to write. And if you prefer your novels brazen, poignant and hilarious, as I do, you were born to read it. Like a great show, this will stay with you long after the last cymbal crash and power strum." -Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask, "Wesley Stace writes with verve, pace and great good humor. Wonderkid is a flamboyant novel about rock 'n' roll, sex and drugs, broken dreams, and Brits on tour in America. Buy it at once."Patrick McGrath, author of Asylum "Wesley Stace has written one of the very few novels about rock bands and the music business that doesn't have a single false note or outsider-wannabe pretensions. It's a reliefand a joyto read about the weird particularities of the lives of musicians by someone who knows the world so intimately. He deconstructs, with an elegant and sharp eye, the heightened sense of the unreality of fame, the relentless grind of touring, and the Ego and the Id made deliciously manifest in the Wonderkids (my favorite new band). He is both ruthless and compassionate, but never cynical. I thought about these characters even when I wasn't reading the book, and the story will stay with me for a very long time. Wonderkid has both enormous entertainment value and serious literary worth, a very hard trick to pull off." Rosanne Cash
