The Arena of the Unwell

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People swirl around us, long-haired boys and short-haired girls, in vintage t-shirts and high-waisted jeans, all bouncing off each other in time to the beat. Konemann captures that intensity brilliantly; at times I felt like I was still peeling the grime of last night’s gig off my skin. There’s a weird mix of noise and hush around me as some people realise what’s happened and others don’t.

Soon, Noah is drawn into the complicated relationship between Dylan and his flatmate Fraser, and as everything else falls apart around him, Noah is drawn into a co-dependent world, all as Smiling Politely prepare to release their first album in years. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. I think Chuck Palahniuk, Brontez Purnell and Jennifer Egan have all influenced my writing style in their own way, and there’s definitely a bit of Nick Hornby in there. Soon, Noah’s embroiled in the toxic, codependent relationship between Dylan and his enigmatic flatmate, Fraser.Feels like the author was trying to do a few things and not quite committing enough to any of them; the obvious parallels between Noah and Ryan fell a bit flat or too on the nose, the meandering lack of plot okay until the plot suddenly picks up at the end, making you wonder if it was deliberate. He tries not to think about what’ll happen when his NHS-allocated therapy hours run out and he’s left alone with his mind again. Not just those of the main trio, but also those of Noah’s best friends, and even his boss were all in need of expansion. There was a lot around who can find places within sports and fitness (and what kinds of bodies), which felt like the perfect use of body horror. It puts you on the streets of Camden and leaves you with a sense of what might have changed or stayed the same since the earlier heyday of indie bands.

While this is someone who feels quite real the main issue I have with the book is that the author doesn't explore the dynamics of Noah's plight in a way that shows the character gaining any sense of self-awareness. After years away, his favourite band Smiling Politely announce a last-minute set in a nearby venue and everything starts to shift. It's interesting how (though ostensibly successful) this band member equally can't pull himself out of a downward spiral.Additionally, there were several elements of the story which felt underdeveloped or didn't go anywhere. They would have made more sense if the band, or at least their music, would have played a bigger role in the story, but they don't. Konemann’s prose is not particularly stylish or refined, but the book is extremely readable and difficult to put down (I found), wanting to find out what happened next in the lives of his 20-something, seemingly going-nowhere, party kids.

You hate them because they are exactly the kind of person you don't want to be, and exactly the kind of person you are.Claire reaches up to touch the damage, testing, then scoops her fringe out of her face with the same bloodied hand. Absolutely, but the mistakes they made along the way were human, and it felt completely raw and I absolutely loved that.

The indie music scene serves as a backdrop to Konemann’s troubling character study, which really adds to the novel’s edgy atmosphere. Also, I felt that the Smiling Politely part of the story, although well-integrated through press releases and interviews, etc. It was just such a rich environment for stories and for interpersonal relationships because it is quite charged a lot of the time,” he explained to Lighthouse Books. A really notable element of the book is the depiction of queerness in the indie scene, whether that's Noah trying to navigate the fact all the bands are singing about women they think wronged them, his repeated belief that he can't fit into any gay world because he doesn't fit in, or the hints of how the music scene shown has more space for guys who are apparently straight but maybe down for something with a guy than actual queer people. As well as a lot of new and upcoming books, many of which did not make the cut for these lists, I read a lot of horror (including a month of it in October) and plenty of poetry.Songs you can inhabit, and listen to on auto-repeat for every nuance and interplay between Jo’s astonishing voice, Rob’s gorgeously hissy fit guitar and the solid underpinnings of Simon and Caz’s bass n drum structures. After he and his friend Mairead go to a secret comeback gig by their favourite band Smiling Politely, Noah runs into Dylan, a bartender he's wanted to approach for ages.