Fiction Reviews


Needle in the Groove

(1999) Jeff Noon, Anchor (Transworld), pbk, £9.99, 287pp,ISBN 1-862-30091-7

If I were a more clever man, I could probably give this book the review it deserves. The story isn’t necessarily the point but, briefly, it involves a bass player, Elliot, a band, Glam Damage, and a new recording medium that can (if abused) be used as a drug. It also concerns family, friendship and love; Manchester, music and the search for inner peace. Among other things. The point is the language, the style, the lyricism, and the sheer brilliance of Noon’s writing. The point is that only Noon is trying new ways of telling stories, only Noon is twisting and warping the medium. There may be those who believe that this book is a triumph of style over content, but those people are missing the point. Me? I say that everyone who loves writing should go out and buy this book; I say this is the best book I’ve read this year (and will probably remain so); I say, MORE NOON! (yeah, I liked it).

Tony Chester


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