The Unstable Boys
A Novel
Published on 28. January 2021
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-4721-3290-1 (ISBN)
Description
London 1968:
The Unstable Boys are the name on every music insider's lips and tipped to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This is their chance to hit the bigtime. They don't know they're about to be obliterated by a series of tragedies and a chaotic breakup that puts paid to the band's starry-eyed dreams of stratospheric success. One day you're the dog's bollocks; the next day you're a nobody - fame is a fickle friend.
London 2016:
Bestselling crime writer Michael Martindale has reached breaking point. Estranged from his wife and children following the very public fallout of his disastrous affair, he is alone, with only his self-pity to keep him warm at night. Until he makes the mistake of publicly declaring his admiration for his teenage musical obsession, the Unstable Boys. When the band's twisted and feral frontman, the Boy, turns up on his doorstep, Martindale quickly learns that sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.
Razor-sharp and laced with a caustic wit, The Unstable Boys is a dark comic caper with an unmistakeable musicality from legendary music journalist Nick Kent.
The Unstable Boys are the name on every music insider's lips and tipped to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This is their chance to hit the bigtime. They don't know they're about to be obliterated by a series of tragedies and a chaotic breakup that puts paid to the band's starry-eyed dreams of stratospheric success. One day you're the dog's bollocks; the next day you're a nobody - fame is a fickle friend.
London 2016:
Bestselling crime writer Michael Martindale has reached breaking point. Estranged from his wife and children following the very public fallout of his disastrous affair, he is alone, with only his self-pity to keep him warm at night. Until he makes the mistake of publicly declaring his admiration for his teenage musical obsession, the Unstable Boys. When the band's twisted and feral frontman, the Boy, turns up on his doorstep, Martindale quickly learns that sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.
Razor-sharp and laced with a caustic wit, The Unstable Boys is a dark comic caper with an unmistakeable musicality from legendary music journalist Nick Kent.
Reviews / Votes
Entertaining * Mail on Sunday * Enjoyable * The Times * A wistful black comedy . . . Nick Kent's sardonic first novel is full of in-jokes about the music business, publishing and the media in London -- Mark Sanderson * The Times Crime Club *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 220 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
420 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4721-3290-1 (9781472132901)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nick Kent is a legendary rock critic and author of the memoir Apathy for the Devil (Faber) and The Dark Stuff (Faber) which the Spectator called 'a mighty tome, containing some of the best music journalism ever written'. He was also an apprentice to Lester Bangs, boyfriend of Chrissie Hynde, confidant of Iggy Pop, trusted scribe for Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, and early member of the Sex Pistols. The Unstable Boys is his first novel.