‘As memorable as it is moving.’ The Times

‘A marvellous coming of age novel.’ ROBERT FORSTER

From the West Coast of Scotland to the West Coast of America, the life-affirming debut by the Belle & Sebastian frontman.

Glasgow, early 1990s, and Stephen – music-loving romantic – has emerged from a hospital stay, diagnosed with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a little-understood disease. He meets fellow strugglers, for whom the world seems to care less and less, and they form their own support group as they try to navigate their lives.

Starting to write songs, albeit in a slow and fledgling way, Stephen wakes to the possibility of a spiritual and artistic life. Leaving Glasgow in search of the mythic warmth of California, he and his friend Richard float between hostels, sofas and park benches. Could the trip offer them both a new beginning?

From the imagined lives of the passengers riding Glasgow buses in the early 1990s to questions raised about the status quo and musings on the meaning of religion, Stuart Murdoch, frontman of Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian, has written some of the most captivating lyrics of the past two decades. Belle and Sebastian recorded their first critically acclaimed album Tigermilk in three days, played a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic, and famously forgot their drummer, dressed in his pyjamas, outside a Walmart. Their songs have animated many film soundtracks, developing a cult following that has helped to define the sound of indie music as we know it today.

The first book in the ‘Illustrated Lyrics’ series combines the words selected from over twenty-four years of Belle and Sebastian songs with specially commissioned illustrations from Scottish artist Pamela Tait, whose intricate and whimsical character illustrations Stuart Murdoch stumbled upon and fell in love with when he rediscovered old fan mail Pamela had sent to him over a decade ago. Set with expressive typography, this is an exceptional publication that will seduce even the most devoted fans to ‘see’ these wonderful songs afresh.