The Alternative Hero - (Vintage Contemporaries) by Tim Thornton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this comic, wildly energetic first novel, Clive Beresford is a failed music fanzine writer in his early thirties who fears that his best days are behind him. The turning point came when Lance Webster, the lead singer of Thieving Magpies, the band that Clive is obsessed with, self-destructed on stage right before his eyes. Years later, Clive has discovered that Lance has moved in down the block. Desperate to meet him, but more desperately nervous, Clive concocts an ill-advised, alcohol-fueled scheme to befriend Lance and land an "earth-shattering exclusive" interview that will revive both their careers. With the story shifting between Clive's life-changing Magpies past and his frantic present, Tim Thornton has written a warmhearted, uproarious view of friendship, hero worship, and the full-blast power of music.

Review Quotes

"Delightful. . . . Thornton nails the '80s/'90s alternative rock scene with a loving eye and knowing wink. . . . Hilarious." --New York Post

"Lovingly detailed. . . . Music nerds of all ages may recognize more of themselves than they care to admit." --Entertainment Weekly

"[A] walloping debut novel. . . . Thornton's peculiar genius is in marking those teenage tablatures and playing them all the way through." --Austin Chronicle

"A hilarious first novel." --People

"The indiest book of all time. . . . The Thieving Magpies are a fictional band you might actually want to hear." --The Guardian (UK)

"Uproarious . . . A subtly self-reflexive novel . . . [It] works brilliantly." --Miami Herald

"His British origins and obscure-music theme may recall Nick Hornby, but Tim Thornton focuses on the guy adrift and in love with his personal rock god--not some crazy, doe-eyed girl--laying down such rich nineties-alternative references that you wish the protagonist's hero wasn't fictitious." --Details

"Thornton explores the gentle complexities of this odd couple with wit and warmth."--Independent (London)

"Sparkly and authentic." --Times (London)

"Brilliant depictions of the era. . . . A book that reminds you just how music can shape and change a life." --Word magazine (UK)

"Tim Thornton's portrait of a pop culture obsession is so convincing that one can't help wishing that his fictional alt rock band actually existed, or suspecting that they did. The Alternative Hero is a weirdly compelling portrait of fanatic fandom which reads like High Fidelity at high volume." --Jay McInerney

"A deliciously bittersweet novel that will touch the heart of anybody who ever fell in love with rock and roll." --Mick Brown, author of Tearing Down the Wall of Sound

"With The Alternative Hero, Tim Thornton has gone through the looking glass of obsessive fandom and brought back a hilarious, memorable, and hard-rocking tale." --Madison Smartt Bell

About the Author

Tim Thornton plays the drums for the alt/blues artist Fink. The Alternative Hero is his first novel.