A review by townblog
Wonderkid by Wesley Stace

3.0

I've yet to read a really great novel about a rock n' roll band. Even otherwise good/great writers (Lethem, DeLillo, Perrota, King) have stumbled in trying to dramatize sound we can't hear and musical creativity we can't see. Maybe words aren't the right tool with which to describe music (cf., "dancing about architecture."). Wesley Stace's background in folk-rock and the focus here on a Wiggles-ish kids band lend themselves to a noble attempt, but ultimately falls short. Early chapters,about the band's emergence are fun, but the long-term shift to focus on the young adult adopted by the lead singer sort of sapped the energy and inventiveness of the book. I think we're meant to experience/admire the lead singer through the narrator In a Nick Carraway/Jay Gatsby fashion, but as a fan of singer-songwriters, I already know what it's like to be fascinated with rock stars...