Ever have books that you DNF (do not finish)? I've been plowing thru a couple of these on summer break. One was John Doe and Tom Desavia's "Under the Big Black Sun," and the other was "List of the Lost," a novel by Morrissey. I'm proud to say I completed both after several years of misplacement and disinterest!!!
The John Doe tome inspired me to pull out my "L.A." albums and C.D.s. Among them: The Go Go's, Gun Club, Blasters, and Flesheaters. Oddly, I haven't listened to any X!!
The Moz book was a little harder to warm up to, but like a tiny house version of Dostoevsky, I eventually got the hang of his distinctive approach to prose. It was influenced by Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray" in that the characters verbalize the author's philosophy in ways that would not occur in a casual conversation. NOBODY talks like that!!!
To use another Morrissey influence as an example, It's like Jimmy Honeyman covering the New York Dolls. I can sound somewhat like David Jo, Johnny, or Sylvain if I use the suitable toys. You will probably even enjoy it (I know you will)., but It will still be a xerox of the original Dolls blueprint (Hey! Hanoi Rock!!!). That's how "List of the Lost" strikes me. If this were 1890, it would be serialized in MOJO instead of a novel on Penguin Press. Try it if you dare, but it may be a DNF for you.