The Smiths' Meat Is Murder (Thirty Three and a Third series)

Okay, I knew from reading the reviews that this book would offer virtually zero insights into the album "Meat is Murder, " but there's plenty of great Smiths/Morrissey bio's that will go into great detail about the album. What this is, is an extremely entertaining and witty novel about high school life/emotions. We've all been there and this brings it all back. This guy is one terrific writer. I'm waiting for his next novel!!

First off, let's state the obvious: This is not a work of music criticism. If you want to know about what The Smiths were doing when they recorded MIM, who was in the studio when, what Andy Rourke was drinking etc, then you need to look elsewhere. If on the other hand, you want to know (or be reminded of) what it was like to be a teenager when this extraordinary band were at the height of their powers, then this is a darn good place to start. Pernice (and his publishers) claim that this book is a work of fiction. But, like the best fiction, there's a whole lot of truth in here. It's the story of a few months in the life of a Boston based teenager - we never know his name - in 1985, the year MIM came out. And the story is full of humor, sadness, death, bitterness, poignancy, all of that intense adolescent stuff. For such a short book (its only just more than a hundred pages long), there are some incredibly vivid characters, and scenes that I can't get out of my head. Naturally, I read this book while blasting MIM on my headphones. It takes about 2 hours to read. Please, please, if you buy this book, read it like that. The whole experience is like a portal to another time, an era that is probably best forgotten. Thank God The Smiths were there to help me get through it. And thanks to Mr Pernice for bringing it all back.

People complain that this book isn't what they expected. Well, no, this book is not ABOUT the Smiths, but rather the protagonist's relationship with their music. For anyone who has ever been a teenager and felt alone (so everyone really), and found music as a way to cope, this book will resonate with you. It really is a great read, especially if you turn on Meat is Murder while reading it.

For me this book has only the most superficial connection to The Smiths, namely in the form of a few cheap references to the bleak cultural landscape of 1980s Reagan America and a bit of teen angst on the part of the narrator, who spends much of the book pining away for a series of girlfriends while people he knows commit suicide in scenes that feel vaguely reminiscent of Heathers (except with none of that movie's redeeming humor). I came away with the feeling that Pernice wears his adoration of the Smiths much the way some Williamsburg scenesters used to declare themselves anti-establishment by way of a trip to Domsey's, i.e., he has no real understanding of, or empathy for, the outsider to whom so many of Morrissey's lyrics are clearly directed. Even worse, the book reeks of the worst kind of straight-guy homophobia, the type where they think it's cool to talk about all the sex he wants to have with his imaginary girlfriends while he buys into every gay stereotype about effeminate-acting boys and men, even going for laughs by sharing his terror at the concept of anal sex--ha ha--as if the mere words are the funniest thing ever. Which might work in another context, but is pretty sad in a book about The--Is It Really So Strange?--Smiths. In short, this book should be reprinted with "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" after pretty much every sentence.

After starting to give this novella/memoir one star for false marketing, I re-read it and found it somewhat interesting. It's no Catcher in the Rye (not that I think much of that sacred cow) but it's at least as good as yer average New Yorker fiction. I'm left wondering about the threads left dangling (Alison, Paul, etc.), but that's just as well. Since the author (of whom I've never heard, so I'm not a fanboy like some of the reviewers) was presumably a full-grown adult when he wrote this, some more adult reflection would be beneficial, but it is what it is. I'll keep it on my shelf.

A couple of the other reviewers suggest we look elsewhere for bits about the making of the album, what Andy Rourke was drinking, etc. But that's why we looked here. That's what 33.3 is about. Joe Pernice is a good writer, and the story isn't half bad (though how many teen angst stories do we really need?). It's just not about MIM. And that's what it is supposed to be about. The worst part is, the album deserves a nonfiction account dedicated to it, and now there won't be one.

Perfect little gem of a novella about the 80s, teenagery and music fandom and obsession. One of the best books to chronicle those years of tape culture and how music can be the last live preserver you hang onto in the rough seas of adolescence. No, it's not a typical critical or historical review of The Smiths. It's something better.

I've loved all of the 33 1/3 books I've read so far - ...The Village Green Preservation Society, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Forever Changes, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sign'O'the Times, Endtroducing... - but this is my favourite one thus far. Joe Pernice is a sometime poet and the driving force behind some of the greatest records of the last decade - from his work with Scud Mountain Boys (Big Star meets The Smiths with a knowledge of alt-country), on to his solo work, his band The Pernice Brothers and the Chap-Skyline side-project worth investigating for his New Order cover. As other reviews have pointed out this isn't a track by track analysis as some of the 33 1/3 books are - if you want that kind of music writing, best read a Smiths book by Johnny Rogan. Pernice writes an autobiographical piece located in the US in the 1980s - a stunning reminder of that history and the spirit of the age. Meat is Murder is the background to his life, or his life is the background to Meat is Murder as he falls in love and someone's beaten up and he learns to play bass and I smoke cos I hope for an early death and he suffers the high school ritual...Pernice does mention the record lots, whether nodding to lines from MIM in a style akin to Douglas Coupland's Smiths-allusions in 'Girlfriend in a Coma' , or to posit the importance of the Smiths in his life. The scene where his mother misunderstands them is hilarious and reminded me of a time when my parents were shocked and made me play There is a Light...at a barbie - couldn't quite believe what they were hearing (though I suspect the Moz resonated - coming from the same dull 1960s and films like Billy Liar and Saturday Night Sunday Morning). Meat is Murder proves to be a revelation to Joe as he forms a band and begins to connect with others and connects with his fantasy, Alison...& Pernice and other characters display anglophile aspects that show how similar we are - if anyone wants to know why the Smiths are universal, look no further. Pernice mentions other British acts too - The Cure, The Clash, Japan, Kate Bush, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Furs...but The Smiths ruled!!! This book around Meat is Murder is a bold move for this series and shows that music criticism can really be anything - on the strength of this I hope Joe attempts a novel soon. Just 70-something pages long, but had me having Proustian recollections of a High School I never went to. This sits well alongside the aforementioned Coupland book, early Bret Easton Ellis, & 'Bright Lights Big City.' My favourite 33 1/3 book so far...would love to write one myself, possibly on Sulk. Or Songs to Remember. Or Cut. Or A Trip to Marineville. Or Fire of Love. Or..."I've seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in mine..."

well written and comprehensive account of this great album

Thank you

As a big fan of the Smith's I didn't realize that this was a memoir from Mr. Pernice's teenage years and was terribly disappointed when I tried to read it. Sorry but the book seemed entirely pointless. I should have read more about it before purchasing but I was fooled by the fact that this book seems to be part of a series focused on rock bands. Oops. Moving forward, We won't get fooled again.

Great little story