The Dwarves of Death - Jonathan Coe

Book Details

Country: UK
Language: English
Genre: Modern Fiction
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Publication Date: 1990


Fictional Artist: Unfortunates
Genre: Prog
Country: UK
Real World Analogue: "The story grew out of my experience of playing in a band called The Peer Group during the mid-1980s. The band was formed in 1985, when I was still studying at Warwick University. Most of the other members, however, were medial students at Guy's Hospital in South London, so that was where our rehearsals usually took place. We began by playing mainly my own compositions, which tended to be tuneful, jazzy instrumentals in the vein associated with Canterbury-school bands like Caravan and Hatfield and the North. Gradually we moved in a more poppy direction, and ended up sounding (or trying to sound) a bit like Everything But The Girl or Prefab Sprout. Our most distinctive feature was the quirky, oblique lyrical content of the songs – all the worlds were written by our drummer, Ralph Pite, now the biographer of Thomas Hardy and chair of the English Department at Bristol University." - Jonathan Coe.

Jacket Blurb: 

Music, murder ... and Madeleine. William has a lot on his mind. Firstly there's The Alaska Factory, the band he plays in. They're no good and they make his songs sound about as groovy as an unpressed record.

Secondly, there's Madeleine, his high-maintenance girlfriend whose idea of a night of passion is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical followed by a doorstep peck on the cheek. Maybe they're not soulmates after all?

Lastly, there's the bizarre murder he's just witnessed. A man lies bludgeoned to death at his feet and, unfortunately for William, there aren't too many other suspects standing...