Wildly inventive and magnificently surreal, The Smiths: A Novella recounts the impact of an unconventional pop group from Manchester on one man’s life. Taking the form of a flâneuring journey through the landscape of memory, our anonymous protagonist is accompanied by the iconic French actress Carole Bouquet, who becomes his guide and interlocutor, asking about his life during the years The Smiths were together and the profound effect of their music upon him.

Michael Bracewell’s novella-cum-fairy tale is at once deeply romantic and laced with comedy – not unlike the band themselves – and perhaps (in fictional form) the most astute and celebratory portrait of The Smiths to date.

Michael Bracewell is a writer and novelist whose books include Perfect Tense, Unfinished Business and Re-make/Re-model: Becoming Roxy Music.