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The Busker
Three cities, two years, one chance: from the author of the critically acclaimed debut So It Is ? shortlisted for best first book at the Scottish Book Awards 2013 ? comes the hard-hitting story of a young man determined to find his voice. Plucked from obscurity in Glasgow, Rab Dillon is about to become the next great protest singer. Seduced by promises of stardom, carrying only the guitar given to him by the girl who broke his heart, he travels down to London. There he records the debut album that will speak to the dispossessed, the disenfranchised and disheartened. One year later, he is sleeping rough on the streets of Brighton. A modern-day ballad set across three cities and two years, The Busker is a richly comic expos(r) of the music industry, the Occupy movement, homelessness, squatting ? and failing to live up to the name you (almost) share with your hero. It is also the story of what survives when the flimsy dreams of fame fall apart.
- GenresFiction
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Liam Murray Bell
4 books16 followersAuthor of So It Is and The Busker, upcoming in 2014, both published by Myriad Editions. Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Stirling.
www.liammurraybell.com
www.liammurraybell.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 30, 2014
Meet Rab Dillon. He’s the hero of Liam Murray Bell’s moving second novel, The Busker, which tells of a young Scottish singer who leaves his native Glasgow for London after winning a recording contract with a record company of dubious standing. When Rab’s first album bombs, his naivety leads him into dire straits, homelessness and, eventually, a whole heap of soul searching.
There is much to admire in this novel: a flowing, lyrical writing style; some genuinely laugh out loud moments; deftly drawn characters (major and minor) and a clever three-tiered setting and plot. Since the opening scene tells us of Rab’s fate, as he sits morose and drugged up on a stony Brighton beach, what grips the reader throughout is not what will happen to Rab, but why it happened and how – this makes for an intriguing story and an absorbing one.
A compelling insight into the record industry and the Occupy movement, an exploration of creativity and a painful, yet truthful, look at growing up, The Busker is an important – and touching – novel that explores a life on the margins.
There is much to admire in this novel: a flowing, lyrical writing style; some genuinely laugh out loud moments; deftly drawn characters (major and minor) and a clever three-tiered setting and plot. Since the opening scene tells us of Rab’s fate, as he sits morose and drugged up on a stony Brighton beach, what grips the reader throughout is not what will happen to Rab, but why it happened and how – this makes for an intriguing story and an absorbing one.
A compelling insight into the record industry and the Occupy movement, an exploration of creativity and a painful, yet truthful, look at growing up, The Busker is an important – and touching – novel that explores a life on the margins.
February 3, 2015
Let's get one thing out of the way: Rab, the narrator, is not a very good person. He's young, talented, and all too aware of his skills. Bell wisely divides the novel between Rab's home of Glasgow, his time as a promising new singer/songwriter based in London, and his burnt out busking and homelessness in Brighton. As the narrative skips around, we learn more about what went wrong with this poor soul's aspirations and how much he is to blame for his own situation. It's beautifully written and a bittersweet journey, right to the final page.
June 1, 2020
Sorry, not a fan of this book at all. The main character is utterly dislikeable and I'm totally not surprised things didn't work out for him - he deserved all the misfortune he got from his bad decisions and selfish actions. It gets 2 stars for describing and highlighting aspects of homelessness but it could have still done that and been a much better, more well-rounded book.
**Additional comments!**
I just read another review that says Rab (the main character) is essentially a good person that has bad things happen to him. I disagree. He cheats on his best friend, then treats the girlfriend badly (he can't even be bothered to listen fully to her [wholly justified] reasons for not accompanying him to London because he's busy flipping between porn sites on his laptop; he talks to her like dirt, is a misogynistic arsehole for much of the time; and his comments to her when their relationship finally ends are appalling and unforgiveable). Generally, he swans around wasting other people's money on his various bad habits, expecting constant handouts and whining when they're not forthcoming. He thinks he knows better than everyone else, whether they be well-meaning friends (Ewan, who does his research but Rab won't listen) or professionals with experience that Rab simply doesn't have. Oh - and when his manager doesn't conjure up the successful career that Rab feels he's owed (despite seemingly having only 3 songs, and not playing them very well when he's on stage, and admitting himself that they're not as good as they could be) he petulantly attempts to break up his manager's marriage. He's not naive, he's nasty.
**Additional comments!**
I just read another review that says Rab (the main character) is essentially a good person that has bad things happen to him. I disagree. He cheats on his best friend, then treats the girlfriend badly (he can't even be bothered to listen fully to her [wholly justified] reasons for not accompanying him to London because he's busy flipping between porn sites on his laptop; he talks to her like dirt, is a misogynistic arsehole for much of the time; and his comments to her when their relationship finally ends are appalling and unforgiveable). Generally, he swans around wasting other people's money on his various bad habits, expecting constant handouts and whining when they're not forthcoming. He thinks he knows better than everyone else, whether they be well-meaning friends (Ewan, who does his research but Rab won't listen) or professionals with experience that Rab simply doesn't have. Oh - and when his manager doesn't conjure up the successful career that Rab feels he's owed (despite seemingly having only 3 songs, and not playing them very well when he's on stage, and admitting himself that they're not as good as they could be) he petulantly attempts to break up his manager's marriage. He's not naive, he's nasty.
June 14, 2021
'Busking is your way of participating in consumer culture, your only marketable skill in this capitalist system...' A musician's life is governed by many variables, from the Holy Grail of 'making it' (a goal with no clear definition) to the various confusions and ignominies that beset a creative soul in pursuit of a crust of bread. You only have to visit the subways or shopping precincts of any city or sizeable town to hear seriously decent musicians plying their trade for spare change. This edgy, perceptive and very funny novel by Liam Murray Bell, set in Glasgow, London and Brighton, brilliantly captures the spirit of a young musician caught between creative aspiration, political idealism, and the need to tough it out when the prospect of fame does a runner. Fast paced, with superb dialogue and vivid evocation of time and place, I loved every page of it.
April 8, 2024
I read this for the 2024 52 Books Reading Challenge #50 "a musical instrument on the cover". It's about a Scottish musician who thinks he is going to make it big in the music business when he gets an agent who arranges for a recording contract for him. In the end he is homeless and playing for money on the street (busking). The book goes back and forth between Glasgow, Brighton and London. It also goes back and forth in time. I wanted to feel sorry for the guy, but the way he treated other people did not endear him to me.
November 16, 2022
Loved the political message and writing of this book. It felt so relevant to our society and so important in reflecting on our culture and the way we treat class conflicts and capitalist propaganda
August 21, 2015
Having been in & around the fringes of the music business for the last 7 years, there was a lot in this book I recognised and for the most part it's very accurate. There's Rab Dillons playing every night all over the country, and Bell puts together a pretty fair representation of many of them and ties together a story that's both crushingly realistic while retaining an optimism. The three cities all have their own unique feel to them, all with very different (albeit intertwined) stories told within their boundaries.
What I particularly liked was that Bell was very honest about what an arsehole his protagonist could be, without making him out to be some sort of anti-hero about it. While he's not inherently evil or overtly bad, I would stop short of saying Rab's particularly likeable. It's a bold move, one that may not please everyone, but I think makes the story more compelling. It's Once with a bit more grit, an occasionally bitter drama rather than a romance.
On that note, some of the fringe characters who would often be shown unfavourably to a lay public were actually represented quite fairly. The perspectives of slightly cringey managers and big bad label bosses are implied in an even handed manner, which a lazier, more salacious telling of the story wouldn't bother with. Again, it's an important nuance which makes it less of a black & white tale than the one we often hear.
Definitely recommend you pick this one up.
What I particularly liked was that Bell was very honest about what an arsehole his protagonist could be, without making him out to be some sort of anti-hero about it. While he's not inherently evil or overtly bad, I would stop short of saying Rab's particularly likeable. It's a bold move, one that may not please everyone, but I think makes the story more compelling. It's Once with a bit more grit, an occasionally bitter drama rather than a romance.
On that note, some of the fringe characters who would often be shown unfavourably to a lay public were actually represented quite fairly. The perspectives of slightly cringey managers and big bad label bosses are implied in an even handed manner, which a lazier, more salacious telling of the story wouldn't bother with. Again, it's an important nuance which makes it less of a black & white tale than the one we often hear.
Definitely recommend you pick this one up.
January 27, 2015
'Wow' is my initial reaction to this book. I picked it off the shelf in waterstones because the cover attracted me and the blurb sounded like it would be suited to me. It turned out that it read more like this book was written for me!
I loved the use of the three cities, North to South, and the fact that the story moves chronologically but cyclically in that each bit is leading to the next location.
It's strange how I was on the edge of my seat with the details of events, even in the instances where what's ultimately going to happen has already been given away in a previous chapter. Details really do matter, especially when you're as emotionally invested in a character as I was with Rab.
At the start, I actually read him as older than he was. Although clearly immature and blinded by wild ambition, he was so realistic and 'tough' that it definitely didn't come across as a story about an initial teenager at all.
If you're interested in music, busking, politics, folk, anxiety/ depression, and the complexities of people, I would highly, highly recommend.
I loved the use of the three cities, North to South, and the fact that the story moves chronologically but cyclically in that each bit is leading to the next location.
It's strange how I was on the edge of my seat with the details of events, even in the instances where what's ultimately going to happen has already been given away in a previous chapter. Details really do matter, especially when you're as emotionally invested in a character as I was with Rab.
At the start, I actually read him as older than he was. Although clearly immature and blinded by wild ambition, he was so realistic and 'tough' that it definitely didn't come across as a story about an initial teenager at all.
If you're interested in music, busking, politics, folk, anxiety/ depression, and the complexities of people, I would highly, highly recommend.
August 23, 2015
Oh look, there's a lot to like about this book. I particularly like the flashback structure being organised geographically. The three subplots are each allowed to end organically and still come together in a cohesive whole. Thematically the book is similar to "Tim Connor Hits Trouble" in that it is concerned with the increasing commerciality of life. TCHT is set in the Higher Education sector and deals with that in more detail, whereas this book deals with a wider range but with its most detailed description of the music industry. The aspect that I particularly like is that economic issues are only considered peripherally by the main character. The flashpoint of each subplot is the protagonist not understanding the aspects of economic reality that the respective antagonists have chosen to focus on. (The protagonist/antagonist description is not that accurate in all cases but you get the point.) A good read.
August 10, 2016
They say that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in this case I learned not to judge a book by its first page. I received this book in a Good Reads giveaway and was really looking forward to starting it as the blurb really appealed to me. However, by the end of the first page I'd decided that this wasn't a book for me. Drink, drugs and bad language are a somewhat alien world to me. However, I am so glad that I persevered. Very quickly I found myself caught up in Rab's story. Yes, he made mistakes, but he was essentially a good person and I wanted things to work out for him. I'd love a sequel to know what happens to him next.
November 2, 2014
GOODREADS GIVEAWAY WIN.
In a brave choice of bildungsroman protagonist, we follow a callow and self-centred youth as he - incrementally, partially, believably - begins to redeem himself.
In a brave choice of bildungsroman protagonist, we follow a callow and self-centred youth as he - incrementally, partially, believably - begins to redeem himself.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews