Lousy With Ghosts

by Craig Finn

No ISBN/ASIN data

Lousy With Ghosts is an eighty page book featuring eleven works of fiction by Craig Finn. These stories take place in the same universe as the Always Been record, and offer new and deeper looks at the characters from the songs. This companion piece is a limited edition item and a must-have for any fan of Craig Finn. Also makes a great gift for another fan in your life!

72 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2025

Reviews

[Adam Parrilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Couldn’t put it down. I had long hoped Mr Finn would publish a book and I’m happy to report his vivid, geographic, detail-oriented lyric writing carries over to the page. These short stories are the “cousins” of the songs off one of my favorite albums of 2025, also by Craig, “Always Been.” Sign me up for more stories or …a novel?

[Courtney Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Finn is a masterful storyteller, this is self evident. He creates a universe in each of his songs, so life like, so detailed and so honest they feel more true than the truth. Every time I have seen him preform I get the feeling I’m just sitting at a bar, drinking my third beer, listening to a friend tell a random story about their day that briefly unlocks all the truth about life. That’s just how this reads. So simple, just everyday things, but also so insightful. If you’re a fan, or just a fan of a good short story, this is a must read.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A companion book to Craig Finn’s latest album “Always Been”. Craig is the lead singer for The Hold Steady (I describe them as the E Street band if they were fronted by your accountant) who are an amazing live act with anthemic sing-along songs. But it’s Craig’s solo material that lets him stretch his legs in character and plot development. I’ve said that his songs are about people who’ve made bad choices but it’s also people who’ve experienced bad luck and the pain of being alive. Anyways, these stories are great to read after having listened to the new album a dozen times. I would buy a companion book to each of his solo albums, were he to write them. If you listen to his music, you’ll enjoy it more after reading his writing.

[Chasen Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig Finn’s songwriting has always left plenty of room for inferences and listener interpretations. With his solo records as well as his work with The Hold Steady and Lifter Puller, one can usually fit the puzzle pieces together and discern the given stories he’s obliquely hinting at. Dropping just enough lyrical breadcrumbs (never too many, never too few) to encourage close listening and audience participation has been a staple of his art for decades. Now, for the first time, he is attempting to fill in gaps, provide more context and deepen a narrative.

Lousy With Ghosts is a companion collection to Finn’s 2025 album, Always Been, in which he introduces the loose account of one Nathan, a soldier turned (non-believing) priest turned homeless addict/alcoholic turned born-again Christian. As to be expected, the storytelling on the LP is pretty sparse, leaving openings for further exploration in these eleven pieces.

While I can’t say either the recent batch of songs or the accompanying stories make for Finn’s finest work on their own, I do feel inclined towards a slightly more generous 4-star verdict here as I very much admire the scope and ambition of this project as a whole.

Also, there’s something novel and interesting about making each story more-or-less the same page count (possibly mirroring song lengths?).

[Pat Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun. A great companion to “Always Been.”

[Eric Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heard the record, saw the show, read the book. A big story told in small ways or a small story told in big ways? You have to scrape for the details but I think the work is worth it.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

20 years ago, Craig Finn was writing songs about teenagers and twenty-somethings making bad decisions. Now he's writing songs and stories about the people that survived those decisions.

[Corey Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

[Eric Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to the album first at least a few times and read the lyrics, the backstories become quite a delight and occasionally shocking

[Matt Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these stories. Kind of cool to learn more about the characters on the album.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but powerful stories that connect and reflect life, choices and sometimes fate.

[Robert E Hasty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of stories is simply a more intimate look into the world that Finn has put together in his solo albums

[Lisa C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good little companion piece to Craig’s new album. Concise vignettes on characters.