Belshangles: A Novel

by Susan Altstatt

The day after his concert tour closes in San Francisco, Tommi Rhymer, frontman of the English band Belshangles, comes to in a wilderness cabin. He has no clue where he is, or how he got there. In the loft above him lies fifteen-year-old Miranda "Andy" Falconer. Her perfect day at the Belshangles concert went horribly wrong when her idol passed out in the alley behind his San Francisco hotel, in a state of undress with two under-age girls. But she knows rescuing him to her parents Sierra cabin was the right thing to do.What she doesn't know are the physical and emotional effects of cold turkey withdrawal. Now Andy s on her own in the deep woods, faced with a sick, furious, potentially violent man. She ll need physical and spiritual resources she never knew she had to care for, outwit, and eventually outrun Tommi, before sanity and sense of humor return, and he recognizes the chance she s offered him to put his life in order. Belshangles is a bittersweet love story, a tale of imprisonment and conflict, redemption and growth."

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2015

Reviews

[Jennifer Moffatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome story! It starts out like many a teen fantasy: your rock star idol just fell down unconscious at your feet. But then Susan Altstatt takes the story to places you would have never imagined.

[Marguerite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the rock concert scene was never my gig, I can understand the passionate longing to meet someone you will never meet, the projections you can make on that person, and the intensity of dreams that will never be fulfilled. So when young Andi meets her rock star the whole story comes charmingly alive. Altstatt's plot twists add spice to the dream--be careful what you pray for when you get it, it may not be what you thought it was going to be or what after all you wanted.

The style has been criticized, but I feel it suits the material and the characters perfectly.

So if you ever taped the picture of a rock star on the inside of your school locker or hung a concert poster in your bedroom, give this book a try. It is a riveting good read. I am glad to see it in print and looking forward the next one to see what happens as the characters grow and evolve.

[Virginia Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good deal of my youth also evolved with this book and its brilliant author. I enjoyed every page of it, having spent many years following bands, and singing chant myself. I enjoyed the Latin, high church references, the folklore and the outright funny rock and roll descriptions. The characters in this story are likable, and one follows their loves and lives with interest. The other volumes of the story have yet to make it into publication, but I can tell you they are well worth waiting for. While Belshangles is complete in and of itself, it certainly gives one the feeling that there is more waiting to happen and and an eagerness to pursue it. I recommend this story.

[Danielle Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Though I did enjoy the story quite a bit and was eager to see what happened to the characters, the amount of religion in this book put me off a little. I did enjoy the story line and was very happy the way the story played out.

[Jean Doten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belshangles is a delightful romp. The main characters, 15 year-old star-struck Andy (Miranda) and 30 + rock star Tommi Rymmer are the oddest literary couple I have known, and yet they are surprisingly well matched. Andy has a maturity beyond her years if in nothing else but her intense focus on the only thing in the universe that matters to her. On the other hand the almost-over-the-hill Tommi has an unexpected innocence about him that comes to the surface when he finds himself in an outlandish situation which, try as he might, he cannot escape.

The minor characters, too, held my interest. Skye is the friend that Andy shamelessly manipulates and who unwittingly becomes the catalyst that brings Andy's dream of meeting her idol to fruition. The beautiful, passionate Belshangles bass player Harlan lets his jealousy take over, setting into motion the the events that eventually spiral even out of Andy's control. Rock music, Gregorian chant, Irish ballads, the crush of humanity at the Oakland Colosseum and the isolation of a cabin in the Sierra Nevada. How can you not want to find out what this is all about?