I’ve never read any Lewis Shiner before, but had heard great things about him. When a friend recommended that I read his classic novel Glimpses, I decided to jump in. I found the book at a used book store and tore into it. A couple of hours later I was drifting into and out of classic rock and feeling like listening to albums which I hadn’t felt the need to hear in 20 years. The novel suffers through some weak sequences, but overall is a strong view into the impact of music and the musicians. Let’s check it out.

Ray Shackleford has just lost his father. He wasn’t particularly close to him (and didn’t particularly like him), but it is affecting him. He also has an electronic repair business that he can do in his sleep, is married to a wife that he isn’t sure he loves and seems is a semi-functioning alcoholic. He never quite gets drunk, but he isn’t really ever sober. During a lazy afternoon, Ray drifts off thinking about what could have been the Beatles album Get Back and as he drifts, the music changes to what it could have been. Unreleased and non-existent Beatles music starts coming out of his stereo. He did the trick again the next day and was able to record a Beatles song as it should have been, but never was.

This leads Ray to Los Angeles and a record executive, Graham Hudson, who specializes in reprints. Ray shows him his trick and next thing you know Hudson is talking about releasing it as a bootleg. And then wondering if Ray can do it for other artists (Jimi Hendrix, Beach Boys, Jim Morrison). Ray tries, but starts finding that the more he gets into each artist, the more it takes out of him. At the same time, Ray has to figure out his relationship with his wife, his mother, his ex-girlfriend, a beautiful mysterious woman he meets in his journey and most of all the relationship he didn’t have with his father.

Overall it’s a strong book when Shiner focuses on the music and the musicians. The relationship story isn’t quite as strong and slows down the book considerably when Ray heads to Mexico and meets Lori. That whole section of the book just bored me and was a slog to get through. It felt like it came in from a different story. But when the music sections are going, the book just sings. Ray is a strong and flawed character who easily drifts into the lives of the musicians. If you’re a fan of classic rock, then this will be a fun book for you. Recommended.