I came to this book primarily as a Morrissey fan who loved everything from the lyrics he penned to his vinyl packaging, but also as a fan of academia and literature. At first I thought I was in for a fantastic read, at last someone else who sees Morrissey in a wider cultural context, who recognizes Moz for being something more than just a pop star, a literary sort of pop star.

I must confess however that the further into this book I got, the more I found myself skimming over bits of it. I can do long words, I can do analysis but sometimes Hopps goes a little too far in his analysis of Morrissey’s utterances, not just the lyrics themselves, but the sounds that Morrissey makes when he’s not singing recognized words. I think this has a place, after all, with singers it’s not so much what they sing but how they sing, their performativity is as important as the song itself, yet Hopps has a slight unnecessary tendency to drag out this aspect of Morrissey’s work.

There are also a few glaring omissions, which any Morrissey fan will spot a mile off and these are relevant to his work so it does tend to make you wonder why certain things have not been included in this study.

However, if you are a Morrissey fan the chances are you will like this book and get something from it. Hopp’s insights are sometimes illuminating and if you know that Morrissey is important, but aren’t sure why then this book will surely give you the ammunition you need to fend off anyone who dares to write Morrissey off as just being miserable. I don’t think it would appeal to anyone who wasn’t a fan though, and be prepared - even the most ardent fan will need to put some work in. Ultimately though, it is worth it.