Full disclosure: I am in the acknowledgements of Toby Litt’s ‘novel in short stories’, I Play the Drums in a Band Called ‘Okay’. Normally I wouldn’t review a book by an author who had acknowledged me, but in this instance the acknowledgement (‘Matt Thorne, for the new sounds’) isn’t a thanks for any literary help or inspiration, but for the stream of avant-garde noise tapes and CDs I’ve sent the author over the years (in return, Toby sends jazz in order to civilise me). I assumed he was putting them straight in the bin; the fact that he’s presumably listened to them and that they might in some way have helped to inspire his new book makes me feel critically generous towards him. But I will remain impartial.

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