Review by Booklist Review
In this first novel, a tender slice of autofiction, Murdoch, lead singer and songwriter for the Scottish indie pop band, Belle and Sebastian, tells the story of a young man who struggles with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating illness that for far too long doctors dismissed as no worse than a bad flu. For people who suffer from it, though, life can suddenly stop. Starting in Glasgow during the early 1990s, the plot moves into high gear when Stephen and his friend and fellow sufferer, Richard, decide to get away for as long as their money will last to a place where the sun can warm their bones. They choose California, and their picaresque journey takes them to San Diego, San Francisco, and Berkeley, where they encounter an assortment of folks. Although nothing earth-shattering happens, which is part of the novel's gentle charm, an understated type of reinvention does occur. Stephen is an affable dreamer who loves music, listening to it (Soup Dragons, Cocteau Twins, Pixies) and eventually playing it. Glasgow is also a character, especially its leafy West End. Inspired by Murdoch's own bout with the disease, Nobody's Empire is mesmerizing in a low-key way, much like the music of Belle and Sebastian, and it leaves a smile on your face.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Murdoch, lead singer and lyricist for the band Belle & Sebastian, follows up his memoir, The Celestial Café, with a turgid debut novel tracing an indie rocker's coming-of-age. Stephen, a young Glaswegian scenester recently released from a lengthy hospital stay for chronic fatigue syndrome, is mostly confined to his one-room apartment, and picks up the nickname "the World's Coldest Boy" for dressing in layers. Jobless and unlucky in love, he listens to post-punk records, finds Jesus, befriends the equally troubled Carrie, pines after her fetching younger sister, and declares himself "but a shadow of a boy." Well, this is but a shadow of a book, and its narrator, a "free-floating vagabond of the state," doesn't have a lot to offer beyond prayers and playlists, though when Stephen and his roommate Richard decamp to San Francisco, there's at least a change of scene and some fun philosophical jabbing with local musicians. Ultimately, Stephen finds himself through songwriting and begins putting a band together to cut a demo, but even the most faithful Belle & Sebastian fans will have trouble getting there. This is a dud. Agent: Jud Laghi, Jud Laghi Agency. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young Scottish man waits for the moment to come when his composure returns. "I'm just nervous," says Stephen, the narrator of singer-songwriter Murdoch's debut novel. "I'm nervous when I wake up and nervous when I go to bed." Stephen, 23, is plagued with anxiety, but that's not all--he's also navigating the end of a romantic relationship, and, for the past three years, has been laid low by myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: "Imagine having the first day of a cold or the flu every day of your life. Feeling sick and weak and…poisoned every day. It's whatthat does to you. It's the days and the years. It fucks everything up." He spends his days in Glasgow listening to his beloved music, or hanging out with his friend Carrie and flatmate, Richard, both of whom also struggle with ME/CFS. After appointments with doctors prove fruitless, Stephen and Richard decide to take a three-month trip to California, hoping the sun and American medical science will improve the state they're in. The pair make the most of their Golden State adventure, playing music, making friends, and eventually realizing that while ill, they're still capable of doing things they love. Not much happens in this novel--as Stephen says, "This is not a heavenly story, this is a slow human story, where people keep trundling along, jostled and occasionally pricked by circumstances and tripped up by their feelings." But that's what makes it so accomplished. Murdoch drills down deep into the character of Stephen while not neglecting the others; he clearly sympathizes with a young man with a horrible disease that not long ago was derided as "the yuppie flu," its sufferers gaslit when they sought treatment. (To be clear, this, unfortunately, still happens.) Fans of Murdoch's band, Belle and Sebastian, will appreciate a few Easter eggs that the author includes (ever wonder how Sukie ended up in that art school?), but you don't have to be an indie-pop fan to appreciate this compassionate, sweet, beautifully written novel. Murdoch proves he's as good a novelist as he is a musician. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
