This Song Is About Us

I’m sure that one of the cardinal rules when writing a review is never begin with a pun. Forgive me: this novel is pitch-perfect. The story is framed round three music festivals, each bigger than the last: Tenley; Reading; Glastonbury. As the narrative focus moves through to the bigger festivals, Drew Schafer and The Kerbs become increasingly famous, with all the media attention which that ignites and all its inevitable intrusions into personal lives. Ruby and Drew have been in a deep and committed relationship for years but now, at the insistence of the band’s newly acquired manager, they must decide whether or not to make their attachment public. Ruby makes the decision that they should stay secret, both to make Drew’s inevitable rise to fame less complicated and to protect herself from the constant, punishing exposure on social media as the girlfriend of a famous-and desirable-musician. Set as a clever counterpoint is the decision which band member Lex and his girlfriend Stel make to go public.

Barnard carefully seeds the narrative with the tiny details which erode Drew and Ruby’s relationship-one slow drip after another. There’s a deep-seated awareness here of the highly destructive power of social media, the increasing drains on Drew’s time by his management, and the sheer hard work of being constantly on the road, constantly scrutinised, constantly separated from the anchors which tie you to sanity and the comfort of familiar routines. When the pressure of not being able to be open about Ruby is added to the mix, Drew begins to fall apart. His remedies are familiar: drink and drugs – and the consequent alteration of his personality and behaviour. This disintegration is minutely and convincingly detailed by Barnard-as is Stel’s rise to a position of favour with the band’s fans – a devastating irony for Ruby.

When Ruby finally decides she has to end things with Drew, Barnard writes with a crisp and heartbreaking clarity. Two pages of beautifully constructed writing convey Drew’s despair and Ruby’s all-pervading grief. This is underpinned – as are all major concerns with the band – by comments on social media, reinforcing its ceaseless presence and damage to those who are discussed and minutely analysed. This Song Is About Us skilfully exposes the price of fame and the hammer-blow power of social media, whether it is accurate or not. And in addition to all of this, the book has a killer of an ending on all sorts of levels. All the more reason to read it, and you should.