Customer Reviews

Sisyphus Rocks

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I confess. I purchased Sisyphus Rocks because I found out that Michael Sinclair is really composer, arranger, producer Mark Wirtz. (I'm not giving away a secret here. The blurb on the back of the book reveals Michael's past.) Though admittedly a bit sceptical at first, I was banking on the hope that if a man can write some of the most memorable music of all time, it may just be possible that he can pull off the same feat in prose.

To say that I was right would be an under statement of unfortunate proportions. This is one of the most inventive books I've read since Flann O'Brien's 'The Third Policeman' and it has some similarities to Mr. O'Brien's master work:

Ultimately 'Sisyphus Rocks' is a tale in the 'Alice In Wonderland' vein. Things never go right for this Alice (composer, arranger, producer Philip Benson) and Benson has no control over the author's ability to introduce character after character: an over the top Mad Hatter (producer Biff King), the wise Cheshire Cat (publisher Vito Lorenzo), the evil Queen of Hearts (record label owner Arnold Goldman). Only the music business could produce fictional characters this real.

Like Alice, Phil Benson is the victim of crazy event after crazy event. Only in this story they are the very real events of a very adult world: car crashes, career crashes, legal problems, death, destruction, love, loss, lies and murder. In this book (and in real life) 1979 was not a good year for the music business.

So where does this leave us?

In its simplest form 'Sisyphus Rocks' is the story of Phil Benson's involvement in a plot to kill singer Rita Blossom. But this not so simple story is presented in a way that only a talented writer (and insider) could muster. In musical terms, this book has more twists than Chubby Checker performed in a lifetime. And yet the story somehow gets signed, sealed and delivered in a neat (albiet explosive) little package.

The man who brought us Grocer Jack (his 1967 mega hit) has left Teenage Operas behind for an incredibly seedy and sad adult world.

This book is highly recommended. While you are shopping buy the CDs of Mark Wirtz. You'll need to provide your own sound track for this movie.

This is a fabulous story and a wonderful book! I wish that Michael Sinclair had used his own artwork for the cover, though.

Great book! Should be a movie!