Rae has no idea why Brandon was even in London; they live in the US, although from what she says, Brandon often disappeared for days on end. It's clear that Brandon wasn't the best of partners, or fathers. Adam and Rae hit it off; exchanging stories about Brandon. It's clear that he hasn't really changed from the boy that Adam knew; always reinventing himself, always wanting to be known. Always presenting an identity in public that didn't mirror his real self.

Fantastic debut novel. Magical, surreal, disturbing. Reminded me in places of early Iain Banks and DBC Pierre." - John Niven Your style always seemed to me a little bit like Jah Wobble with Peter Hook’s tonalities – what attracted you in music the most and made you choose this instrument ? His debut novel “The Ruins” seems to be like a “long way home”. Partially because following Mat’s words, he’s always been writing. And partially because within the novel itself, Mat reviewed different aspects of his life, creativity and personality. His novel is not typical in any sense. Osman masterfully opposed different worlds, cultures and values, creating a thrilling detective story.Ook de subtiele referenties naar Suedelyrics vond ik heerlijk (Suede is de band van de auteur, die ik onlangs zowat 25 jaar na de rest van de wereld echt ontdekte). Mijn enige puntje van kritiek is dat het woord suede een paar keer terugkomt in de tekst. Osman schrijft zo goed dat dat zijn talent eigenlijk een beetje ondergraaft. Brandon has also re-mortgaged their house, and soon, as Adam talks this through with Rae, it becomes clear to him that he needs to help Rae. The thing is, with the only people knowing that Brandon is dead being Rae, Adam, the police and the killers, Adam must become Brandon to see the schemes through. He’s also beginning to fall for Rae, and Robin doesn’t yet know his dad is dead.

The Ruins (brilliant title) centres on Adam whose estranged musician brother, Brandon, is murdered. Investigating why, Adam gets drawn into Brandon’s murky world. The novel explores identity and the blurring of the lines between person and persona, as well as the darker, less glamorous sides of the music industry and the successes and excesses within it. The main characters - Adam and Brandon - are twins and the exploration of the similarities and differences between their characters is fascinating. I found myself changing my mind about both of them and their motives frequently. This is how we are introduced to Adam. But in the second paragraph, it becomes clear that he is talking about a model land, village is too small a word for it. Umbrage, as his land is called, is Adams obsession, it has working traffic lights and cable cars, clouds provided by a dry ice machine, everything engineered in miniature, with Adam playing God, inflicting occasional disasters on his creation. Anderson grew up in Hayward’s Heath on the grubby fringes of the Home Counties. As a teenager he clashed with his eccentric taxi-driving father (who would parade around their council house dressed as Lawrence of Arabia, air-conducting his favourite composers) and adored his beautiful, artistic mother. He brilliantly evokes the seventies, the suffocating discomfort of a very English kind of poverty and the burning need for escape that it breeds. Anderson charts the shabby romance of creativity as he travelled the tube in search of inspiration, fuelled by Marmite and nicotine, and Suede’s rise from rehearsals in bedrooms, squats and pubs. And he catalogues the intense relationships that make and break bands as well as the devastating loss of his mother. As far as he knew Brandon was living in California and can’t understand what he was doing in London where apparently he’d been for a couple of weeks before his death. His brother’s girlfriend, Bea, enlists Adam’s help to discover what Brandon was involved in and who killed him.I was about the start the earthquake when the phone rang. It wasn’t to be a big earthquake – I was thinking of two, maybe three hundred dead. Osman was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, but was raised mainly in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. Osman's younger brother is the presenter, author, and comedian Richard Osman. [1] He studied at the London School of Economics where in 1989, he was awarded a BSc in Economics. [ citation needed] Thus begins Adam’s impersonation of Brandon in which this fish out of water must work out exactly what Brandon was doing. He seems to fool Kaspar, the concierge of the exclusive hotel where Brandon had holed up in a suite, readily enough. It will involve getting close to Brandon’s former band-mates: the damaged Kimi, the front-woman of their group Remote/Control, who now has a robotic voice-box and a new solo career, Baxter who is now a rare record dealer, Saul who lives a simple life, and producer Dillon who is as dangerous as ever. Adam as Brandon will have to play them all at their games to find out what happened and why Brandon died. The Ruins is narrated alternately by Adam and by Brandon through the notebooks and tapes he left behind. To really understand what Brandon was doing in London, Adam decides to impersonate him, spending time living at an expensive boutique hotel and hanging out with former band members. All the time, he has his laptop connected up to Rae, who is advising him on his investigations, and Robin (who thinks Adam is Daddy). Adam starts to fall in love with Rae and Robin, while Robin is in awe of the amazing city his ‘Daddy’ has built.

A very dense novel covering quite a bit of themes: family, relationships, siblings, narcissism, the music industry in its magnificence but its dark side too and much more. I must admit the music bits were a bit of a blur for me, as I never studied music. But the story can be enjoyed regardless of one's music knowledge and obviously many of the artists are googleable :D No! I’m like: 800 000 into a novel. I’m always writing short stories…I get them down as the idea comes to my head. And I got terrible memory! I just write these things down…It’s important to me! I did some journalism. There’s Suede record I’ve been working on. I’ve been making some music with a friend of mine. One of the things that are great – you just get the sense of…When you're younger, you think about people the way older: “They can’t write anymore songs!”. And “What if this book is the only good idea I have in me ?”– and again, you just get to the point where: “What would you loose by trying ?”. Often, I spend 2-3 days working on something. Musically or writing. And at the end of it, you’re just: “It’s no good. It’s NO GOOD ENOUGH!”. I used to beat myself like that. Nowadays – it’s all good. Time is making music. Time is making art. It’s always: “What you would be doing ? Watching TV ?!”(laughs). It’s gonna be better, really. And it is what you’re doing! You’re exercising! You’re exercising your mental muscle all the time. Adam goes to identify Brandon's body and collect his belongings, which includes his journal. He and Rae read through it, via Skype. Osman met future Suede lead singer Brett Anderson in Haywards Heath, and they played together in early garage bands such as The Pigs and Suave And Elegant. Osman co-wrote some of Suede's songs, including "Lost in TV", "Europe Is Our Playground", " Attitude" and " Golden Gun". After Suede broke up in 2003, Osman provided music for television programmes, such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Marriage Ref and You Have Been Watching. [2] He returned to perform with Suede when the band reformed in 2010. [3]Even after over a decade of non-communication between us, people assumed Brandon and I had some kind of mental bond. It’s the identical twin thing. People expect a connection that – for me at least – has never really existed. The main question then becomes, how far can you go in the craving of fame and, is it worth risking your life for a piece of music? After reading The Ruins I could argue that it is. As one of the characters points out, songs have that capacity ‘to be special in a way that real life never seems to turn out to be’. And yes, maybe they can indeed ‘mean as much as lovers and children and fortunes’.