The idea behind John O’Connell’s Bowie’s Books is a truly terrific one; its execution, less so. All the same, there is enough insight and perception here for this to be a must-buy for anyone interested in the intersection between music and literature, or indeed the army of Bowie aficionados, which seems only to have grown in number and commitment since his death in January 2016, at the age of 69.
While Bowie was still alive, but withdrawn entirely from public life, he was asked for an interview to support the touring exhibition David Bowie Is. He refused, but offered something that was in its own way more useful: a list of 100 books that he loved and that had inspired him, albeit without any further context or explanation.
