The Sound of My Voice

Morris Magellan wakes one morning to find himself stuck in a corporate job and living the suburban dream with a wife and two children, except this dream feels like a nightmare. Out of his depth and starting to drift from reality, we meet Morris at the precipice. Bit by bit he is losing his struggle with addiction – he just doesn't know it yet. His only solace and escape from suburban family life and corporate duties is music and alcohol. His life is soundtracked with symphonies and concertos, every note, and every drink, carries him from moment to moment hoping to salvage something of himself before that too slips from his grasp.

Harrowing but compellingly written, with humour and compassion, The Sound of My Voice is a stylistic masterpiece that presents conflict between a man's cowardice and cruelty, and a desperate attempt to recover his humanity.



Ron Butlin is an award-winning poet, playwright, novelist, short-story writer, children's author and librettist whose works have been translated into many languages. He regularly gives creative writing workshops in schools, and was Edinburgh Makar from 2008 to 2014.



'Playful, haunting and moving, this is writing of the highest quality . . . One of the most inventive and daring novels ever to have come out of Scotland'



'One of the classic post-war Scottish novels. It’s simply a roaring success on all levels; it’s a genius piece of fiction'



'A profound and beautifully written study of human fragility in the face of the brutalism of modern life'



'A stylistic masterpiece . . . chilling but extremely enjoyable'



'Compulsively readable . . . a cleverly orchestrated unique work of fiction'



'Brilliantly-structured short novel . . . superb writing'



'Deserves to be talked about in the same breath as Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day'