Dutch-born, UK-based Michel Faber is an award-winning author of seven novels, three short-story collections, and a poetry book, and turns to his passion for music in his first non-fiction book, Listen.

Music is Faber’s oldest love, and when he needs inspiration, he turns to the thousands of CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and a computer crammed with mp3s. Seven years ago, he developed tinnitus, and his remedy was listening to more music.

In Listen, Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, commerce, and the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste. Through extensive interviews with musicians, he unlocks some surprising answers and delves into what is going on inside us when we listen.

This curious and celebratory book reflects Faber’s lifelong obsession with music of all kinds, and proves a successful first venture into non-fiction for the renowned author of the Whitbread-shortlisted Under the Skin and The Crimson Petal and the White.