Instrumental

The Supreme Court overthrew an injunction unanimously in May 2015, saying: 'A person who has suffered in the way that [James Rhodes] has suffered, and has struggled to cope with the consequences of his suffering in the way that he has struggled, has the right to tell the world about it. And there is a corresponding public interest in others being able to listen to his life story in all its searing detail -- THE SUPREME COURT
Thrilling and harrowing . . . Unsurpassed and unsurpassable * * SUNDAY TIMES * *
The publishing sensation of the year * * MAIL ON SUNDAY * *
You might expect James Rhodes to have been crushed by his experiences. On the contrary I don't think I've ever read an autobiography which is this exuberant, this full of life, this addictively readable -- MARK HADDON
A poet once said great books help you to live your life. They also help you survive your ruin, and James Rhodes's Instrumental is a masterpiece of creative endurance. His passion is his programme, his heart is his true instrument, and you might not read a more moral or more loving book this decade -- ANDREW O'HAGAN
A searingly honest, moving and compelling account of a life damaged by abuse but saved by music. James Rhodes is a rare and gifted spirit with something vital to tell us all. This is a tough but beautiful book -- VICTORIA HISLOP
A mesmeric combination of vivid, keen, obsessive precision and raw, urgent energy -- ZOE WILLIAMS * * GUARDIAN * *
There is an insight, often startling but always valuable, on almost every page . . . a tough, riveting read * * THE TIMES * *
Instrumental is no 'misery memoir' . . . I have rarely read so cogent account of the nature of victimhood . . . Visceral and palpable . . . Among the most powerful pages I've read all year * * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY * *
Bravo to a survivor who refused to be silenced . . . What really marks this book out is his confrontation with the unsaid (or rarely said) aspects of child sexual abuse and mental illness . . . Some of these thoughts verge on the taboo and it takes clarity, courage and intelligence to say them as plainly and honestly as Rhodes does * * INDEPENDENT * *
We're locked inside his head for long periods and it's a manic place to be. But he is brilliant . . . and insightful . . . James Rhodes writes at full volume -- BLAKE MORRISON * * GUARDIAN * *
An important memoir . . . enlightening * * Psychologist * *
An all-access pass to the sublime * * Los Angeles Review of Books * *
Rhodes proves that art and beauty do help; that life can be conquered day by day * * El Pais * *
A hand-grenade of a book * * Stern Magazine * *