fell out of bed twice writes:

Here is an excerpt from a british magazine in which Dan Rhodes, the author of Timolean Vieta Come Home (which was short listed for The Booker Prize) speaks about The Smiths and Morrissey. (link and excerpt provided)

3AM: When I asked you for your Top 5 recently, you said that The Smiths were "still the soundtrack to my life -- I can't work out if they saved it or ruined it". Your stories reflect a very pessimistic outlook on life and love -- they are "all about unhappiness in love" (Jenny Colgan) -- which is reminiscent of Morrissey's. Do you agree?

DR: I discovered the Smiths when I was twelve, and Mozzer was always a big influence on my writing. As well as being deeply melancholy, his songs are extraordinarily uplifting, and I've always striven for a combination of sadness and joy. I tend to take my cues from songwriters as much as other fiction writers, maybe even more so. Other primary musical influences on my stuff include Stephin Merritt and the great Daniel Johnston, both of whom were always on my stereo when I was writing Anthropology, and who both have a Smithsian balance of humour and heartache in their music.

3AM: Do you also agree with Paul Morley (quoted by Michael Bracewell in The Nineties) who argues that "You could swap every winner of the Booker Prize for one song by Morrissey"? After all, the list of writers who make references to Morrissey and The Smiths keeps growing (Douglas Coupland, Irvine Welsh, Jonathan Coe…).

DR: The Smiths were the best band ever. I tend not to be very interested in books that win the Booker Prize, particularly when it seems as if they were written with one eye on it - that's just lamentable. And yes, it's not often you come across a book that carries as much of a punch as something like "I Know It's Over", or "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me". Fiction at its very best can rival The Smiths -- I'm a Chekhov nut at the moment, and he's up there. I re-read Timoleon Vieta Come Home recently, and found three or four Smiths steals. I doff my cap at every opportunity.