Please: Fiction Inspired by the Smiths

Twenty-four acclaimed writers turn classic songs by The Smiths into sharp, singular fiction.

As he did with Noise: Fiction Inspired by Sonic Youth, editor Peter Wild has pulled together an eclectic list of talented writers who take their cue from one of the world’s best loved bands—The Smiths.

The collection moves from a supermarket freezer aisle where sweethearts trace percentages in the frost to a winter pier where teenage punks haunt penny arcades. The volume balances dark comedy against q...