Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith

In this detailed biography of Elliott Smith, the gifted singer-songwriter who was beloved by the indie-rock world and praised for solo albums such as Either/Or, Schultz opens a window on the musician who died from a fatal stab wound in 2003 at age 34. Schultz—editor of the Handbook of Psychobiography and author of books on Truman Capote and Diane Arbus—brings to his work a deep understanding of how inner and outer landscapes can affect unique and sensitive artists. Schultz follows the “uncanny” intersection of the lives of Smith and fellow Pacific Northwest rocker Kurt Cobain: both witnessed domestic violence and divorce during their childhoods, with “resulting feelings of abandonment and loss of security showing up regularly in songs”; both suffered from lifelong bouts of depression; both hung out in Portland bars where “the prevailing mid-1980s zeitgeist” included “punk, indie, anything-goes aesthetics”; and both used hard drugs such as heroin. But no matter how dark Smith’s story gets, Schultz never loses sight of the beauty of his music. Agent: Betsy Lerner, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Oct.)