This is the book that tells you what it's like being in James Rhodes' mind during a period in his life that proves to be both terrifyingly intense and surprisingly cathartic. It consists of seven chapters, each chapter describing a different concert day during a world tour. The hourly countdown to a performance is often when Rhodes is at his most vulnerable, the electric intensity and (literally) gut-wrenching anticipation wreaking havoc with his mind. That is when the voices take over. From Madrid to Cape Town, via Zurich and Vienna, we meet Mr Paranoid, Mr Angry, Mr OCD, Mr Dissociated, Mr Suicidal and Mr Manic. Each person creeps up on James unannounced, setting the tone of and affecting every single observation, conversation, thought and feeling that enters his mind. This 'shitty committee' that feed him lie upon lie, and provide him with all the reasons in the world to hate himself, just when he needs to believe in himself. And then there is the final concert in Bonn in Germany, a performance at the house Beethoven was born in.

It's a concert that represents a culmination. It's where Rhodes plays one of the composer's most important pieces, the Sonata No.31, and where we meet Mr Acceptance. Whether this is something that is sustainable or just a fleeting moment of rational insight, time will tell. But on that very day it feels good. The point is, we all have a cast of Reservoir Dog -type alters in our heads. It's just some of us are better able at managing them - or look like we are. In any event, this shows you how to see the mind for what it truly is, and tell it to go to hell.

Throughout the book, Rhodes describes the pieces he plays during the tour, which include the Sonata No.31 by Beethoven, the Polonaise-Fantasie and Fantasie in F minor by Chopin, Preludes by Rachmaninov and the one that saved his life nearly a decade ago, the Bach-Marcello Adagio. They are there because they tie in with the theme of this particular tour, which is fantasy. Given how often in Rhodes' life the distinction between fantasy and reality is so blurred, this has powerful resonance. As he does so eloquently in Instrumental and in his chats to audiences during concerts, he puts them in context, explains their brilliance and reveals why they are so important to him on a personal level. In this way the fantasy leitmotif returns again and again in the book like a returning theme in a piece of music, coming full circle at the end with the performance of the Sonata.