On wings of song by Thomas M. Disch

I have an eleventh printing of the 1985 version of a story copyright 1979.

The general plot is this: Our hero lives in Iowa, lots of things are illegal. Most music is illegal. Our hero cannot sing but wants to because it will let him fly, leaving the bounds of his earthly flesh and soar.

I've NEVER in my life thrown a book across the room after reading it but this one had a really nice flightpath, and a resounding thunk.

Maybe I am just too young for this book I was three when it was printed, but the political overtures that speak of the prohibition, racial slurs considered grammatically correct at the time insult me beyond the fact that the story might be halfway decent.
I've plodded along its 359 pages wondering when I am going to care really about anything other than our main character. His comatose wife (who left her body in song after their wedding before their honeymoon) I could care less about. Her character never really developed for me. It took over a hundred pages for Daniel to be told properly, but his wife is reduced to an aside that compliments the angst against politics and the League of Women voters, the ACLU and Politicians in general. The Farm Belt is described as a close parallel to the bible belt and what happens when we let religion and fear of the upper white class get a hold of our amendments.
It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel. No I don't know what year it was.

I can't stand corruption, political and religious zealots and the fact that people have held the arts and artists in their grip for lifetimes. I do not appreciate the devaluing of art as a commentary of the state of the US, even if it is true. It bothers me on a personal level as an artist and in the end what do authors want? They want their stories to be read and they want you to feel something from having read it. I did.