The Smiths frontman's novel was described by critics as 'an unpolished turd'

After reviews for his debut novel were overwhelmingly negative, Morrissey has accused critics of writing "an attack against me as a human being."

The former Smiths frontman released his novel, List Of The Lost, back in September, when it was met with derision from critics. Though in theory, the story of a 1970s relay team who accidentally kill a demon should make for literary gold, it was described by The Telegraph as "terrible", NME as "embarrassing" and The Guardian as an "unpolished turd of a book, the stale excrement of Morrissey's imagination."

Now, in an interview with Chilean website Cooperativa, Morrissey has come to his book's defence. "I strongly believe in freedom of expression and critics have to say what they have to say," he said. "But often the criticisms are an attack against me as a human being and have nothing to do with what they’re reading."

Addressing the critics directly, and the moral objections they raised (the book was described as misogynistic by several publications), he insisted, "It wasn’t written for you. You cannot try to work out what you think the author should have written instead of what he actually wrote."

Meanwhile, Morrissey recently suggested that he's set to retire from touring, writing in a statement that his recent London shows "are likely to be our final ever UK shows."

