It’s time
for the third and last post about books including music/about music. This is
all part of my musical feature „Sky’s Musical Corner (see schedule at the end
of this post). So in this post I introduce you to some books that are about
music. Some I have read, some I haven’t.
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David
Levithan
It’s Tiny Cooper’s
turn in the spotlight in this companion novel to New York Times bestseller Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
Jazz hands at the
ready! Tiny Cooper (“the world’s largest person who is also really, really
gay”) stole readers’ hearts when he was introduced to the world in the New York Times bestselling book Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-authored by John Green and David
Levithan. Now Tiny finally gets to tell his story—from his fabulous birth and
childhood to his quest for true love and his infamous parade of
ex-boyfriends—the way he always intended: as a musical! Filled with honesty,
humor, and “big, lively, belty” musical numbers, the novel is told through the
full script of the musical first introduced in Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
The Rise and Fall oft he Miraculous Vespas by David
F. Ross
When a young Ayrshire
band miraculously hits the big time with the smash hit record of 1984,
international stardom beckons. That’s despite having a delusional teenage
manager propelled by a dark, malign voice in his head. Can Max Mojo’s band of
talented social misfits repeat the success and pay back the mounting debts
accrued from an increasingly agitated cartel of local gangsters? Or will they
have to kidnap Boy George and hope for the best?
The Last Days of Disco by David F. Ross
Early in the decade
that taste forgot, Fat Franny Duncan is on top of the world. He is the
undoubted King of the Ayrshire Mobile Disco scene, controlling and ruling the
competition with an iron fist. From birthdays to barn dances, Franny is the man
to call. He has even played 'My Boy Lollipop' at a funeral and got away with
it. But the future is uncertain. A new partnership is coming and is threatening
to destroy the big man"€™s Empire ... Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller have
been best mates since primary school. Joey is an idealist; Bobby just wants to
get laid and avoid following his brother Gary to the Falklands. A partnership
in their new mobile disco venture seems like the best way for Bobby to do both
at the same time. With compensation from an accident at work, Bobby"€™s
dad Harry invests in the fledgling business. His marriage to Ethel is coming
apart at the seams and the disco has given him something to focus on. Tragic
news from the other side of the world brings all three strands together in a
way that no one could have predicted. The Last Days of Disco is a eulogy to the
beauty and power of the 45rpm vinyl record and the small but significant part
it played in a small town Ayrshire community in 1982. Witty, energetic and
entirely authentic, it"€™s also heartbreakingly honest, weaving tragedy
together with comedy with uncanny and unsettling elegance. A simply stunning
debut. 'Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes' Hardeep Singh Kohli 'Warm,
funny and evocative. If you grew up in the Eighties, you"€™re going to
love this' Chris Brookmyre
2000 Tunes by Karl Drinkwater
“He started to sketch
a face. A random face. With dark eyes and hair. Just any old face. He made the
chin too small and drew over it, but then it looked like a double chin. That
wasn’t appropriate for...
Ah. He had been
drawing Sam.”
Mark Hopton’s an
outsider obsessed with Manchester music. He knows the dates, facts, band
members, lyrics, histories and places. He can join them in complicated webs of
association because he knows the secret: everything’s connected. Music’s his
escape into a better world.
Oh man, he needs that
escape. His dad’s in prison, his psycho brother’s only one step away, and
they’re twisting his melons trying to make him risk his freedom by smuggling
drugs. It ain’t easy saying no when family and their shady contacts can be
bone-breakingly persuasive. Heaven knows he’s miserable now.
The summer sun does
bring one ray of light: he secretly admires Samantha, a beautiful Welsh girl at
work. Watching her is like listening to music, it strengthens him, she’s his
wonderwall of true faith. He’s happy with that. Love is fool’s gold.
Meanwhile, Samantha’s
been caught up in a hedonistic lifestyle of cigarettes and alcohol with the 24
hour party people but now she’s had it up to here with Mancunians. Cheaters,
weirdos and two-faced scummers, the lot of ’em. When the drugs don’t work it’s
time to grow up but no-one’s going to take her for granted again. Don’t look
back in anger? Screw that. She’s never been one to walk away.
2000 Tunes is a
meditation on life, family, friends, growing up, and following your dreams.
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch
Albom
Mitch Albom creates a
magical world through his love of music in this remarkable new novel about the
power of talent to change our lives
This is the epic story
of Frankie Presto—the greatest guitar player who ever lived—and the six lives
he changed with his six magical blue strings
Frankie, born in a
burning church, abandoned as an infant, and raised by a music teacher in a
small Spanish town, until war rips his life apart. At nine years old, he is
sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar
and six precious strings. His amazing journey weaves him through the musical
landscape of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, with his stunning playing and singing
talent affecting numerous stars (Duke Ellington, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley)
until, as if predestined, he becomes a pop star himself.
He makes records. He
is adored. But Frankie Presto’s gift is also his burden, as he realizes the
power of the strings his teacher gave him, and how, through his music, he can
actually affect people’s lives. At the height of his popularity, tortured by
his biggest mistake, he vanishes. His legend grows. Only decades later, having
finally healed his heart, does Frankie reappearjust before his spectacular
death—to change one last life. With the Spirit of Music as our guide, we
glimpse into the lives that were changed by one man whose strings could touch
the music—and the magic—in each of us.
A lifelong musician,
Mitch Albom’s passion shines through on every page. Written with an ear for
rhythm and cadence, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is a classic in the
making. Heartrending and inventive, Albom’s latest is infused with the message
that “everyone joins a band in this life”—and that music, like love, has the
power to affect us all.
The Commitments by
Roddy Doyle
Barrytown, Dublin, has
something to sing about. The Commitments are spreading the gospel of the soul.
Ably managed by Jimmy Rabbitte, brilliantly coached by Joey 'The Lips' Fagan,
their twin assault on Motown and Barrytown takes them by leaps and bounds from
the parish hall to the steps of the studio door. But can The Commitments live
up to their name?
PS: Today is our premiere, so wish me luck ;)
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