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sarah621's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this collection of linked stories centered in the music industry. Some characters make multiple appearances and towards the end you start to see more of a connection. The only downside was that you're never fully invested in the characters.
deadgoodbooks's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
isabellastocka's review against another edition
3.0
When words meet music. This book explores beautifully the magic and power of music and how it connects people. The Words of Every Song explores the lives of different people who have never met but are all connected through music and don't even know it. Some of them crossed one another briefly others looked up to their idols. Music is their job, live safer, their passion. It is interesting to see how a passion can put you on a path that leads you to your faith. While reading, I had the movie "August Rush" in mind, which follows a similar plot.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who either loves music or to those who want to remember the good and the bad times in which music has been their companion.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who either loves music or to those who want to remember the good and the bad times in which music has been their companion.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
This kind of thing — loosely linked vignettes, snapshots of different characters who tangentially touch on each other's lives — normally isn't really my thing: I'd prefer a deep dive into a few specific characters over a broad view of a scene. But I was drawn in by this one from the first page, about an A&R guy for a major record label who daringly steps into an art gallery for a few seconds, decides he's done something bold and boundary-challenging for himself, then rapidly exits and runs off in a self-congratulatory haze. There's a humor there that I appreciated, and also a uniqueness to the situation that felt pretty endearing. And the rest of the book wound up feeling similarly surprising, as a long sequence of snapshots that tell little mini-stories, but each have some kind of intrigue to them. I rarely felt a strong sense of "I want to get back to X character," or "I really wonder what Y character is like," but I appreciated the little loopbacks we do get, and the overall sense of a busy city full of characters all living wildly different lives, yet often suffering the same loneliness, disaffection, self-absorption, and frustrated hunger — it was all intriguing and addictively readable.
michromeu's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an interesting look at many different aspects of the music industry, and the various people involved in it. However, instead of a cohesive story, this was much more of a collection of somewhat related vignettes. Some characters were featured much more than others, and while these characters did get somewhat of a full-circle storyline, others were mentioned only to be completely forgotten for the rest of the book. I can't help but wonder how much more I would have liked this book had the author chosen to focus on 2-3 main storylines instead of 10-12. Regardless, the writing style was good (and very beautiful/lyrical at times), the content was unique and overall I did enjoy it.
sweddy65's review against another edition
2.0
I am being unfair in giving this book only two stars. I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't read her book, Heft, a couple of summers ago and loved it and wanted to read it again. The characters in this are interesting, but the writing isn't as mature as in Heft. I think it was a better conceived than orchestrated.
sharondblk's review against another edition
I knew this book was a series of linked short stories. What I wasn't expecting was for it to be written in present tense, and then occasionally go "what she didn't know is that she would grow up and live a long and happy life and die in Spain at 85". and then go on with the story. I just couldn't care about any of it.
jgwc54e5's review
4.0
This was really enjoyable! It’s a collection of loosely connected short stories set in and around the music industry. Characters recur although each story focuses on one particular person. Bands and managers, record company people and their families, lovers and friends, fans and more. It’s well written, I was interested in all the interactions, and it’s well structured so the ending was almost a full circle to the beginning of the book.