Reviews

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

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figooza990's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is Forrest Gump for 60's Music Nerds.

Which I am. I was delighted by the weaving in of Frankie into the 60s music scene, and found myself so invested in him by the end of the novel. This book may not work for all people in the way it did for me, but for me it was the perfect amount of fanservice and emptional sappy content that it felt tailor-made for me.

samcuttle's review against another edition

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my soul felt hungry for so long until i read this book!

ninasbooks57's review against another edition

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5.0

If I could rate this book higher- I would give a 10!! Mitch Albom has outdone himself. The way he has woven all the characters together in this story is nothing less than a masterpiece! It has you questioning right to the last chapter!! Awesome book!

beverly46's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

astrireads's review against another edition

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5.0

Mitch Albom has done it again with his magic words. I had goosebumps as I was reading the ending. Truly an amazing book.

hippolyta_vi's review against another edition

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I feel like giving this book a star rating would do it a disservice. Not because it's the best thing I've ever read, but because, even though I didn't 100% love it, I have to admit that it was expertly crafted.

This book is about hope and love and fate and despair and humanity and perseverance and music. It is a love letter to music so I highly recommend it to any musicians.

My critiques lie in how Frankie managed to meet like...every famous musician ever by coincidence, happenstance, fate, or otherwise. I don't understand what being a celebrity is like, but the way he met people seemed a bit farfetched. I definitely had to suspend my disbelief...a lot. This extended to all of the fated aspects of Frankie's own life, though this becomes clearer at the end of the novel. I can overlook this though.

The one thing I can't overlook is the characterization of Aurora and Josefa. They exist to serve Frankie - not in a blatant servitude way, but to serve his character. Aurora was just the love of his life. Just the woman he often mistreated but always came back to. She was just his guiding light. And Josefa,

well her entire life was dedicated to Frankie. Almost every fortuitous thing that happens to him is by her hand. She literally follows him across the globe because of her guilt. She is his guardian angel which I guess is supposed to be beautiful but I just thought was sad.