The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

I have always wanted to be part of a book club. Unfortunately due to lack of interest or lack of a routine I was never able to. My mom, however, has a wonderful group of ladies that she goes to book club with. I remember when I was younger they all read  Wicked and then had a party to discuss it where all the drinks (alcoholic and otherwise) and snacks were green. So when my mother brought me this book and said I would like it I was unsure. But when she told me her book club had just read it I said okay let me have it. I will read my way vicariously into your book club.

I was extremely happy with the results. Normally I don't like to read books or watch movies about musicians, they seem to be somber documentaries or else a horrible cliché about being relevant which I don't enjoy.  The new movie Never Stop Never Stopping does a great job of making humorous everything I dislike about musician stories, mainly being that the story seems more about drugs and the struggle to stay popular than about music. Again I will say MOSTLY because I know there are some excellent stories out there which happen to actually about music, and this book is one of them.

 

Frankie Presto is a fictional musician who lives a tragic life, one terrible fortune to another. He meets with numerous real musicians which constantly makes you question which part is real and what steps into fantasy. He also has some slightly fantastical guitar strings who last a long time and turn blue as he changes the lives of people around him. His musical life is never about relevance, he dips into drugs at one minimal point in the story but overcomes them. It is definitely sad, I cried multiple times in this book so if you are looking for a happy-go-lucky story this is not the one for you. But the actual music, you can almost hear it through the words. It's a beautiful story and I would recommend it.

And while I was reading this book multiple people saw the cover and said "Oh I love Tuesdays with Morrie". Then I had  to explain it wasn't that book.  But with all the love I heard I went out and bought that to read, so it is on my book pile.   I bought it on a trip to South Carolina where my boyfriend proposed to me this weekend so even if it's not as lovely as everyone says I know it will hold a special place on my book shelf.