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The Song is You phillipsarthur 9780715638736 Books

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The Song is You phillipsarthur 9780715638736 Books

In this rather opaque novel, Julian Donahue, a divorced, forty-something producer of television commercials, is representative of many of the post-1980s generation in their insistence that music be present 24/7 whether via a Walkman, iPod player, etc. Julian sees and understands life as inextricably connected to music, whether it be his now defunct marriage, the loss of his young son, etc. From this perspective, music is hardly simply entertainment; in this novel, for Julian, music is psychologically restorative.

Julian's loss of enthusiasm for life suddenly takes an upturn when he happens into a small NYC nightclub and witnesses the beguiling, twenty-something Cait O'Dwyer with her rock band singing with off-the-charts sensuality and meaningfulness. He refuses to be a stereotypical, adoring fan, but communicates with her through ten drawings he does on bar coasters given to her by the bartender. He plays her demo CD endlessly, while she responds with a new song: "Bleaker and Obliquer," which obviously refers to him. And so starts a distant relationship where communication is via such forms as email, phone, clandestine notes, lyrics, and the like, except for actual face-to-face meetings. Both anticipate a "right" time to meet, but the tentativeness of their connection seems to continually find a way to undermine that possibility.

It is an intriguing novel, especially the character Cait, but Julian's introspective doubts and the constant circling of each other are quite drawn out. The writing is impressive and insightful, but word choices and phraseology can make the book somewhat difficult. It is mildly disappointing that Julian and Cait, both quite smart, cannot get past inadequate communications. Music is not a substitute for life and interacting with real persons.


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The Song is You phillipsarthur 9780715638736 Books Reviews

Just as with his first novel, Prague, the appeal of this book is Arthur Phillips' broad ranging mind (he's a former Jeopardy champion) and keen insight into human nature. In this work, he applies a somewhat biological reductionist approach to portraying romantic obsession ("all of this vain heartbreak that we cling to as important or tragic would one day be revealed... for what it is just behavior"). While this could easily stifle any notion of romance, the story is brought to life with a compelling story line a middle-aged man obsesses over a beautiful young singer, and anonymously becomes her muse by offering the detached advice which she so craves but can't otherwise find from her adoring fans.

Disappointingly, this page-turner, while not unraveling as badly as Prague, ultimately falls flat at the end. While the author craftily builds a narrative line leading to the Julian's (the main character) ultimate reconciliation, the clean ending seems almost tacked on, Hollywood-style, as an afterthought to tie up loose ends in a way that contradicts Phillips' remarkable gift for articulating complexity. To Phillips' credit, the finale eschews sensationalism in favor of a useful moral, but somehow the build is insufficient to make the transformation in Julian appear genuine; it's as if the outcome is chosen because there are simply no other options left. Interestingly, one of Phillips' most remarkable salvaged marriage vs. new start arguments comes less than halfway through the book (far too soon), as Julian's wife muses, "life could be better when reassembled from damaged, familiar shapes, rather than frittered away endlessly looking for something new."

The other major flaw is that while Phillips does a remarkable job of making this work accessible, the dialogue between characters is unrealistic- it's as if *every* character is part Arthur Phillips, wordy & overly cerebral.

These flaws do not mean this book isn't worth reading. As a treatise on obsession and pop culture, this may not have the broad appeal of High Fidelity, but this is more than compensated for by depth of insight. For example, he describes the delicate art of authenticity in projecting emotion on stage ("sing only what you can feel, or less") as it applies to a delicate equilibrium a gifted singer strives to maintain ("Two months ago, she was raw and unblended; tonight she was reasonably effective; someday very soon she would be in danger of marbling over into a slick cast impression of herself"). Throughout this work, Philips tries to put a finger on things we might think can't be measured- and succeeds brilliantly.

I've only read two of Phillips' works and have been disappointed twice, as if by a brilliant chess player with a less than brilliant end game. But, I have reason to hope he'll yet write a novel which does justice to his remarkable talent.
I absolutely loved this novel. I rarely write reviews here, but I wanted to for this book in the hope that if you're on the fence about buying this book, this review may be the slight nudge you need to buy it, read it, and love it like I did. And if you love music (of any kind), you would simply be remiss if you don't read this book.

The book begins with the premise that art - especially, music - can inspire nostalgia about people, events, places of the past. But, more specifically, music has the unique power to recall what exactly you were feeling while experiencing those events, people, places. Slowly, the book evolves into a comment on the muse / artist relationship. But as this idea is explored, the reader soon discovers the idea is that the novel is not just about the inspiration behind art - specifically, music - but also how art can assuage pain and hurt of even the saddest, most awful memories. The muse and artist relationship is symbiotic, complementary - but extraordinarily complicated.

What's truly great about this novel, though, is Phillips' writing. From the very first page, you trust him. He's funny, he's passionate, he's affecting. And he renders his characters and their relationships to each other in such real, faithful terms. Even at the times where the plot of the novel and the examination of the characters' thoughts - especially Julian's - begin to strain believability, he gently guides you back to a place where you have no trouble accepting that these are real, extraordinarily sane characters.

If I have one complaint about the novel at all, it's that the writing is a bit dense at the beginning. It takes a few pages to get a handle on Phillips' style, but by about page 45 - with the telling of the hilarious "Incident" anecdote - you know you're in for a treat. And, like I did, you'll probably finish the next 200 pages in about two sittings.

If it's not clear by now, I can't recommend this book more highly. Please, please do yourself a favor and read it.
In this rather opaque novel, Julian Donahue, a divorced, forty-something producer of television commercials, is representative of many of the post-1980s generation in their insistence that music be present 24/7 whether via a Walkman, iPod player, etc. Julian sees and understands life as inextricably connected to music, whether it be his now defunct marriage, the loss of his young son, etc. From this perspective, music is hardly simply entertainment; in this novel, for Julian, music is psychologically restorative.

Julian's loss of enthusiasm for life suddenly takes an upturn when he happens into a small NYC nightclub and witnesses the beguiling, twenty-something Cait O'Dwyer with her rock band singing with off-the-charts sensuality and meaningfulness. He refuses to be a stereotypical, adoring fan, but communicates with her through ten drawings he does on bar coasters given to her by the bartender. He plays her demo CD endlessly, while she responds with a new song "Bleaker and Obliquer," which obviously refers to him. And so starts a distant relationship where communication is via such forms as email, phone, clandestine notes, lyrics, and the like, except for actual face-to-face meetings. Both anticipate a "right" time to meet, but the tentativeness of their connection seems to continually find a way to undermine that possibility.

It is an intriguing novel, especially the character Cait, but Julian's introspective doubts and the constant circling of each other are quite drawn out. The writing is impressive and insightful, but word choices and phraseology can make the book somewhat difficult. It is mildly disappointing that Julian and Cait, both quite smart, cannot get past inadequate communications. Music is not a substitute for life and interacting with real persons.