Hello to all my book lovers and travellers. I am Vidushi Malhotra and will be sharing book reviews and travel writings through this platform. I am very excited to start my journey in these two areas. So, let's roll ahead with the good times and cheer.
So, in this first blog post, I will be sharing a book review for The Music Shop written by Rachel Joyce.
So, this book moved me a lot and as I am a lover of music, this book struck all the right notes with me. I had already read this book a long time back. But, nevertheless, I wanted to read it again. So, I took it out and read it. I was able to relate to the story very much and liked all the characters as well. They are very lovable and I tell you, you'll never be able to part with them after reading this novel.
So, coming to the novel. The main characters of the novel are Frank, Saturday Kit (whom everyone lovingly calls Kit), Father Anthony, Maud, Ilse Brauchmann, Williams Brothers and others. The setting of the story is in London's Unity Street. All the characters, excluding Ilse Brauchmann, have their shops on this run down street. But, they all love living on this street as it provides them comfort and solace and keeps them away from the humdrum of city life.
Frank runs a music shop, Maud has a tattoo parlour, Father Anthony runs an artefacts shop selling Christian items such as Jesus on the Cross, the Williams Brothers are undertakers. Kit is a helper in Frank's music shop and is a very energetic boy.
The story is divided into 4 sides; Sides A-C are set in 1988 while Side D is set in 2009. Each of the sides has a beautiful story to tell. The reader will get to know a lot of things about Frank and his past life with his mother, Peg.
So, the story starts with Frank sitting alone in his music shop and helping customers find the right music according to their moods and feelings. He is pretty much happy with his life and doesn't want a partner to share it with. He has a fear of commitment and that's why he's scared to talk to women. He also a story of his past life with his mother, Peg. He never addressed his mother as "mother" but by her name. She was not a conventional mother. She was a lover of music and she inculcated Frank with the same habit by making him listen to different artists so that he could learn to appreciate them.
In his history, the reader also learns that Frank has once loved a girl but his mother was against their marriage. When the girl became pregnant with Frank's child, he again insisted his mother let him get married to her, but was immediately shut down by Peg. After that incident, Frank decided never to love another woman.
Thus, his life goes on with Maud, Kit, Father Anthony, the Williams Brothers and other residents of Unity Street, until one day, he sees Ilse Brauchmann standing outside his music shop and she suddenly faints. He helps her regain her consciousness. But, as soon as she regains it, she immediately leaves the shop and everyone is surprised as to why she fainted all of a sudden in front of Frank's shop.
After that, the entire story revolves around Frank and Ilse Brauchmann's slightly awkward but cute romance. Ilse, at first, is not ready to reveal her real lifestyle to Frank as she fears that he might leave her. But, when Frank learns of her true life, he immediately feels sorry for her. They have their arguments now and then in the story but in the end, they both become aware of the fact that they can't live without the other and end up marrying each other. The reader will come to know of this marriage in the bonus track of this novel.
Rachel Joyce has captured the lives of her characters very well. When you read this novel, you'll feel yourself getting transported to the world of these characters on Unity Street. You'll feel as if you are living your life with the characters. This novel has nostalgia and those who have lived in the generation of record players and vinyl discs will surely feel good after reading this novel.
I certainly had an enjoyable time with this novel. I was able to connect with the story of Frank and Ilse. I could feel that I also had a house in Unity Street and was observing the lives of characters in day to day life. There are also some tragic parts in the novel which the reader will unravel as he/she will read the novel. Frank's backstory will leave some readers teary-eyed as well. I certainly felt bad after reading the history of Frank.
Overall, the story is very nicely told and I'm sure that once you'll start reading, you will not be able to put down this novel. Thus, this was my review of this book. I hope you will like reading this novel. I will be giving the links from where you can procure a copy for yourselves.
Link for The Music Shop- Rachel Joyce (International readers)
Link for The Music Shop- Rachel Joyce (Indian readers)
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