There is no subgenre of novel I love more than books about music. And I just finished what will likely wind up as one my all-time favorites. Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley, is a novel about collaboration and inspiration, about jealousy and love, and, simply put, making great art. It's stunning to me that this is a debut novel, but it's the best thing I've read so far this year.
Brickley's novel got me thinking about some of my all-time favorite books in this subgenre. Here are six:
The Song Is You, by Arthur Phillips -- This is a bit of a deep cut itself, but I deeply love this book about a sad, mid-40s divorced man and a beautiful Irish singer who sort of fall in love with each other through their mutual love of music, though without ever meeting in person. Brickley's novel reminded me a lot of this book in terms of how the characters sort of flit in and out of each other's lives and speak to each other through various non-in-person channels. This novel came out in 2009 and was one of the inspirations for actually starting to write about books in some sort of formal way -- and lo and behold The New Dork Review of Books was born. One note about this book, if you decide to pick it up: Almost everyone else who has read it has HATED it. I'm definitely in the minority of people who really liked it.
Lo Fi, by Liz Riggs -- Another debut, this one set in Nashville, about an aspiring songwriter navigating love and life as she tries to find her voice as a musician. Riggs writes with a phenomenal sense of place here, and even if you've never been to a sweaty Nashville club, this novel is a great facsimile.
Charm City Rocks, by Matthew Norman -- It's not a coincidence that so many novels about music are also love stories, and this one is too. An affable middle-aged dude who harbors a crush for a drummer in an all-female band takes a chance (well, sort of) and contacts her. Will they or won't they? A charming romcom with music at its heart, I loved this book!
Mary Jane, by Jessica Anya Blau -- This coming-of-age story gives big-time Almost Famous vibes. It's about a teenaged girl who spends a summer at the beach as a nanny and meets a famous rockstar who is trying to get clean. Mary Jane begins to realize her so-far sheltered life is not how the world really is.
Gone to the Wolves, by John Wray -- People are always a little surprised when they find out I love heavy metal. But I do, and I loved this book about a group of teenagers in the 1980s who become obsessed with black metal. The novel is based on a real-life events about the tragic black metal band Havoc. If you know even a little bit of their bonkers story, you'll love this book. There's some great 80s metal references throughout, as well. The characters all sit around and listen to "...and Justice For All" when it for comes out. And at one point in the novel, they're at a glam-rock party in Los Angeles, and one of the characters muses about how if someone just took a look around and laughed, the whole scene would collapse under the weight of its own ridiculousness. It's funny because it's true.
Daisy Jones & the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid -- Though the hipster characters in Holly Brickey's novel would probably not enjoy this obvious choice, Reid's novel (along with High Fidelity) are the two main comps for Deep Cuts.
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