The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce #BookReview

1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Day after day he finds his customers the music they need.

Then Ilse Brauchmann walks into his life, asking Frank to teach her about music. He is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems.

Frank’s old wounds threaten to reopen, summoning a past that he has tried to leave behind him.

My Review

A story by Rachel Joyce never disappoints. This charming story takes us back to the days when CDs started replacing vinyl and to a down-at-heel road in an unnamed Cathedral town. Frank’s Music shop is located in a failing shopping area with crumbling facades, ripe for property developers. He had been adopted by his kind neighbours and now they depend on him to widen their musical horizons and improve their mental well-being.

When the fascinating Ilse arrives, the whole community is intrigued but then she vanishes. When she returns Frank and Ilse are drawn together, meeting up once a week in a tea shop where the waitress falls under their spell. But there is no happy ending as circumstances and their own stubbornness separates them. Maybe there is a chance when the inhabitants of Unity Street are reunited 20 years later.

Every character in this novel counts. Each have troubled back stories, but Frank revitalises their lives. Young Kit, living with his elderly parents, manages to break everything he touches but his creativity and enthusiasm are irresistible, tattooist, Maud, does not suffer fools easily but her loyalty to Frank lasts through thick and thin and Father Anthony has both supported and depended on Frank.

The musical links are worth investigating and the stories about composers told by Peg, Frank’s irresponsible mother, fascinated me. An unusual, rewarding book.

The Music Shop on Amazon UK

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