The Music Shop

I didn't intend to read two books this weekend. But, as soon as I got one page into Rachel Joyce's The Music Shop, I knew I couldn't stop until it was over.

This is one of those books that crawled into my heart and will reside forever. I finished this book last night and I miss these people. I want to know what they're doing now and what they will do next. I will worry about some of them. That's writing. Oh, and did I mention this book has its own Spotify playlist?

I didn't know anything about this book, but I found it on a list of books to read this summer. My small neighborhood library happened to have it in stock. Once I cracked it open, it was like the book had been waiting on that shelf my whole life, just waiting for me to pick it up.

Did I mention I adore this book?

The Music Shop takes place in a literal music shop in England in 1988. It sits on a ramshackle street, full of misfit shops and shopkeepers. They're a dysfunctional group that you begin rooting for from page one. Frank owns the music shop and refuses to sell CDs. He's vinyl before vinyl became cool again and that dedication is about to become his undoing. But, he has an extraordinary gift for finding you the music you need to listen to, even if you have no idea that you need it. The guy that only likes Chopin and is nursing a broken heart? Frank introduces him to Aretha. He describes classical music like a prize fight. One after another, customers come into the shop and leave enlightened.

Their worlds all turn upside down when a mysterious woman faints outside the shop. Her entrance into their lives is at once sweet and bewildering and we watch from the sidelines, fully invested, as Frank tries to make sense of his feelings for her. Can music bring them together? Can music save Frank? Can optimism save them all?

I feel like I can't say anymore because it's too precious and sweet and I don't want to ruin it. Just read it. Open your heart to these misfits. Keep your phone handy because you have to hear some of these songs the way Frank describes them. And, prepare to be smitten and engaged and frustrated and sad and uplifted.