(2009)Genre: Women's Fiction
Synopsis: Whilst attending a Jack Lukeman gig in London, Jane and Elle Moore find themselves stuck in a lift with two strangers, Tom Kavanagh and Leslie Sheehan. After less than an hour together these four people's lives become irrevocably intertwined as they search for Tom's missing wife, Alexandra.
***
Review: This book is unusual in that it is inspired by the songs of a musician friend of the author's, and of local (within Ireland) musical legend, Jack Lukeman. Each chapter title is the name of a Jack L song and contains a few lines from the song - as well as there being two songs available for download free for readers to get a taste of the inspiration. The 'soundtrack' to the book is fantastic, and really adds an extra dimension to the experience if you can get your hands on the CD; the CD being "The Story So Far", a chronological compilation of highlights from all of Jack's work to date. Both book and CD were released and promoted simultaneously. While either works well on it's own, it's a treat to play the relevant songs as you read the book. Especially if you're as massive a Jack fan as I am.
The novel follows the lives of four fictional Jack L fans in England who rally together in an attempt to find a missing woman named Alexandra, the wife of one of their group, and explores how they end up facing their own demons along the way.
It's an absolutely superb book. It follows four main characters and a few secondary characters in a cleverly interwoven sequence of plots. Elle Moore, the impulsive and carefree artist minded by her older sister Jane whose life fell apart with a teenage pregnancy, Tom Kavanagh whose wife Alexandra got off the tube one day and disappeared, and the socially detached Leslie, who is dealing with a family history of cancer. I think my personal favourite was the mother of Elle and Jane - Rose. Hilarious and shocking in equal doses, I don't think most of us have mothers like this, but I think we can relate to the painful remarks she often makes.
The characters and their emotions are, as always, the driving force behind the story and they will all, at one point or another, make you both laugh and cry. For all the extremities faced in the novel - alcoholism, depression, self-abuse etc, I think everyone will find a little bit of themselves in one or more of the characters. McPartlin just has a natural talent for drawing the very essence of universal human experiences and emotions and locking them away in solid words, and I would, as always, defy ANYONE not to get utterly attached to these people, if not find a bit of themselves in there somewhere. As for making me cry - as always, Anna's done it. It was Rooftop Lullaby - one of Lukeman's most famous songs - and the placement and structuring of it's associated chapter. Without the CD, you can practially hear the music, and with the music you'll feel as though you're there.
Rating: 5/5
