The Scottish Mail on Sunday - You
YOU READING GROUP
This month’s choice. By John Koski
THE STORY
Frank is the owner of an independent record store, hidden away in a shabby cul-de-sac alongside a Polish bakery, an undertaker’s, a tattoo parlour and a shop selling religious gifts. All struggle to make a living. Times are particularly tough for Frank, a slightly dishevelled bear of a man. It is 1988 and CDs are the new big thing, but he refuses to have anything to do with them – the only discs he is prepared to stock are vinyl.
However, Frank has a unique talent. Part therapist, part healer, he intuitively knows which music customers need to mend their broken hearts and troubled souls. The only person he can’t heal is himself. At the age of 40 he resolutely steers clear of commitment, until one day a mysterious young German woman, Ilse, turns up at the shop and unsettles his life. Can they create a double album together, or are they destined to remain two damaged singles? A quirky, romantic fairy tale perfect for summer.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Rachel Joyce will be discussing The Music Shop at the Henley Literary Festival this autumn and YOU readers are invited. The annual festival in the riverside town of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, supported by The Mail on Sunday, will take place from 2-8 October. Rachel will be appearing on 3 October at 4.30pm and tickets cost just £8. For further details and booking information, visit henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk or call the box office on 01491 575948. The festival includes more than 160 events for adults and children, including appearances from Mary Berry, Prue Leith, Alison Steadman and The Girl on the Train author Paula Hawkins.
Award-winning novelist and playwright Rachel Joyce produced an international bestseller with her 2012 debut The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. She writes exclusively about the background to her new novel at youreadinggroup.co.uk, where you will also find suggested topics for your own book club discussion.
Another uplifting and utterly heartenlarging novel’ BEL MOONEY