The Song is You, Arthur Phillips

Music is the soundtrack to our lives. It's a cliché. We know that. But for many of us, it's very true. The right song can take you to a place and time you thought you'd forgotten and uncover memories long buried. It's certainly true for the protagonist in Arthur Phillips' The Song is You:  "Julian Donahue's generation were the pioneers of portable headphone music, and he began carrying with him everywhere the soundtrack to his days when he was fifteen." Julian, separated from his wife, becomes enamored of a talented young singer named Cait O'Dwyer after happening into a bar where she is singing one night. Cait is on the cusp of stardom while Julian has accepted where he is in life. He remembers the ambition of his youth but somewhere along the way he lost the desire to pursue it. Phillips slowly reveals the heart-breaking details leading to the breakdown of Julian's marriage. We learn about the relationship with his brother and their divergent memories of their father (where Julian gets his deep love of music).  All the while watching as Julian and Cait communicate (will they ever meet in person or won't they?), inching closer to each other, sharing bits and pieces of themselves and their lives with each other.

You don't need to share Julian's taste in music to understand the effect it has on him. The experience and wisdom won in life sometimes come at a heavy price, as Julian has painfully learned. Cait's youth, determination, and bright future full of possibility are a striking contrast to Julian's fractured marriage, deep pain, and successful mediocrity, and we understand their attraction to each other. Julian is entranced by the possibility he sees in her, and Cait needs Julian's wisdom and insight. Can they sense the futility in their desire? Perhaps, but it doesn't change the attraction. Add Julian's father, brother, and wife to the mix and the result is a funny, poignant story about possibility, chance, and consequence. This book is good. It's a well-told, engaging story that's a pleasure to read and satisfying, too.