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Fiction books about music

26 replies

Comefromaway · 10/03/2019 19:44

I'm struggling to get ds to read fiction. Are there any books about music or musicians where music is an integral part of the story especially if any aspect of theory or harmony is incorporated?

He loves 80's music, musical theatre and film scores especially.

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IHeartKingThistle · 10/03/2019 19:45

High Fidelity?

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Comefromaway · 10/03/2019 19:48

Is that more about listening to music rather than playing/composing though?

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UrbaneSprawl · 11/03/2019 22:18

“Moon Over Soho” is the second in the Rivers of London series and is set among Soho jazz musicians (several of whom meet a sticky end).

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GrouchingTiggerHiddenSomething · 12/03/2019 15:09

I really enjoyed "An Equal Music" by Vikram Seth main character is a violinist in a quartet.

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BillywigSting · 12/03/2019 15:13

Soul music by Terry Pratchett

It's about a very talented 'bard' who finds an especially unusual and somewhat enchanting 'stringed instrument a bit like a lute' who makes 'music with rocks in' and is a total revolutionary

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TheKitchenWitch · 12/03/2019 15:23

Does it have to be fiction though? There are loads of excellent non fiction books in this genre, especially biographies and memoirs.

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Pinkruler · 12/03/2019 18:37

I learned a lot about classical singing reading A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale. It's a really good book but I can't imagine a teenage boy reading it.

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PorridgeIsYummy · 12/03/2019 18:43

Oh, Espedeair Street by Iain Banks! He'll love it. It's about a student band's rise to fame but it's about much more than that. Music is absolutely central to the story and it's beautifully written. Recommended!

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PorridgeIsYummy · 12/03/2019 18:45

I've just thought about another amazing novel, Twelve Bar Blues, by Patrick Neate. I loved this. It's ostensibly about jazz and blues but underneath lies a compelling analysis of racial dynamics. So well written too!

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PorridgeIsYummy · 12/03/2019 18:47

Out of my two recs, I'd say Espedair Street is likely to appeal the most to a teenager.

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Comefromaway · 12/03/2019 19:33

It doesn’t have to be fiction but he needs to read more fiction to help him with his own vocabulary and ideas for creative writing in his GCSE. He reads mostly biographies and similar and not always of the highest quality.

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AuntGertrude · 13/03/2019 20:20

Music and Silence by Rose Tremain is all about musicians in the Danish court of the C17th.

One of the (split) chapters of Cloud Atlas is about a composer and his amanuensis.

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SwayingInTime · 13/03/2019 20:21

The Gustav sonata is good.

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Southernc0mfortmirror · 13/03/2019 20:24

I’ve just finished Daisy Jones and the Six, which is about a band and they talk a lot about songwriting.
Greatest Hits by Laura Barnett, also has an accompanying album by Kathryn Williams

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Southernc0mfortmirror · 13/03/2019 20:24

Daisy Jones... is written as if it’s interview transcripts, which may be a bit marmite but I enjoyed it

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BeGoodTanya · 14/03/2019 06:20

Michel Faber’s The Courage Consort.

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Sleepyhead11 · 22/03/2019 20:24

Tender Wire by Claire Kilroy. I adored it. A thriller about a stradivarius violin.

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BreconBeBuggered · 22/03/2019 20:31

The Commitments, maybe? Roddy Doyle.
The Rotters Club (Jonathan Coe) has lots of 70s politics and news themes, but the main characters are teenage boys who focus on music a lot.

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PomBearWithAnOFRS · 23/03/2019 05:06

There's a book by Tabitha Suzuma (I think, I may have the name slightly wrong) called "A Note of Madness" which is about a student at the Royal College of Music. He has MH problems, and it follows his year at the RCM, through diagnosis, treatment, his friends and family etc, but the music studies are an integral part of the story.
We read it a few years ago when I was homeschooling my DS, he was about 14/15 iirc, and we both thought it was really good.

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elkiedee · 29/03/2019 04:16

Patrick Gale's most recent novel, Take Nothing With You

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Murine · 29/03/2019 23:18

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeline Thien is excellent, the comfort and love of music is so well written in this. There’s even Spotify playlists of the pieces mentioned in it!

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cdtaylornats · 29/03/2019 23:28

Spellsinger series by Alan Dean Foster
Crystal singer series by Anne McCaffrey

www.goodreads.com/list/show/2142.YA_Music_Books

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PomBearWithAnOFRS · 30/03/2019 05:43

Also by Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsong and Dragonsinger are two of her Pern series that tell the story of the first girl to become a Harper in many years. Music is the only form of basic education on the planet Pern, to teach everyone their rights, responsibilities, and duties to the basically feudal society they live in.
The rest of them are good too (well the ones she wrote before her son got involved are Grin ) but those two feature the Harper Hall particularly.

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Clawdy · 30/03/2019 23:32

Another vote here for The Gustav Sonata.

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MsAmerica · 13/04/2019 04:44
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