What do you think?
Rate this book
AT 29: When Saturn Returns
No one can escape the challenges that must be faced when Saturn makes its twenty-nine year return. Tumultuous for some, a corrected path for others and most certainly a turning point for all.
Jim Buckman, a singer/songwriter with extraordinary promise, seems to lose everything, sinking to the bottom in a sea of alcohol and broken dreams. His band falls apart, his lover leaves and his self-confidence is shattered.
Death ruminates in his beleaguered mind. Not his physical demise, but his old ways, his old life. It's hard to admit that he isn't the man he expected to be. He concludes that character is the issue. No matter what talents he possesses, the promise may never be realized because he lacks the character to nurture them and give them meaning. He realizes that doing right, thinking positively and speaking kindly are the foundations of patience, that patience breeds self-confidence, and self-confidence is the enabler for all potential. Good people exist. They surround him, but he is not one of them. Succumbing to this revelation fills him with self-hate. He wants to change, but first he must retrace the path of the man he has become.
By reconnecting with his roots he finds his way back to his music. His fantastic journey crosses time and space righting his path, fulfilling his destiny and finding the love of his life.
Impossible to put down! A ripping good story! A Triumph! - Chaz Scoggins, Author of 'Bricks and Bats', 'Game of My Life' and 'Tales from the Impossible Dream'.
About the Author
D. P. Macbeth was born and raised in New England and has lived in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. He wrote this novel for his wife in fulfillment of a promise he made to her when they attended college together in Vermont. The depictions of Australia are inspired by business trips to Sydney and Melbourne. The vistas of the Great Ocean Road, especially Apollo Bay and Airey's Inlet were introduced to him by his son who lives in the Dandenong Mountains overlooking Victoria's Yarra Valley.
Jim Buckman, a singer/songwriter with extraordinary promise, seems to lose everything, sinking to the bottom in a sea of alcohol and broken dreams. His band falls apart, his lover leaves and his self-confidence is shattered.
Death ruminates in his beleaguered mind. Not his physical demise, but his old ways, his old life. It's hard to admit that he isn't the man he expected to be. He concludes that character is the issue. No matter what talents he possesses, the promise may never be realized because he lacks the character to nurture them and give them meaning. He realizes that doing right, thinking positively and speaking kindly are the foundations of patience, that patience breeds self-confidence, and self-confidence is the enabler for all potential. Good people exist. They surround him, but he is not one of them. Succumbing to this revelation fills him with self-hate. He wants to change, but first he must retrace the path of the man he has become.
By reconnecting with his roots he finds his way back to his music. His fantastic journey crosses time and space righting his path, fulfilling his destiny and finding the love of his life.
Impossible to put down! A ripping good story! A Triumph! - Chaz Scoggins, Author of 'Bricks and Bats', 'Game of My Life' and 'Tales from the Impossible Dream'.
About the Author
D. P. Macbeth was born and raised in New England and has lived in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. He wrote this novel for his wife in fulfillment of a promise he made to her when they attended college together in Vermont. The depictions of Australia are inspired by business trips to Sydney and Melbourne. The vistas of the Great Ocean Road, especially Apollo Bay and Airey's Inlet were introduced to him by his son who lives in the Dandenong Mountains overlooking Victoria's Yarra Valley.
1036 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2014
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 25, 2020
What an extraordinary book! Sublimely written and poetic in its intensity and frailty, weaving both the four generations of Whitehurst men and the women they loved with the temptations and cutthroat pop recording industry and Jim Buckman's salvation, I couldn't get enough.
"At 29: When Saturn Returns" has staying power. I continue to dwell on it. Mr. Macbeth has sustained me as well as entertained me. Nathan and Melba's love story portrayed in music, haunts me while soothing to my ear. And one day I'm driven to write the melody and lyrics for Jim Buckman's "Peg", the song a catalyst to Jim's reborn success. Mr. Macbeth's writing style has me convinced of the power of that tune. Part historical, part geographical, a bit of suspense, and above all a story of undying love of family, each character faces a myriad of challenges and Saturn's eventual return delivers them all. A stunning debut novel from a new voice that I want to hear from again.
"At 29: When Saturn Returns" has staying power. I continue to dwell on it. Mr. Macbeth has sustained me as well as entertained me. Nathan and Melba's love story portrayed in music, haunts me while soothing to my ear. And one day I'm driven to write the melody and lyrics for Jim Buckman's "Peg", the song a catalyst to Jim's reborn success. Mr. Macbeth's writing style has me convinced of the power of that tune. Part historical, part geographical, a bit of suspense, and above all a story of undying love of family, each character faces a myriad of challenges and Saturn's eventual return delivers them all. A stunning debut novel from a new voice that I want to hear from again.
Displaying 1 of 1 review