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Five Night Stand
Legendary jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant finds himself alone at the end of his career, playing his last five shows, hoping the music will draw his estranged family back...
Frank Severs, a middle-aged, out-of-work journalist, is at a crossroads as his longtime dreams and marriage grind to a standstill...
And piano prodigy Agnes Cassady is desperately grasping for fulfillment before a debilitating disease wrenches control from her trembling fingers...
When Frank and Agnes come to New York to witness Oliver’s final five-night stand, the timeless force of Oliver’s music pulls the trio together. Over the course of five nights, the three reflect on their triumphs and their sorrows: families forsaken, ideals left along the wayside, secrets kept. Their shared search for meaning and direction in a fractured world creates an unexpected kinship that just might help them make sense of the past, find peace in the present, and muster the courage to face the future.
Frank Severs, a middle-aged, out-of-work journalist, is at a crossroads as his longtime dreams and marriage grind to a standstill...
And piano prodigy Agnes Cassady is desperately grasping for fulfillment before a debilitating disease wrenches control from her trembling fingers...
When Frank and Agnes come to New York to witness Oliver’s final five-night stand, the timeless force of Oliver’s music pulls the trio together. Over the course of five nights, the three reflect on their triumphs and their sorrows: families forsaken, ideals left along the wayside, secrets kept. Their shared search for meaning and direction in a fractured world creates an unexpected kinship that just might help them make sense of the past, find peace in the present, and muster the courage to face the future.
307 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2015
About the author
Richard J. Alley
3 books62 followersRichard J. Alley is the author of the novels FIVE NIGHT STAND and AMELIA THORN, and a contributor to the anthology MEMPHIS NOIR.
He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
February 11, 2015
I'd rate this 4.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Oliver Pleasant is a renowned jazz pianist who has been playing music since the 1930s. He has played with all of the greats, traveled the world, and made a bit of a name for himself among those in the know. Now in his 80s, he is ready to retire, so he plans to play five farewell shows at a New York City club before leaving his home in New York and moving to Memphis. He hopes that his estranged children will attend one of his shows.
"Oliver sees himself as a carpenter, a craftsman putting notes and melodies together, fitting them when they will, stepping back to rest and reconsider when they won't."
Frank Severs is a newspaper reporter from Memphis, recently laid off from his longtime job, and trying to figure out what is next, both career-wise and in his relationship with his wife. He decides to write a story about Oliver's retirement and pitch it to a number of different publications, so against his wife's wishes, Frank goes to New York to see Oliver play, and hopefully get the opportunity to interview him.
Agnes Cassady is a tremendously talented musician in her own right, stricken by a progressively degenerative disease which is slowly robbing her of her ability to play the piano, and she expects it will cut short her life as well. In New York for one final round of tests to see if anything can be done, she's debating whether she should take control of her death as the disease is taking control of her life. But she cannot resist the opportunity to hear Oliver play for one of the last times in his career.
In Richard J. Alley's fantastic Five Night Stand , Oliver, Frank, and Agnes' lives intersect, each leaving an indelible impact on the others. This is a story about the heydays of jazz and a young man discovering his talent and the fire to make music. It's also the story of life's triumphs and regrets, the secrets we keep and the hurts we nurse, the hopes we cherish and the hearts we gravitate toward. Above all, it's the story of connection, and how the act of telling one's story can change your life.
While the book took a little time to gain steam, Alley is a fantastic writer, and his use of language is so poetic, it's almost musical in its own right. These characters are complex, not always completely likeable, but utterly fascinating and compelling. Five Night Stand is an emotional, enjoyable book, about life, love, and music, one that will make you want to listen to jazz and follow your passions. I'm so glad I found this one.
See all of my reviews (and other stuff) at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Oliver Pleasant is a renowned jazz pianist who has been playing music since the 1930s. He has played with all of the greats, traveled the world, and made a bit of a name for himself among those in the know. Now in his 80s, he is ready to retire, so he plans to play five farewell shows at a New York City club before leaving his home in New York and moving to Memphis. He hopes that his estranged children will attend one of his shows.
"Oliver sees himself as a carpenter, a craftsman putting notes and melodies together, fitting them when they will, stepping back to rest and reconsider when they won't."
Frank Severs is a newspaper reporter from Memphis, recently laid off from his longtime job, and trying to figure out what is next, both career-wise and in his relationship with his wife. He decides to write a story about Oliver's retirement and pitch it to a number of different publications, so against his wife's wishes, Frank goes to New York to see Oliver play, and hopefully get the opportunity to interview him.
Agnes Cassady is a tremendously talented musician in her own right, stricken by a progressively degenerative disease which is slowly robbing her of her ability to play the piano, and she expects it will cut short her life as well. In New York for one final round of tests to see if anything can be done, she's debating whether she should take control of her death as the disease is taking control of her life. But she cannot resist the opportunity to hear Oliver play for one of the last times in his career.
In Richard J. Alley's fantastic Five Night Stand , Oliver, Frank, and Agnes' lives intersect, each leaving an indelible impact on the others. This is a story about the heydays of jazz and a young man discovering his talent and the fire to make music. It's also the story of life's triumphs and regrets, the secrets we keep and the hurts we nurse, the hopes we cherish and the hearts we gravitate toward. Above all, it's the story of connection, and how the act of telling one's story can change your life.
While the book took a little time to gain steam, Alley is a fantastic writer, and his use of language is so poetic, it's almost musical in its own right. These characters are complex, not always completely likeable, but utterly fascinating and compelling. Five Night Stand is an emotional, enjoyable book, about life, love, and music, one that will make you want to listen to jazz and follow your passions. I'm so glad I found this one.
See all of my reviews (and other stuff) at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
February 5, 2015
This first novel reads like a work from the ripest part of a successful author’s career. Finely etched characters delineated with great insight and empathy, and a plot that builds and builds toward a unique and satisfying conclusion, are two of its many strengths. The story takes place mainly in New Orleans, Memphis and New York City (Memphis is at the center for more reasons than just geographical) and its evocation of the jazz scene in those three storied places is richly realized and reminiscent of Dorothy Baker’s Young Man with a Horn. Alley’s narrative moves like Coltrane on a run and is rendered in prose as smooth as a Miles Davis solo. (I wanted to be among the first to praise the book with jazz similes.) He reminds us that Memphis isn’t just about the blues and rock-and-roll. There is a whole culture of music here, fertile, inspiring, and everlasting. I didn’t want the story to end so it is a fine thing that the main characters have taken up permanent residence in my literary memory. Readers of contemporary fiction rejoice. A new artist has stepped up to the mic.
August 10, 2016
Three lives intersect in a story reflecting on successes, regrets and disappointments along with a sprinkling of secrets. Centering on a jazz icon as he revisits his esteemed career traveling through the blossoming era of jazz. One man sharing his story, his passion for music evident, leaving a mark on others lives as they struggle with individual issues.
Alley is a gifted writer, his prose reads like a intricate symphony, downright lyrical. The varying characters, intriguing and incredibly complex, their story’s compelling, capturing your interest. A wonderfully crafted story combining love, life and of course music and its power. Affecting, utterly enjoyable, you’ll find yourself questioning your passion. Jazz lovers will undoubtedly appreciate Alley’s yarn, wonderful jazz musicians referenced, acclaimed songs noted, you’ll find yourself lost in a dazzling musical journey.
“Oliver sees himself as a carpenter, a craftsman putting notes and melodies together, fitting them when they will, stepping back to rest and reconsider when they won’t.”
Alley is a gifted writer, his prose reads like a intricate symphony, downright lyrical. The varying characters, intriguing and incredibly complex, their story’s compelling, capturing your interest. A wonderfully crafted story combining love, life and of course music and its power. Affecting, utterly enjoyable, you’ll find yourself questioning your passion. Jazz lovers will undoubtedly appreciate Alley’s yarn, wonderful jazz musicians referenced, acclaimed songs noted, you’ll find yourself lost in a dazzling musical journey.
June 3, 2015
Amazing novel.
A beautifully written tale of three disparate yet kindred souls – all at a crossroads in their lives.
Oliver Pleasant, an octogenarian jazz pianist of some renown is finally retiring from the music business. He is wrapping up his long career with a final five night stand on the stage of a New York hotel owned by an old friend. Sadly, his lifestyle of travel, music, and women have left him estranged from his grown children. The table he has reserved for his family remains accusingly vacant throughout his last shows. His wife, Francesca, the love of his life, has been dead for two decades. Oliver has lived through the racism of the South, traveled to Europe in the heyday of jazz, fathered children, bedded myriad women, and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow musicians. Through it all he had a deep and abiding love and respect for the ‘music’. Now he feels little other than the loneliness, regret and fear that comes with old age.
Agnes Cassady, also a pianist, is in her early twenties and suffering from what she believes to be a fatal neurological disorder. She hails from Memphis, Tennessee but has lived in New Orleans for the past few years plying her trade. Recently the pain and tremors that result from her condition have hampered her musical ability. The reason for Agnes’ trip to New York is yet another hospital with yet more tests. This time it is the famous Mount Sinai with its expert physicians. Since learning of her probable early demise, Agnes has packed a lot into her short life. She loves music and men in that order. When she learns that Oliver Pleasant is playing while she is in town, she knows that she must attend his final performances. He has long been her idol.
Frank Severs, a former journalist, also from Memphis – is in town to write about Oliver Pleasant’s life and last performances. He greatly admires the man and his music and feels he could do justice to a story about him. Frank’s personal life is in flux. He is distant from his wife whom he still loves. Their many years of trying to conceive a child has left a rift in their marriage. It is a rift that Frank doesn’t know how to bridge – or if he should even try to bother.
The meeting of these three lost souls and their brief time spent together was nothing short of magical.
The characters are fully developed and are so ‘human’ that it is a joy and a privilege to share time with them. The early winter New York setting is described clearly with an affection for the place.
Filled with the joy, sadness, regret and confusion that is life, “Five night stand” was a novel for music lovers and non-music lovers alike. I actually read part of it whilst listening to the infamous Thelonious Monk via YouTube. His music was a wonderful background for the novel.
This novel should be on the bestseller lists! Highly recommended!
A beautifully written tale of three disparate yet kindred souls – all at a crossroads in their lives.
Oliver Pleasant, an octogenarian jazz pianist of some renown is finally retiring from the music business. He is wrapping up his long career with a final five night stand on the stage of a New York hotel owned by an old friend. Sadly, his lifestyle of travel, music, and women have left him estranged from his grown children. The table he has reserved for his family remains accusingly vacant throughout his last shows. His wife, Francesca, the love of his life, has been dead for two decades. Oliver has lived through the racism of the South, traveled to Europe in the heyday of jazz, fathered children, bedded myriad women, and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow musicians. Through it all he had a deep and abiding love and respect for the ‘music’. Now he feels little other than the loneliness, regret and fear that comes with old age.
Agnes Cassady, also a pianist, is in her early twenties and suffering from what she believes to be a fatal neurological disorder. She hails from Memphis, Tennessee but has lived in New Orleans for the past few years plying her trade. Recently the pain and tremors that result from her condition have hampered her musical ability. The reason for Agnes’ trip to New York is yet another hospital with yet more tests. This time it is the famous Mount Sinai with its expert physicians. Since learning of her probable early demise, Agnes has packed a lot into her short life. She loves music and men in that order. When she learns that Oliver Pleasant is playing while she is in town, she knows that she must attend his final performances. He has long been her idol.
Frank Severs, a former journalist, also from Memphis – is in town to write about Oliver Pleasant’s life and last performances. He greatly admires the man and his music and feels he could do justice to a story about him. Frank’s personal life is in flux. He is distant from his wife whom he still loves. Their many years of trying to conceive a child has left a rift in their marriage. It is a rift that Frank doesn’t know how to bridge – or if he should even try to bother.
The meeting of these three lost souls and their brief time spent together was nothing short of magical.
The characters are fully developed and are so ‘human’ that it is a joy and a privilege to share time with them. The early winter New York setting is described clearly with an affection for the place.
Filled with the joy, sadness, regret and confusion that is life, “Five night stand” was a novel for music lovers and non-music lovers alike. I actually read part of it whilst listening to the infamous Thelonious Monk via YouTube. His music was a wonderful background for the novel.
This novel should be on the bestseller lists! Highly recommended!
May 15, 2015
What a beautiful book! It's a love letter to jazz music, first and foremost, but also to Memphis, New Orleans, and New York. Alley's evocative descriptions and unusual metaphors are as virtuousic as the main character's piano playing. The unlikely intersection of the three main characters is fascinating and believable. This may be a debut novel, but it doesn't feel that way at all. Poignant and unforgettable.
October 8, 2015
Loved it! Alley creates a distinct voice for each of the main three characters who are bound by jazz and history. I was completely drawn into their lives and wanted to know more about each of them. Loved the descriptions of 3 of my favorite cities: Memphis, New Orleans and New York.
November 25, 2018
This is the best book I have read in a long time. The characters are wonderful and complex, and their stories draw you in. The writing itself is like music. I was so sorry to finish this book, and will definitely read it again (and again).
April 17, 2015
84-year-old jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant is performing for his last five night stand before retirement. His career started at age 14 in 1935 when he lived in Winona, Mississippi. His career took him to Memphis and riverboats, to Harlem, to New Orleans, to France. Music was a harsh mistress, demanding awful sacrifices. His wife Francesca and their children lived without his presence. Now his wife is gone and his daughter won't see him. Nostalgia and regret, loneliness and loss, fatigue and pain are left behind when he plays. He is twenty-five again as he calls out tunes by Monk, Basie, King Oliver.
Agnes learned to love jazz sitting side-by-side with her father at the piano. She is twenty-two but is losing control of her hand, is in constant pain, and knows her days are limited. She has come from Winona to NYC hoping a doctor can solve the mystery of her body. Bridges daily tempt her to make her own solution. She has come to the club to see Oliver play his last five night stand.
Also drawn to the club is Frank, who at forty-four is an out of work Memphis journalist writing a free lance story on Oliver's last five night stand. Frank is floundering, uncertain of his career, his wife seeming more distant the harder they try to get pregnant. Will he lose everything?
Oliver "tinkers" on the keys. In an almost organic growth the notes turn into a melody. His hands fly across the keys, stunning even the band into awe. The audience realize they are witnessing something beyond their ken.
On the stairs of Oliver's apartment waits a ten year old boy. He has listened to Oliver's music through the floor boards. He wants to learn to play. He wants music to save him.
The power of music permeates Five Night Stand by Richard J. Alley as it does his character's lives.
Oliver is a wonderful character, imperfect and driven. I enjoyed this book, the characters, and especially the love of music that permeates the pages. The writing near the end gets a little obvious, the authorial voice a little preachy. By then I was too invested in the characters to mind too much.
Oliver tells Pablo to find whatever makes you whole. For Oliver it was his music.
Agnes learned to love jazz sitting side-by-side with her father at the piano. She is twenty-two but is losing control of her hand, is in constant pain, and knows her days are limited. She has come from Winona to NYC hoping a doctor can solve the mystery of her body. Bridges daily tempt her to make her own solution. She has come to the club to see Oliver play his last five night stand.
Also drawn to the club is Frank, who at forty-four is an out of work Memphis journalist writing a free lance story on Oliver's last five night stand. Frank is floundering, uncertain of his career, his wife seeming more distant the harder they try to get pregnant. Will he lose everything?
Oliver "tinkers" on the keys. In an almost organic growth the notes turn into a melody. His hands fly across the keys, stunning even the band into awe. The audience realize they are witnessing something beyond their ken.
On the stairs of Oliver's apartment waits a ten year old boy. He has listened to Oliver's music through the floor boards. He wants to learn to play. He wants music to save him.
The power of music permeates Five Night Stand by Richard J. Alley as it does his character's lives.
Oliver is a wonderful character, imperfect and driven. I enjoyed this book, the characters, and especially the love of music that permeates the pages. The writing near the end gets a little obvious, the authorial voice a little preachy. By then I was too invested in the characters to mind too much.
Oliver tells Pablo to find whatever makes you whole. For Oliver it was his music.
May 12, 2015
I loved this story. It's a sort of fictional biography about a man who's in his '80's and his love of music, especially jazz. He started playing as a child and never stopped. He played all over and with some of the greats. Five Night Stand refers to the last five nights he will ever play before he retires and moves from New York down to Mississippi to live with his niece. A place where he hopes things have changed since he was last there and saw a young boy hanged for looking at a white woman.
During these five nights, he has a table reserved for his children to come and see him, but night after night it stays empty. There is also a story about a young girl who loves music, but is dying and a newspaper reporter who has just been laid off due to the times.
It's a terrific book about good times and sad times with a lot of history brought into it. I loved this book and advise you to pick it up and do so too.
Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this poignant story that I loved!!
During these five nights, he has a table reserved for his children to come and see him, but night after night it stays empty. There is also a story about a young girl who loves music, but is dying and a newspaper reporter who has just been laid off due to the times.
It's a terrific book about good times and sad times with a lot of history brought into it. I loved this book and advise you to pick it up and do so too.
Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this poignant story that I loved!!
December 7, 2017
This book is absolutely wonderful, memorable, touching and amazing. I learned a lot about the history and music of jazz while reading this.
In this book several people, strangers to each other, happen to come together when attending a five-evening performance of 87 year old Oscar Pleasant, a jazz great, who is doing his last performance to retire. We read about the different characters, what brings them together, and most of all about the life of Oscar Pleasant.
This book made me emotional - both sad and happy emotions - and I never wanted the book to end. This is one of those books one never forgets. It will stay in my top ten forever.
In this book several people, strangers to each other, happen to come together when attending a five-evening performance of 87 year old Oscar Pleasant, a jazz great, who is doing his last performance to retire. We read about the different characters, what brings them together, and most of all about the life of Oscar Pleasant.
This book made me emotional - both sad and happy emotions - and I never wanted the book to end. This is one of those books one never forgets. It will stay in my top ten forever.
November 28, 2018
A coworker, and my daughters 4th grade teacher recommended this book, and I picked it up because I needed to fulfill a prompt for a reading challenge I am doing...”a book with a time of day in its title.” I am so glad I picked it up! I loved it! Alley is a masterful storyteller. The three (four?) main characters in three (four?) different walks of life all came together beautifully....they each had something to teach another. Their stories were captivating and timeless, but also real and I didn’t always like their thoughts or decisions. I also loved that the novel contained so much music! It’s rarely something that I come across in my reading, but this novel made me want to seek out more books with music as a central theme.
Thank you for the great read! It was an amazing surprise!
Thank you for the great read! It was an amazing surprise!
June 25, 2015
What a masterful story teller is Richard Alley! I enjoyed both the beauty of his story and the treasure of his words. "Five Night Stand" is about the last nights in the performance life of fictional jazz pianist, Oliver Pleasant. Oliver sets up a five night stand to close out his professional life in New York City. During those nights, his life intersects with several other people who are searching for answers in their own changing lives.
Along with Oliver, we meet Agnes, a young and talented pianist who is facing a fatal neuro-muscular disease, Frank, a middle aged reporter from Memphis, who is attempting to reinvent both his career and his marriage, and Pablo, Oliver's child neighbor who lost his father in the tower collapse of 9/11, and who wants the chance to find something that will help him forget. A quote from the book gives a clear picture of these four people whose lives intersect over the five nights.
"The diner is as bright and warm as it had been on Agnes's first morning in New York. Around the stained and chipped tabletop of the third booth from the back wall sits a disparate group of diners, a group of castaways adrift in their vinyl and Formica lifeboat. Trapped on this island of Manhattan is an old black man in a porkpie hat sitting beside a thin and dark-complected boy going to great pains to cut a sausage link with a butter knife. Across the table is a middle-aged man fingering his phone as he waits on a call, and next to him, a thin and pale young woman with her head resting in her open palm as she sips from a cup of coffee without taking it from her face. It's as though the steam is warming her as much as the diner's radiator heat and kitchen fires. They are four people as similar as they are unique--one at the end of his career, one lost in the middle, one who dreams of beginning, and the fourth, a child, not knowing what is ahead of him. None of them know for sure what awaits them; they're all discontent, all frightened for the future whether it be tomorrow, next year, or a decade away."
I enjoyed this book both for its excellent story and its beautiful words. The contrast and comparison of the characters is a powerful element to this story and will make this book interesting and appealing to most readers.
I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Along with Oliver, we meet Agnes, a young and talented pianist who is facing a fatal neuro-muscular disease, Frank, a middle aged reporter from Memphis, who is attempting to reinvent both his career and his marriage, and Pablo, Oliver's child neighbor who lost his father in the tower collapse of 9/11, and who wants the chance to find something that will help him forget. A quote from the book gives a clear picture of these four people whose lives intersect over the five nights.
"The diner is as bright and warm as it had been on Agnes's first morning in New York. Around the stained and chipped tabletop of the third booth from the back wall sits a disparate group of diners, a group of castaways adrift in their vinyl and Formica lifeboat. Trapped on this island of Manhattan is an old black man in a porkpie hat sitting beside a thin and dark-complected boy going to great pains to cut a sausage link with a butter knife. Across the table is a middle-aged man fingering his phone as he waits on a call, and next to him, a thin and pale young woman with her head resting in her open palm as she sips from a cup of coffee without taking it from her face. It's as though the steam is warming her as much as the diner's radiator heat and kitchen fires. They are four people as similar as they are unique--one at the end of his career, one lost in the middle, one who dreams of beginning, and the fourth, a child, not knowing what is ahead of him. None of them know for sure what awaits them; they're all discontent, all frightened for the future whether it be tomorrow, next year, or a decade away."
I enjoyed this book both for its excellent story and its beautiful words. The contrast and comparison of the characters is a powerful element to this story and will make this book interesting and appealing to most readers.
I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
February 17, 2015
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Publication date is May 2015.
I am so glad I found this one - it made my heart sing.
Oliver Pleasant is a renowned jazz pianist who has been playing music since the 1930s when he started as a 14 year old in Winona, Mississippi. He is planning to play for five nights at the Capasso Hotel in New York City, hoping against hope that some members of his estranged family will come and see him. Every night there is a table just waiting for them.
His story intersects with that of Frank Severs, a newspaper reporter who has lost his job and possibly his wife. He decides to follow his dream and hopefully interview Oliver and sell the story. Agnes Cassady also appears nightly and is suffering from a disease that never actually gets a mention, but will affect her ability to play the piano herself.
I could almost hear the jazz and feel the vibe of the basement bar.
This book dealt with a huge range of emotions from all the characters. I have not read Richard J Alley previously but will now be keeping my eye out for more. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a copy.
I am so glad I found this one - it made my heart sing.
Oliver Pleasant is a renowned jazz pianist who has been playing music since the 1930s when he started as a 14 year old in Winona, Mississippi. He is planning to play for five nights at the Capasso Hotel in New York City, hoping against hope that some members of his estranged family will come and see him. Every night there is a table just waiting for them.
His story intersects with that of Frank Severs, a newspaper reporter who has lost his job and possibly his wife. He decides to follow his dream and hopefully interview Oliver and sell the story. Agnes Cassady also appears nightly and is suffering from a disease that never actually gets a mention, but will affect her ability to play the piano herself.
I could almost hear the jazz and feel the vibe of the basement bar.
This book dealt with a huge range of emotions from all the characters. I have not read Richard J Alley previously but will now be keeping my eye out for more. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a copy.
May 27, 2015
Five Night Stand impressed me as unique, not a page turner, but unique. The author concentrates on three lives. They each disclose conflict or strife health issues, close relationship and above all their connection to the music. It does not become too busy with people places and in depth romantic details.
Readers get to visit familiar playgrounds of New York, Memphis, (I've never visited Memphis), and New Orleans.
Oliver Pleasant is eighty five years old and a Jazz musician extraordinaire, hence the title of the book. Oliver touches on the racial injustices of growing up in this country. Much to his credit, the author chose not to make theses issues the larger focus of the book.
It is a melody of three peoples lives and how they connect, disclose the secret intimacies of their lives and weaves back to the stage of Oliver Pleasant, renowned Jazz pianist facing retirement and a new stage.
Readers get to visit familiar playgrounds of New York, Memphis, (I've never visited Memphis), and New Orleans.
Oliver Pleasant is eighty five years old and a Jazz musician extraordinaire, hence the title of the book. Oliver touches on the racial injustices of growing up in this country. Much to his credit, the author chose not to make theses issues the larger focus of the book.
It is a melody of three peoples lives and how they connect, disclose the secret intimacies of their lives and weaves back to the stage of Oliver Pleasant, renowned Jazz pianist facing retirement and a new stage.
June 13, 2015
Five Night Stand's characters and their music are so captivating; I felt like I was spending these five nights with them, wrapped up in their lives. It reads as beautifully as the music described on its pages must sound. I would highly recommend this book.
July 13, 2015
I loved this book. The characters were wonderful, and I found myself wanting to know more about them. Most;y, it was the feeling of being there, of being part of the music that I had throughout the book that made it so amazing. Even if you are not a fan of jazz, this book is a great read!
November 16, 2015
Wow! This book is good. It's so good that it might even make me rethink my aversion to jazz. I loved the different stories that all came together. The Memphis references were the icing on the cake!
May 26, 2015
Beautiful writing. I want to recommend this book to everyone!
May 14, 2015
Beautiful story rich with jazz history and endearing characters. Memphis talent at its best.
August 3, 2017
This a truly legit novel! Richard Alley writes with genuine "soul", not surprising for a resident of Memphis, TN. It's like a short course in the unique American -- Black American, to be precise -- musical style called "jazz". Alley integrates the story of a Southern musician, Oliver Pleasant, & his family with the stories & struggles of Agnes Cassady, an accomplished young pianist with a serious physical affliction, and Frank Severs, a recently unemployed journalist who aspires to write a great novel in the midst of unresolved issues & marital problems. The book is compelling on so many levels, full of relational wisdom, & sometimes quite surprising.
March 27, 2017
I believe the prose in this book includes some of the best passages of any books I have read. I don't typically read fiction that makes me want to re-read a passage again and again to enjoy the writing or the essence of what was written. However, Five Night Stand had me doing that repeatedly. I often felt I was just wrapped up in the story's blanket and absorbed.
I can not wait to read more by Richard Alley.
I can not wait to read more by Richard Alley.
April 21, 2017
As someone who has a personal interest in and love of music, I was delighted with this extremely well-written book that enveloped the love of jazz and intertwined that love with the lives of three people who had never met before the final five performances of a legendary jazz piano player in New York City. All three also shared a background with the cities so often known for jazz: New Orleans, Memphis, and New York City. I was fascinated at how those three lives came together and was also pleased with the portrayal of that music genre itself. I really loved this book!
July 2, 2017
Do yourself a favor. Turn on your Spotify or your Pandora. Or maybe dig out some old 10 inch records and drink up this amazing book.
March 16, 2017
I love when a novel takes me to new places. Richard J. Alley's novel was quite a ride. Part jazz musician, part journalist, and part terminally ill patient. All three parts a little broken. All three parts worked. I'm ready to listen to some jazz, start a novel, and visit Memphis. Glad I found this novel on Kindle.
June 12, 2015
3.5 stars
Before last year's 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, I don't think I had ever read a book centered around jazz music. Now we have Richard J. Alley's Five Night Stand, which revolves around the five-night farewell performance of jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant. Unsurprisingly, because Oliver is retiring after a career spanning seven decades, Alley's book has a more elegiac tone than Bertino's, which is both a good and a bad thing.
Oliver's long career gives Alley ample opportunity to explore the development of jazz from the 1930s on, and this history is interesting and edifying. That Oliver is black allows Alley to also address the impact of race, both with respect to the jazz form itself and as to its defining role in the lives of black musicians traveling through the Deep South from New Orleans to Harlem. Alley writes beautifully about music from the very first page:
I don't know if jazz musicians actually refer to their gigs as "stands," but the title of the book immediately brought to mind the sexual one-night stand, and there is a fair amount of (not very graphic) sex in Alley's story, including marital infidelity and promiscuity. While Alley generally incorporates these themes in a way which feels organic to the plot, his major misstep for me came from the relationship between Agnes and her benefactor Landon Throckmorton. Their bizarre encounters felt inauthentic and tacked-on, as though Alley suddenly decided his novel was insufficiently racy to catch the attention of a modern audience.
It was the book's pacing, however, which resulted in its 3.5 star rating. Although the plot takes place over a relatively short five days, we also move back and forth through each of the main characters' lives, and this causes the story to drag in places. Oliver's philosophical musings became repetitive to the extent that I was tempted to skim through some of his sections. His reflections, including their repetitive nature, are completely consistent with both his character and the narrative frame of a career-capping performance; nevertheless, I would have liked to feel a faster jazz rhythm throughout the entire book, not just in those scenes set in nightclubs:
I received a free copy of Five Night Stand through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Before last year's 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, I don't think I had ever read a book centered around jazz music. Now we have Richard J. Alley's Five Night Stand, which revolves around the five-night farewell performance of jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant. Unsurprisingly, because Oliver is retiring after a career spanning seven decades, Alley's book has a more elegiac tone than Bertino's, which is both a good and a bad thing.
Oliver's long career gives Alley ample opportunity to explore the development of jazz from the 1930s on, and this history is interesting and edifying. That Oliver is black allows Alley to also address the impact of race, both with respect to the jazz form itself and as to its defining role in the lives of black musicians traveling through the Deep South from New Orleans to Harlem. Alley writes beautifully about music from the very first page:
Back then [in 1935] he'd hammered out rags as rough as the planks that made up that schoolhouse stage. Over the years he's taken a saw and rasp to those tunes and smoothed them at the edges, sanded them slowly over time with finer and finer grit paper, and applied a polish to them. The songs are comfortable now. People can take their shoes off to dance without fear of a spike in the foot; they can lie back on that smooth and waxed wood to take a nap in the afternoon or make love all night long. Oliver sees himself as a carpenter, a craftsman putting notes and melodies together, fitting them when they will, stepping back to rest and reconsider when they won't.As Alley writes, "Music, in all of its variations and venues, is the world's oldest social network," a point brought home by his decision to intertwine Oliver's life with two other main characters: Frank Severs, a Memphis journalist, and Agnes Cassady, a young jazz pianist from New Orleans. Frank and Agnes are both facing major life changes of their own, and Oliver and his music help each of them cope in their own ways.
I don't know if jazz musicians actually refer to their gigs as "stands," but the title of the book immediately brought to mind the sexual one-night stand, and there is a fair amount of (not very graphic) sex in Alley's story, including marital infidelity and promiscuity. While Alley generally incorporates these themes in a way which feels organic to the plot, his major misstep for me came from the relationship between Agnes and her benefactor Landon Throckmorton. Their bizarre encounters felt inauthentic and tacked-on, as though Alley suddenly decided his novel was insufficiently racy to catch the attention of a modern audience.
It was the book's pacing, however, which resulted in its 3.5 star rating. Although the plot takes place over a relatively short five days, we also move back and forth through each of the main characters' lives, and this causes the story to drag in places. Oliver's philosophical musings became repetitive to the extent that I was tempted to skim through some of his sections. His reflections, including their repetitive nature, are completely consistent with both his character and the narrative frame of a career-capping performance; nevertheless, I would have liked to feel a faster jazz rhythm throughout the entire book, not just in those scenes set in nightclubs:
He's always liked this room, the size of it, the lights, the way his piano sounds when it comes back around to him. That sound of it leaves his fingertips and goes to the bar for a gin and tonic, takes a tour around the place to touch the pretty ladies on their bare backs, tingling their spines right between the shoulder blades before landing softly back on his ear.Overall, I enjoyed meeting Oliver, Frank, and Agnes, and I look forward to seeing more of Alley's characters in the future.
I received a free copy of Five Night Stand through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2016
This book was not the book I was expecting to read. I live in the Memphis area and Richard J. Alley was one of my favorite bi-weekly newspaper columnists. I understand that is father was a long-time cartoonist for the newspaper. Alley wrote about his life as a freelance writer and stay-at-home dad, raising four children with his wife, who is a teacher. His columns were heartwarming vignettes of a close-knit family. When he announced in his column that he had written a novel and that he was going to be at a local independent bookstore for a book signing, I couldn't wait to go and meet him in person. His family was there and I loved seeing the wife and children I had been reading about for so long. Not long after, he stopped writing his column and I have greatly missed reading it.
I expected his novel to be a heartwarming portrait of a man at the end of an interesting career. I was disappointed that the book was filled with profanity and that almost every character in the book was having casual sex with anyone who happened to be available. At the book signing, someone asked Alley if his children had read his book. His oldest child is a son who had just received his driver's license and I think Alley said he had read a little of it, but none of the other children had read it. I can understand why he would not want them to read it.
Alley is a good writer, but I grew to dislike his main character, pianist Oliver Pleasant. The title of the book refers to his last professional performance in New York before he moves back to Memphis to live with some family members. His wife is deceased and he is estranged from this children for good reason. I lost interest in his story by the fifth night. I think I would have liked it better if it had been a three-night stand.
The book also focuses on Frank Severs, an out-of-work journalist from Memphis with problems of his own, who flies to New York to interview Pleasant for a freelance piece that he hopes to sell to a magazine. This didn't make sense to me because Frank had to travel at his own expense when funds were tight and Oliver was moving to Memphis immediately after his last performance. Frank could easily have interviewed him in Memphis, although he would not have had an opportunity to see him perform. Frank was the one character who seemed to have some morals. I wondered if Alley patterned him after himself, although Frank and his wife had difficulty conceiving, obviously not a problem for Alley.
The third main character was Agnes Cassady, a piano prodigy who has contracted a debilitating disease. Her story was sad. I had a lot of empathy for her at the beginning of her story, but didn't particularly like her as her story developed.
Although this book was not my cup of tea, I hope Alley will write more books. I will certainly read them.
I expected his novel to be a heartwarming portrait of a man at the end of an interesting career. I was disappointed that the book was filled with profanity and that almost every character in the book was having casual sex with anyone who happened to be available. At the book signing, someone asked Alley if his children had read his book. His oldest child is a son who had just received his driver's license and I think Alley said he had read a little of it, but none of the other children had read it. I can understand why he would not want them to read it.
Alley is a good writer, but I grew to dislike his main character, pianist Oliver Pleasant. The title of the book refers to his last professional performance in New York before he moves back to Memphis to live with some family members. His wife is deceased and he is estranged from this children for good reason. I lost interest in his story by the fifth night. I think I would have liked it better if it had been a three-night stand.
The book also focuses on Frank Severs, an out-of-work journalist from Memphis with problems of his own, who flies to New York to interview Pleasant for a freelance piece that he hopes to sell to a magazine. This didn't make sense to me because Frank had to travel at his own expense when funds were tight and Oliver was moving to Memphis immediately after his last performance. Frank could easily have interviewed him in Memphis, although he would not have had an opportunity to see him perform. Frank was the one character who seemed to have some morals. I wondered if Alley patterned him after himself, although Frank and his wife had difficulty conceiving, obviously not a problem for Alley.
The third main character was Agnes Cassady, a piano prodigy who has contracted a debilitating disease. Her story was sad. I had a lot of empathy for her at the beginning of her story, but didn't particularly like her as her story developed.
Although this book was not my cup of tea, I hope Alley will write more books. I will certainly read them.
February 25, 2017
What A Storyteller!
Chose this book without a lot of expectations. But, wow, I loved it from beginning to end. I truly hated to see it end. Can't wait to see more from this author. The characters, their stories and how all were woven together were masterfully done. Made me find some of the people and their music on the net... So enjoyable. I would give it more stars if I could.
Chose this book without a lot of expectations. But, wow, I loved it from beginning to end. I truly hated to see it end. Can't wait to see more from this author. The characters, their stories and how all were woven together were masterfully done. Made me find some of the people and their music on the net... So enjoyable. I would give it more stars if I could.
June 10, 2015
For just a moment I'd like to address the topic of Literature. There are several definitions and even more requirements that people say is required of a novel in order to be qualified as "literary," however I think one of the best explanations of what literature should be comes from Franz Kafka:
"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it?… What we must have are those books which come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves….A book must be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea inside us."
There. The definition of literature is a book that distresses us and breaks the frozen sea of emotion. So basically, any book that touches us and makes us come alive can be considered literature. I am happy to agree with this most basic conclusion and would therefore like to pronounce Five Night Stand a piece of literary fiction.
Richard Alley brings together three jazz enthusiasts in a New York City club and sends his readers on a tumultuous journey through the eyes of a retiring African-American Jazz musician, a young caucasian woman coping with a dibilitating disease, and a middle-aged ex-journalist dealing with marriage issues.
The entire story fits snugly within a five-day period, with Oliver Pleasant playing his last five stands back-to-back before retiring from the music business. Somehow Alley is able to fit three lifetimes within five nights and 272 pages without making the story feel rushed. As a matter of fact, the pacing feels musical in that it matches the events that unfold ever so slowly. When reading the exciting scenes, the reader can almost hear the crescendo in the music and when something sad happens, you can hear the dulcet sounds of a single piano mimicking the pain.
Five Night Stand is beautifully written and expertly told, leaving the reader thinking about it long after reaching the conclusion. Recurring themes include relationships, love, pain, tragedy, and loss. So fully is the reader immersed in Alley's writing that even cheating spouses seems romantic. It isn't until you pull yourself from the world of the novel that you realize that you were under a spell.
Alley's enchanting prose and expert storytelling are why I give Five Night Stand 5/5 stars and will probably purchase the Kindle version (which is free at the moment) as well as a physical copy to loan out.
"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it?… What we must have are those books which come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves….A book must be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea inside us."
There. The definition of literature is a book that distresses us and breaks the frozen sea of emotion. So basically, any book that touches us and makes us come alive can be considered literature. I am happy to agree with this most basic conclusion and would therefore like to pronounce Five Night Stand a piece of literary fiction.
Richard Alley brings together three jazz enthusiasts in a New York City club and sends his readers on a tumultuous journey through the eyes of a retiring African-American Jazz musician, a young caucasian woman coping with a dibilitating disease, and a middle-aged ex-journalist dealing with marriage issues.
The entire story fits snugly within a five-day period, with Oliver Pleasant playing his last five stands back-to-back before retiring from the music business. Somehow Alley is able to fit three lifetimes within five nights and 272 pages without making the story feel rushed. As a matter of fact, the pacing feels musical in that it matches the events that unfold ever so slowly. When reading the exciting scenes, the reader can almost hear the crescendo in the music and when something sad happens, you can hear the dulcet sounds of a single piano mimicking the pain.
Five Night Stand is beautifully written and expertly told, leaving the reader thinking about it long after reaching the conclusion. Recurring themes include relationships, love, pain, tragedy, and loss. So fully is the reader immersed in Alley's writing that even cheating spouses seems romantic. It isn't until you pull yourself from the world of the novel that you realize that you were under a spell.
Alley's enchanting prose and expert storytelling are why I give Five Night Stand 5/5 stars and will probably purchase the Kindle version (which is free at the moment) as well as a physical copy to loan out.
April 21, 2015
ARC received from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
So I requested this pretty much as soon as I saw it, and I am so glad I received it. The story focuses intermittently on several main characters, namely: Oliver Pleasant, a jazz music legend who’s nearing the end of his career, and decides to do a “five night stand” of five live shows as a farewell to playing live; Frank Severs, a journalist who’s writing a feature story about Oliver as an effort to get his career back on track; and Agnes Cassady, another talented musician who’s suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder that will leave her dead in the next few years.
The best part about this book is Alley’s writing about music itself: the way he writes about music is so clear and evocative, you know it has to come from someone who loves music himself, and who’s been around music. His writing style in general is really striking. The story is told well, but there are certain passages where you just have to stop and focus on the writing. In that way, Five Night Stand kind of serves as a love letter to music itself. It’s also evocative of the cities where it’s set, especially Memphis, New Orleans, and New York City.
Though I liked reading about all the characters, I thought in some ways Five Night Stand came off more like a series of vignettes. I didn’t necessarily think this was a bad thing, but the connection between the characters is pretty sparse until more than halfway through the book, where it gets a little clearer. Oliver acts as a great emotional center for the book and a way of tying everything together.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Five Night Stand. I think people who love music, or jazz music in particular, will especially enjoy this book, but I can see a wide audience enjoying this one. It’s probably one of my favorite contemporary fiction releases in a while.
So I requested this pretty much as soon as I saw it, and I am so glad I received it. The story focuses intermittently on several main characters, namely: Oliver Pleasant, a jazz music legend who’s nearing the end of his career, and decides to do a “five night stand” of five live shows as a farewell to playing live; Frank Severs, a journalist who’s writing a feature story about Oliver as an effort to get his career back on track; and Agnes Cassady, another talented musician who’s suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder that will leave her dead in the next few years.
The best part about this book is Alley’s writing about music itself: the way he writes about music is so clear and evocative, you know it has to come from someone who loves music himself, and who’s been around music. His writing style in general is really striking. The story is told well, but there are certain passages where you just have to stop and focus on the writing. In that way, Five Night Stand kind of serves as a love letter to music itself. It’s also evocative of the cities where it’s set, especially Memphis, New Orleans, and New York City.
Though I liked reading about all the characters, I thought in some ways Five Night Stand came off more like a series of vignettes. I didn’t necessarily think this was a bad thing, but the connection between the characters is pretty sparse until more than halfway through the book, where it gets a little clearer. Oliver acts as a great emotional center for the book and a way of tying everything together.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Five Night Stand. I think people who love music, or jazz music in particular, will especially enjoy this book, but I can see a wide audience enjoying this one. It’s probably one of my favorite contemporary fiction releases in a while.
December 16, 2015
Oliver Pleasant, renowned jazz pianist, has decided it's time to retire at age 85. As his final farewell, he is playing five nights at his friend, Benji's, club in New York City. This "five night stand" will bring Oliver together with Agnes, a young, troubled pianist, Frank, a newspaper reporter, and a variety of other characters who will use Oliver's jazz music as a backdrop to their own personal journeys.
In Five Night Stand, Richard J. Alley tells a story about a jazz legend using the rhythm of jazz. Smooth and poetic, Alley's writing style immerses the reader into the musical setting, making you want to linger over the words with an old record playing in the background. The novel is broken into five sections, one for each night of Oliver's final performance. Each section shares a bit more about Oliver, Agnes and Frank, taking us deeper into the music of their lives.
All three main characters drew me into their stories. Though they have diverse backgrounds and have lived very different lives, they are all connected through the music. And this connections sends each of them on a slightly different course than they had expected. Much of the novel is focused on Oliver telling his stories to Frank, Agnes and the young boy who is his neighbor. But we also grow close to Agnes, who is trying understand the illness that is taking over her body, and to Frank, who is searching for meaning in his life.
Five Night Stand is an emotional, musical novel that brings the reader into the jazz scene and shows the impact music can have on people and the trajectory of their lives.
In Five Night Stand, Richard J. Alley tells a story about a jazz legend using the rhythm of jazz. Smooth and poetic, Alley's writing style immerses the reader into the musical setting, making you want to linger over the words with an old record playing in the background. The novel is broken into five sections, one for each night of Oliver's final performance. Each section shares a bit more about Oliver, Agnes and Frank, taking us deeper into the music of their lives.
All three main characters drew me into their stories. Though they have diverse backgrounds and have lived very different lives, they are all connected through the music. And this connections sends each of them on a slightly different course than they had expected. Much of the novel is focused on Oliver telling his stories to Frank, Agnes and the young boy who is his neighbor. But we also grow close to Agnes, who is trying understand the illness that is taking over her body, and to Frank, who is searching for meaning in his life.
Five Night Stand is an emotional, musical novel that brings the reader into the jazz scene and shows the impact music can have on people and the trajectory of their lives.
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