Shadow Song

by Terry Kay

In the summer of 1955, Madison Lee "Bobo" Murphy was a waiter at the Catskills' Pine Hill Inn. A rural Southerner, he had never heard the word meshugge until Avrum Feldman -- a retired New York City furrier -- became his unlikely friend. For Bobo, nothing about that special time and place ever lost its glow: Avrum's obsession with the haunting voice of a famous opera diva, music that no one else could hear; the exotic mingling of Yiddish and German in the dining room; and the girl he met and loved.

In everyone's life, Avrum claimed, there is one grand, undeniable moment that never stops mattering. For Bobo, it was his first glimpse of beautiful Amy Lourie. But, for a wealthy Jewish girl and a Georgia farm boy, the summer had to end, leaving Bobo with the pain of lost love. Nearly forty years later, his children grown and marriage comfortably routine, Bobo comes north once more; there, amidst the haunting hints of Amy's presence, she unexpectedly appears. Nothing has dimmed the passion of their youth, yet two lifetimes and a thousand Catskills sunsets stand between who they were and who they have become. The barriers between them are different now. But mysteriously, miraculously, Bobo reawakens the dream of a love larger than himself....

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction

388 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

TERRY KAY, a 2006 inductee into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, is the author of The Book of Marie, recently released by Mercer University Press. Kay has been a sports writer and film/theater reviewer (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), a public relations executive, and a corporate officer. He is the author of nine other published novels, including To Dance with the White Dog, The Valley of Light, Taking Lottie Home, The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene, Shadow Song, The Runaway, Dark Thirty, After Eli, and The Year the Lights Came On, as well as a book of essays (Special K) and a childrens book (To Whom the Angel Spoke)."

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 14 years old, my family took me to Yellowstone National Park. In one of the gift shops I picked up a copy of Shadow Song and the description on the back led me to buy it. It became my favorite book and it has never stopped mattering. At 14, I could not understand a lot of the adult topics in the book completely, but I loved the narrative, the romance lost and and found, and the friendship of a country boy from Georgia and the 'crazy' old Jewish man who heard the Shadow Song. Over the years I have read this book over and over and it takes on new meaning for me. I will always love this book, the way that Avrum loved Amelita Galli-Curci and the way Bobo loved Amy. This book is for anyone who has loved someone and thought they could never be with them. It is for people who cherish the memories of times past. It is lastly for those who love drifting off, on a sea of nostalgia, to a time when they were utterly happy and content.

[Dew Mikelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an awesome book. I have very few book that I will actually purchase to keep and this is one. With all the detective books out there I wanted to read a novel where the people felt real. Shadow song tells a story about someone and life's memories. After reading it I went to the Catskills to look at Pine Hill and Big Indian simply to look around because I enjoyed this book so much.

[Waven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gentle sort of love-story (stories, actually), lacking much of the fanfare and bed-rolling of most romances but still with passion and tension. But what I really love about this book is the setting, a small upstate-New York resort town and its people woven into a character all its own. Seen from both a time of plenty and a time well past its hey-day, it serves as a backdrop to much in these stories and gives them a much deeper, more authentic feel. The first - and perhaps greatest - love story of Shadow Song comes from the peculiar but very likable Avrum, a man who spends most of his life in love with a woman he can never have, the famous opera singer Amelita Galli-Curci. He attends her performances, matches her seasonal migrations, and dreams of her voice even years after her death. In 1955, he makes a strange acquaintance in main character Bobo and a decades-long friendship develops between them. And Bobo has a romance of his own, complete with a girl from a very different background who cannot be his. They are the second great love story here (though certainly not the last), and the tale around which much of the book revolves. It is a reminiscence and a re-discovery, a lovely wander where past and present meet to potentially turn the future. This is not a high-octane rush of hormones; there is not a lot of action and no shouting matches or shootings or shadowy figures on the run. And I'm glad. These stories are so much more beautiful and real without all that. Forget Michael Bay; this is a great little book.

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Kay never fails to satisfy me. His style of writing reminds me of Pat Conroy's, but not quite so ponderous. There are many ahhh moments; his descriptions of places and of emotions are so beautifully written. He makes me really care about his characters, who are ordinary people struggling with the problems we all have.

[Rona Simmons]

Another wonderful cast of characters and love triangle. There’s the frequent Terry Kay invention of an unforgettable “oddball” and man of a mysterious past in Avrum Feldman, and of course the young lovers, Madison Lee Bobo Murphy and Amy. Full of secrets, lies, and complicated relationships, much in my mind a precursor to The Book of Marie and Kay’s final work, The Forever Wish of Middy Sweet.

“It was a life of innocent fantasy and sweetly endured anguish. It was … a life wholly wonderful, but not quite complete. ‘It is very painful,’ he would warn me, ‘to love someone and believe you can never be with them.’”
“Joy and bitterness, he explained, He wanted me to understand the power of secrets. ‘They lift you up, they bring you down,’ he said. ‘But you can do nothing about the. You can only remember.’”

[Juliana Kulak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Club Book - regional (Southern, Georgia). Plus an older lady in our club sighed, "I want to read a love story!" in the cutest Southern drawl you've ever heard. Who could say no to that?

Review: It was great if you're really into romance novels and/or the Hallmark channel. It was kind of both of those. The thing that got on my nerves is that even though it was written by a man, and the main character was a main, it still sounded like a chick wrote it. Not that I'm against chick-lit ... I've read my fair share of Shopaholic ... it's just that this is not what I was expecting. Also, the author is from our part of the south, and we read this as our "regional" piece ... but it takes place in the Catskills. So, kind of a double bust. But, on the other hand, it was a really fast read, and not entirely unenjoyable while mid-read. However, I can't think of a single person to whom I'd recommend it. Save your time, would be my recommendation, and read something more worthwhile.

[Rori Rockman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I shudder every time I think about this book. I read it right before the termination of my first long-term relationship. The story is about a man who married a woman but can't stop thinking about a different woman he met when he was young. The feeling that you're not with the right person and there's someone better out there was persistent throughout this novel and absolutely wormed its way into my consciousness as well.

I'm not blaming this book for splitting us up, that was a break-up waiting to happen. All the same, the only thing I remember about reading this book is the incredibly icky, dismal, guilty feeling it gave me. I do remember that I finished it, and that it was influential enough to affect my mood, so it deserves more than one star. But since I mentally recoil every time I think of this book, I won't give it more than two.

[Laura Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written story! It would be one that would float on air were it read aloud. It is about a girl and a boy who met during the summer of 1955. She was a guest at an Inn in the Catskills and he worked at the Inn. The love that grew between them that summer was stronger and longer lasting than they knew. Thirty or more years pass and the death of an old man who had been a friend to both brings them together again to discover and face the ghosts of the past and the challenges of the present. It is a great read!

[Susan Wedergren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very tender touching story with moments of humor. It's a good story about relationships, love, and imagination. I was disappointed but not surprised by the ending, which is why I did not give it 5 stars.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books EVER....

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first half, about the friendship between the old man and the teen. Hated the 2 nd half and the midlife crisis

[Ylva-Li · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well the pacing was nice. The writing also seemed profound just there were many topics I did not seem to enjoy. I got this book at a big second hand shop. I think as a muslim many things striked me as odd. There was a lot of cheating and "sadness" about marriage that just seems to completely make marriage a negative thing. The man Avrum did strike me as odd and generally I did not appreciate the sudden LGBTQ plot twist. Doesn't connect with what I believe in. I think the only character I liked was Carolyn and spoiler she is not mentioned that often or even a big part of the story. I liked the friendship aspect to it and the setting of the story was nice as well. I wouldn't call it a bad book. Just it is just not for me. I can see why people enjoy it and I would say it is a summer read.
This makes me give the book 2/5.

[Dorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadow Song
by Terry Kay
1994
Pocket Books
3.9 / 5

Madison Lee "Bobo" Murphy was a waiter at the Pine Hill Inn in the Catskills during the summer of 1955. Amy Lourie, a beautiful young daughter of wealthy Jewish parents was a guest that summer. Feelings between Bobo and Amy grew, but it ended that summer when Amy went home. It was a memory Bobo carried with him. Although he married another woman, Carolyn, and had 3 children, his feelings for Amy were always at the back of his mind.

The death of a friend brings Bobo back to the Catskills, 40 years later. He runs into Amy, and again Bobo is torn between what he desires most (Amy) and what is responsible and expected (Carolyn).

Terry Kay brings such depth and emotion to his characters, and their relationships. This is a story of a romance that touches with its honesty and unrequited love. Its also the story of a man, Bobo, who could be any of us, and how his choices have defined and influenced him and his life.
Very good, but a slow starter.

[Bekah Page Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me. It began a bit slow for me but it develops nicely and has a satisfying finish. What surprised me even more was that it was recommended to me by a friend of my daughter's, a young man barely into his twenties and evidently an old soul if he enjoyed this book at this age. It has something of a "Dirty Dancing" vibe to it being set mostly in the Catskills in a resort area and being a story that involves young love but it is more than that. Its also about old love, obsession, aging, art, family and friendships. I could see a re-read in my future and I don't say that very often. Thank you, Adam, for recommending this book.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of mature love clearly from a male authors viewpoint as tits and ass were mentioned more than I needed, but the telling of a love remembered from teen years and now reappearing is one that only older readers will be able to understand and relate to. As the author has aged, so have his characters, all for the better in my opinion, It was easy to fall in love with the Catskills, the slow pace of the village left behind as its Jewish patrons die off and never return. But the characters left behind still live with joy not understood in the big cities, and their song calls the reader back to ask themselves, is it too late for....

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about how the past is never finished for some people. I wanted to give this another star but realized something about it is just too pat. I see many others giving this 5 stars and I can understand that. I think it has to do with where you are in your own life as to how you see this story. I see Bobo as a man who is torn between what he thinks is the right thing and what he really wants.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't too bad...a little too romance-y for my tastes and fairly cliched. The plot unfolded pretty fast. Got a little tired of reading how many times Bobo and Amy made love. And it's really hard to take a main character seriously when their nickname is Bobo. It makes me think of a dancing poodle in a little pink tutu. Yeah, that image really stuck in my head as I was reading, so it was...interesting.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book but it was okay. It travelled between the past and present, in that a non Jewish man from the south, in his 50s comes back to the north to take care of things when an old Jewish friend from his past dies. The two had met in a Catskills resort, where the younger man had gone to work as a teen. This book recounts the happenings of that summer long ago, and the long term effect this man had on his life and relationships. The main character, Bobo, who was an artist(and teacher) came across as a bit holier than thou at times( it was an I book). It seems he was a man of great integrity but it seemed he was too good to be real, even in his teen years when many others of us make unwise even bad decisions. Thankfully the ending was as I had hoped, so it was okay in the end.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book, but the reason for the 4 star is because it has a very slow start. It took awhile to really start feeling what this man was going though. He was a boy from GA that got a job as a waiter in the Catskill in 1955 and met a girl from a rich Jewish family. The book keeps going from 1955 to 1994. Still a good book.

[Valisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Terry Kay. He had me at the first sentence. Reading this book is like reading a poem its lyrical romantic. After I finished the book I knew I had to read more and since then I've read several of Terry case books and just like this one none of them disappoint

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story of a man’s journey back to a little town in the Catskills to honor an old friend who has died and in doing so revisits a perfect summer of his youth and the girl he fell in love with that summer.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as entertaining as I had hoped. But perhaps for someone slightly older than I am, it would bring back good memories.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling, loved it.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Bush liked it, why shouldn't I?

[Jasmin Gentry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of me likes this simply because I cannot remember the last time I read a book set in the 80s.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is great. Love the characters.

[Gisele · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars
An ode to soul mates and friendship

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting and lyrical

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo good!