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The Music of the Cosmos
"We must discover the Music of the Cosmos." With these words, visionary, depraved and intensely artistic Gaius piques the curiosity of Sam and his friends, young lads from Kent who have come to Swinging Sixties London in search of musical success.
To further their quest for the otherworldly Music of the Cosmos, the boys leave London for Paris, and experiment with the help of psychotropic drugs designed by a mysterious patron whom only Gaius has ever met. While travelling through rural France to escape the madness of the May 1968 revolution, events take a turn for the tragic—and the supernatural.
The Music of the Cosmos, Carole Bulewski’s debut novel is a supernatural delight. Well written, thought-provoking imagery, that will paint glorious psychedelic images in your mind.
The Music of the Cosmos will play on in your head long after you’ve finished it.
To further their quest for the otherworldly Music of the Cosmos, the boys leave London for Paris, and experiment with the help of psychotropic drugs designed by a mysterious patron whom only Gaius has ever met. While travelling through rural France to escape the madness of the May 1968 revolution, events take a turn for the tragic—and the supernatural.
The Music of the Cosmos, Carole Bulewski’s debut novel is a supernatural delight. Well written, thought-provoking imagery, that will paint glorious psychedelic images in your mind.
The Music of the Cosmos will play on in your head long after you’ve finished it.
648 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2018
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 20, 2025
My first observation is that the young friends from Kent are so young. They leave school and go to London when they are sixteen. They make music, write songs, and try to earn a living. I went to the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 with two friends when I was sixteen and thought that was outrageously adventurous.
Then Sam (our first person narrator) meets mixed-race Alfie, who also joins the band. Life is strange, fun and they are so independent. Until they meet Gaius, who is very wealthy and holds drug fuelled orgies at his house. He is obsessed with The Music of the Cosmos. Of course we know that this is basically music they play when tripping on little yellow pills, similar to LSD I suppose, though I have never done any drugs stronger than a couple of joints in my late teens. I was always too scared.
This wouldn’t normally be the type of book I would read, but it’s beautifully written and Sam is so endearing, as is his best friend Joe to whom he is recounting the tragic events that occurred forty-five years ago after Joe left the band to pursue his love of journalism.
Apart from Gaius, other people appear in their lives, like Martin, who is a friend of Gaius and is in his twenties, and seems to be the steadying influence in the band. In Paris we meet Daniel, with whom Sam spends a lot of time.
The second part of the book is set during the protests and strikes in France in May 1968. The band are left stranded when they run out of petrol on their way to Spain and have to stay at a supposedly haunted house. This is where the book turns sinister and terrifying, with a touch of the supernatural.
The Music of the Cosmos is both original and unique, maybe not a standard modern genre, but something akin to “Psychedelic Literature: A specific movement focused on the use of hallucinogenic drugs and the resulting altered states of consciousness, often with philosophical or spiritual interpretations.” It certainly made for an interesting read.
Then Sam (our first person narrator) meets mixed-race Alfie, who also joins the band. Life is strange, fun and they are so independent. Until they meet Gaius, who is very wealthy and holds drug fuelled orgies at his house. He is obsessed with The Music of the Cosmos. Of course we know that this is basically music they play when tripping on little yellow pills, similar to LSD I suppose, though I have never done any drugs stronger than a couple of joints in my late teens. I was always too scared.
This wouldn’t normally be the type of book I would read, but it’s beautifully written and Sam is so endearing, as is his best friend Joe to whom he is recounting the tragic events that occurred forty-five years ago after Joe left the band to pursue his love of journalism.
Apart from Gaius, other people appear in their lives, like Martin, who is a friend of Gaius and is in his twenties, and seems to be the steadying influence in the band. In Paris we meet Daniel, with whom Sam spends a lot of time.
The second part of the book is set during the protests and strikes in France in May 1968. The band are left stranded when they run out of petrol on their way to Spain and have to stay at a supposedly haunted house. This is where the book turns sinister and terrifying, with a touch of the supernatural.
The Music of the Cosmos is both original and unique, maybe not a standard modern genre, but something akin to “Psychedelic Literature: A specific movement focused on the use of hallucinogenic drugs and the resulting altered states of consciousness, often with philosophical or spiritual interpretations.” It certainly made for an interesting read.
December 14, 2025
It's been a couple of years since I read Bulewski's The Haunting of Wexley Heights, but I remember loving the creepy vibes and that reintroduction to a genre that I hadn't read for a while.
Since then, I've been catching up and really getting back to my love of horror reads.
So when I saw this new release, I was excited to dive in and explore with these new characters.
This read was not as I'd been expecting as for the majority from the start, we are taken on a journey with a group of young lads off to make music in the Capital.
Being set in the 60's we're taken back to a time where life was much more free and the boys are introduced to a different world filled with love and drugs.
The boys seen so young at this point for such an adventure, but this was quite a normal thing back in those days and although this was a little before my time, I did feel that this was a really authentic portrayal of this period in time.
As the group head into France during a time of unrest, this is where we see things turn a little darker and I started to see more of those spooky vibes I had read from this author before.
This was a unique read that kept me gripped from the start - something unexpected, but I really enjoyed the journey.
Since then, I've been catching up and really getting back to my love of horror reads.
So when I saw this new release, I was excited to dive in and explore with these new characters.
This read was not as I'd been expecting as for the majority from the start, we are taken on a journey with a group of young lads off to make music in the Capital.
Being set in the 60's we're taken back to a time where life was much more free and the boys are introduced to a different world filled with love and drugs.
The boys seen so young at this point for such an adventure, but this was quite a normal thing back in those days and although this was a little before my time, I did feel that this was a really authentic portrayal of this period in time.
As the group head into France during a time of unrest, this is where we see things turn a little darker and I started to see more of those spooky vibes I had read from this author before.
This was a unique read that kept me gripped from the start - something unexpected, but I really enjoyed the journey.
November 22, 2025
I'm reviewing this as part of a tour with Hygge Book Tours.
This powerful story takes us to the Swinging Sixties, following the journey of Sam and his friends. Initially, I wasn't too sure what this story would be about, or what the narrator might have to share with me, but I wanted to find out. I wondered if this might be a story of friends discovering their love of music together. It was that, and a whole lot more besides.
I began to wonder what exactly “the music of the cosmos” might mean. Funnily enough, I was several chapters in before I thought about it. The more I carried on reading, however, the more I began to feel that understanding wasn't important; it was the story, and the journey, that was important.
This was a journey of love, discovery, heartache, and everything in between. It was both rewarding and heartbreaking. In fact, I found myself tearful, which was something I hadn't expected at the beginning.
Thank you to Hygge Book Tours, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
This powerful story takes us to the Swinging Sixties, following the journey of Sam and his friends. Initially, I wasn't too sure what this story would be about, or what the narrator might have to share with me, but I wanted to find out. I wondered if this might be a story of friends discovering their love of music together. It was that, and a whole lot more besides.
I began to wonder what exactly “the music of the cosmos” might mean. Funnily enough, I was several chapters in before I thought about it. The more I carried on reading, however, the more I began to feel that understanding wasn't important; it was the story, and the journey, that was important.
This was a journey of love, discovery, heartache, and everything in between. It was both rewarding and heartbreaking. In fact, I found myself tearful, which was something I hadn't expected at the beginning.
Thank you to Hygge Book Tours, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.
November 20, 2025
This was a very unique read. It’s a story in two parts. The first part is the story of Sam and his friends in 1960’s London as they try to find success as a band. They journey through life with psychedelic trips, orgies and all things that are usually associated with the music scene of that time, all under the influence of the wealthy Gaius. The second part moved to France in 1968, a very tumultuous time in that country. They run out of gas on their way to Spain and the story gets a bit creepy. I thought this read was very intriguing, a bit different from what I would usually read, but I enjoyed it.
December 15, 2025
This is my third book by Carole now but I think was originally written before the others as it's mentioned that this was the first she wrote in English! And I once again loved it and was drawn into the story straight away. I've been reading quite slowly recently but raced through this, partly due to it being quite short at a little over 200 pages, and partly due to the intriguing nature of the story and the way it's told. I just had to keep reading on to find out what on earth had happened to Sam and his friends all those years ago.
Our protagonist Sam and his friends are from the calm Herne Bay with dreams of being in a band, each for their own reasons. But after moving to London, meeting other people and various things happening along the way, Joe leaves the band with his heart set on writing more for journalism than songs, and the story starts with present day (2013) Joe trying to get Sam to finally explain what happened to the rest of their friends during that fateful time after they parted ways. It's been 45 years but it still haunts Sam and he hasn't been able to explain to Joe in all the years. We then get to hear the story told from the start, not quite told as if he's explaining to Joe but with that idea all the same. With a mix of storytelling and entries from Gaius' diary that Sam has, I loved the way the story unfolded, with no idea what was going to happen next for most of the book.
I loved our characters, each for their own reason, and even those you're not so keen on have their place in the story and demand sympathy at times. Sam was the perfect protagonist, although sometimes drug-induced and unsure of exact events (as they all were), you really feel for him throughout and understand his choices, even if some of those choices were in hindsight not the best of ideas. Whatever you expect from this book and story, I can almost guarantee it will never be exactly what you're thinking and I loved that about it. It was a great tale of friendship and heartbreak, passion and drive, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read!
Our protagonist Sam and his friends are from the calm Herne Bay with dreams of being in a band, each for their own reasons. But after moving to London, meeting other people and various things happening along the way, Joe leaves the band with his heart set on writing more for journalism than songs, and the story starts with present day (2013) Joe trying to get Sam to finally explain what happened to the rest of their friends during that fateful time after they parted ways. It's been 45 years but it still haunts Sam and he hasn't been able to explain to Joe in all the years. We then get to hear the story told from the start, not quite told as if he's explaining to Joe but with that idea all the same. With a mix of storytelling and entries from Gaius' diary that Sam has, I loved the way the story unfolded, with no idea what was going to happen next for most of the book.
I loved our characters, each for their own reason, and even those you're not so keen on have their place in the story and demand sympathy at times. Sam was the perfect protagonist, although sometimes drug-induced and unsure of exact events (as they all were), you really feel for him throughout and understand his choices, even if some of those choices were in hindsight not the best of ideas. Whatever you expect from this book and story, I can almost guarantee it will never be exactly what you're thinking and I loved that about it. It was a great tale of friendship and heartbreak, passion and drive, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read!
November 24, 2025
Music of the Cosmos by Carole Bulewski.
This was a good read. I loved the cover of this book. That's why I signed up for this tour. It did take me a few chapters to get into this book. I liked the writing style and the story. It took me a few days to read this book. It was just a slow pace for me. I wasn't sure how I felt about the characters. Overall a good read.
This was a good read. I loved the cover of this book. That's why I signed up for this tour. It did take me a few chapters to get into this book. I liked the writing style and the story. It took me a few days to read this book. It was just a slow pace for me. I wasn't sure how I felt about the characters. Overall a good read.
February 21, 2021
A very thought provoking book. Well written with many layers to it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews