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‘The sheer definition of a page-turner’ Reader review
‘A truly original, bittersweet tale of life, loss and enduring love that had me completely hooked. A treasure of a book!’ Sunday Times bestseller, Ruth Hogan
‘Stunning, stunning, stunning’ Anstey Harris
This is the story of Ella.
And Robert.
And of all the things they should have said, but never did.
‘What have you been up to?’
I shrug, ‘Just existing, I guess.’
‘Looks like more than just existing.’
Robert gestures at the baby, the lifeboat, the ocean.
‘All right, not existing. Surviving.’
He laughs, not unkindly. ‘Sounds grim.’
‘It wasn’t so bad, really. But I wish you’d been there.’
Ella has known Robert all her life. Through seven key moments and seven key people their journey intertwines.
From the streets of Glasgow during WW2 to the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll of London in the 60s and beyond, this is a story of love and near misses. Of those who come in to our lives and leave it too soon. And of those who stay with you forever…
Readers LOVE When the Music Stops!
‘Endearing and beautifully told’ Janet
‘Stunning …with touches of a modern day Jane Eyre in that invisible space between the pages. Unusual. Rare. Magical. Highly recommended.’ Jenny
‘What a storyteller this author is…The closing chapters are sublime, and brought me to tears. A beautiful ending. This book will remain with me long after I write this review’ Janette
‘It mixes the ordinary with the extraordinary…in one way a version of David Nicholls’ One Day’ Jane
‘I fell in love with this lovely book…it’s about the things that connect us. A terrific read’ Pamela
‘This is going to leave a few people with tears in their eyes…read it in one sitting’ Louisa
‘There was one scene that overwhelmed me, had me crying so much I had to put the book down and take a breather. I went back after 15 mins to re-read, and cried again…Joe Heap does not disappoint’ Reader review
‘ I just loved Ella and lived every step of her journey…a compulsive read’ Bren
‘I’m swiftly becoming a big fan of Joe Heap!’ Emily
‘A truly original, bittersweet tale of life, loss and enduring love that had me completely hooked. A treasure of a book!’ Sunday Times bestseller, Ruth Hogan
‘Stunning, stunning, stunning’ Anstey Harris
This is the story of Ella.
And Robert.
And of all the things they should have said, but never did.
‘What have you been up to?’
I shrug, ‘Just existing, I guess.’
‘Looks like more than just existing.’
Robert gestures at the baby, the lifeboat, the ocean.
‘All right, not existing. Surviving.’
He laughs, not unkindly. ‘Sounds grim.’
‘It wasn’t so bad, really. But I wish you’d been there.’
Ella has known Robert all her life. Through seven key moments and seven key people their journey intertwines.
From the streets of Glasgow during WW2 to the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll of London in the 60s and beyond, this is a story of love and near misses. Of those who come in to our lives and leave it too soon. And of those who stay with you forever…
Readers LOVE When the Music Stops!
‘Endearing and beautifully told’ Janet
‘Stunning …with touches of a modern day Jane Eyre in that invisible space between the pages. Unusual. Rare. Magical. Highly recommended.’ Jenny
‘What a storyteller this author is…The closing chapters are sublime, and brought me to tears. A beautiful ending. This book will remain with me long after I write this review’ Janette
‘It mixes the ordinary with the extraordinary…in one way a version of David Nicholls’ One Day’ Jane
‘I fell in love with this lovely book…it’s about the things that connect us. A terrific read’ Pamela
‘This is going to leave a few people with tears in their eyes…read it in one sitting’ Louisa
‘There was one scene that overwhelmed me, had me crying so much I had to put the book down and take a breather. I went back after 15 mins to re-read, and cried again…Joe Heap does not disappoint’ Reader review
‘ I just loved Ella and lived every step of her journey…a compulsive read’ Bren
‘I’m swiftly becoming a big fan of Joe Heap!’ Emily
384 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2020
42 people are currently reading
618 people want to read
About the author
Joe Heap
4 books42 followersJoe Heap was born in 1986 to a biology teacher and a drama teacher, and grew up in a house that was 70% books, 25% bags of unmarked homework, 18% underpants drying on radiators, and 3% scattered Lego bricks.
He is very bad at maths.
In 2004 Joe won the Foyle Young Poet award, and his poetry has been published in several periodicals. He studied for a BA in English Literature at Stirling University and a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University, during which time he ate a deep-fried Mars Bar. It was okay.
Joe is now a full-time writer, but previously worked as an editor of books for kids and young adults. He has also been a subtitler for BBC News, a face painter at a safari park and a removal man for a dental convention. Before smartphones were invented, he manned a text service where people could ‘ask any question’, but he has since forgotten most of the answers.
He lives in London with his long-suffering girlfriend, short-suffering son, and much-aggrieved tabby cat.
He is very bad at maths.
In 2004 Joe won the Foyle Young Poet award, and his poetry has been published in several periodicals. He studied for a BA in English Literature at Stirling University and a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University, during which time he ate a deep-fried Mars Bar. It was okay.
Joe is now a full-time writer, but previously worked as an editor of books for kids and young adults. He has also been a subtitler for BBC News, a face painter at a safari park and a removal man for a dental convention. Before smartphones were invented, he manned a text service where people could ‘ask any question’, but he has since forgotten most of the answers.
He lives in London with his long-suffering girlfriend, short-suffering son, and much-aggrieved tabby cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
December 26, 2020
When the Music Stops is the second novel by young British novelist Joe Heap - its a haunting and poignant tale of love, friendship and sad ‘might have beens’, and music …..… lots of music.
Ella is a Glaswegian musician and this is principally the story of her life. She receives her first guitar as a child and spends many years playing professionally in bands, working as a session musician and writing songs. Musical styles change and people drift in and out of her life - some relationships are transitory, some more enduring, some tragic but one particular bond stays constant.
The format of the novel is unusual. When browsing in a book shop, in 1948, Ella discovers an obscure book about music - The Songs of the Dead by Jack Shapiro. In it, the author philosophises about music creation and writes about the seven key musical modes, including songs to illustrate his thoughts. This slightly mystical sounding work is then used to give structure to the novel i.e. we visit Ella seven times in her life, first in 1936 and lastly in 1992 - a song preceding each chapter. We also, periodically, spend time with Ella in the present, in strange, unsettling circumstances, as she confronts the ghosts of her past.
When the Music Stops is a lovely book, simply written with flashes of lyricism and wisdom. It’s down to earth, unsentimental and yet whimsical and intensely moving.
Adding further poignancy is a note at the end of the book explaining that the inspiration for the novel was the author’s musician grandparents. We even get pictures chronicling key events in their lives!
Joe Heap gained critical acclaim for his first novel Rules Of Seeing, and has previously won the Foyle young poet of the the year award.
Ella is a Glaswegian musician and this is principally the story of her life. She receives her first guitar as a child and spends many years playing professionally in bands, working as a session musician and writing songs. Musical styles change and people drift in and out of her life - some relationships are transitory, some more enduring, some tragic but one particular bond stays constant.
The format of the novel is unusual. When browsing in a book shop, in 1948, Ella discovers an obscure book about music - The Songs of the Dead by Jack Shapiro. In it, the author philosophises about music creation and writes about the seven key musical modes, including songs to illustrate his thoughts. This slightly mystical sounding work is then used to give structure to the novel i.e. we visit Ella seven times in her life, first in 1936 and lastly in 1992 - a song preceding each chapter. We also, periodically, spend time with Ella in the present, in strange, unsettling circumstances, as she confronts the ghosts of her past.
When the Music Stops is a lovely book, simply written with flashes of lyricism and wisdom. It’s down to earth, unsentimental and yet whimsical and intensely moving.
Adding further poignancy is a note at the end of the book explaining that the inspiration for the novel was the author’s musician grandparents. We even get pictures chronicling key events in their lives!
Joe Heap gained critical acclaim for his first novel Rules Of Seeing, and has previously won the Foyle young poet of the the year award.
January 13, 2021
Wonderfully thought provoking novel about life, death, music, and everything in between. It's heart warming, poignant, and chock-full of characters that will leave little imprints on your thoughts. Lovely stuff.
November 9, 2020
This was such a unique and touching story, that I'm still thinking of Ella and her life right now, many days after I'd finished the book! I loved the distinctive way in which the story is told and how it helps you connect with Ella and the experiences she had in her lifetime.
From the traumatic opening, the story never lets up on emotion and drama. You get the frustrations and despair that Ella is feeling now in her current situation where she is on a boat which is starting to sink, and has to look our for her grandchild, the grandchild she can't remember the name of because she is showing signs of dementia. In her toughest times she is 'visited' by the memories of those in her past that meant so much to her and shaped her life from childhood to adulthood.
As she looks back, she is reminded of those who had such an impact on her life and these flashbacks to key moments in her life just went to show how different events changed the course of her life. The 'what if' moments, the missed opportunites, the quirks of fate that drew different people into her life at testing times. Something we all experience but it's not often til later in life that we truly see how important, or not!, an encounter or experience is.
I loved how it really showed that just when you think life is going to go one way, then there's often a curveball to change the trajectory of things. As she moves away and moves to London to become a session musician, then her life sees her making some bad choices and you fear the worst for her, but the world works in mysterious ways and the past always finds a way of reminding her of what is important to her.
Her life is full of many highs, and many lows and it was such an emotional experience to relive crucial moments and episodes in her life, added to the drama of what she is experiencing in the present and I have to admit, there were tears! Many tears!! It's a story you just get so involved in and seems to remind you to take note of those people who keep appearing in your own story at difficult times.
A staggeringly inventive and emotional read!
From the traumatic opening, the story never lets up on emotion and drama. You get the frustrations and despair that Ella is feeling now in her current situation where she is on a boat which is starting to sink, and has to look our for her grandchild, the grandchild she can't remember the name of because she is showing signs of dementia. In her toughest times she is 'visited' by the memories of those in her past that meant so much to her and shaped her life from childhood to adulthood.
As she looks back, she is reminded of those who had such an impact on her life and these flashbacks to key moments in her life just went to show how different events changed the course of her life. The 'what if' moments, the missed opportunites, the quirks of fate that drew different people into her life at testing times. Something we all experience but it's not often til later in life that we truly see how important, or not!, an encounter or experience is.
I loved how it really showed that just when you think life is going to go one way, then there's often a curveball to change the trajectory of things. As she moves away and moves to London to become a session musician, then her life sees her making some bad choices and you fear the worst for her, but the world works in mysterious ways and the past always finds a way of reminding her of what is important to her.
Her life is full of many highs, and many lows and it was such an emotional experience to relive crucial moments and episodes in her life, added to the drama of what she is experiencing in the present and I have to admit, there were tears! Many tears!! It's a story you just get so involved in and seems to remind you to take note of those people who keep appearing in your own story at difficult times.
A staggeringly inventive and emotional read!
March 20, 2022
took awhile to get into this book but deals with love loss and life as the books starts from in Glasgow through the 60's and 80's of Ella and Robert. thought it was an interesting plot based around music and memories of the past
November 2, 2020
The book’s structure, revisiting seven key moments and people in Ella’s life, was, according to the author, inspired by the ‘Seven Ages of Man’ speech from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. However, as Joe Heap also writes, “This is a book about music, inspired by music” so cleverly incorporated into the story are the seven modes that have been part of musical notation since ancient times.
In When the Music Stops, each of these modes is represented by a song in a music book Ella acquires when she first takes up the guitar. Although other elements of her memory have faded by the time we first meet her as an old woman – alone, in rather strange circumstances – the tunes are still at her fingertips, evoking memories of significant stages in her life – and the people who shared them with her. As she muses, “There are seven songs. I have to play all of them, though I don’t know what will come at the end. I just have to play them.”
The ability of music to evoke memories is just one of the fascinating concepts explored in the book, along with the nature of memory itself and how we experience the passing of time. I’ll leave others to explain Einstein’s theories on the latter but I liked the metaphor Robert, Ella’s friend since childhood, employs. He compares time to a long-playing record. While you’re listening to the second verse of a song, he explains, the first verse is still there but you’re just not listening to it anymore.
As the reader learns, Ella’s life has been punctuated by moments of loss, often signalled by that thing we’ve probably all come to dread – the unexpected early morning or late night telephone call. Robert’s earlier metaphor is applicable here too. As he confides to Ella about a person they both knew, “I don’t think she’s really gone… I just think we can’t see her anymore.”
Another key theme of the book is that of the missed opportunities in life, especially between people like Ella and Robert. ‘The Road Not Taken’ of Robert Frost’s poem, as it were. Their encounters over the years are populated by falsely reassuring thoughts such as “There will be other chances” and fateful hesitations, “The door of possibility stays open, waiting for her to walk through, but she stays put”.
I admired the way the author recreated the atmosphere of each stage on the journey through Ella’s life, referencing the clothing, the television programmes or even the food of the time: the school playground gift of tablet (a sweet similar to fudge for you non-Scots out there) or a corned beef and pickle sandwich prepared for a picnic.
The standout section for me, entitled ‘The Rebel’, was Ella’s experiences as a session musician in 1960s London, rubbing shoulders with many famous, or soon to be famous, bands of the period. (In his acknowledgements, Joe mentions Carol Kaye, “a trailblazing female musician” who played guitar and bass on many hit records and was the inspiration for Ella.) I also found the section entitled ‘The Matron’ particularly moving.
At one point in the book, a character mentions ‘fantastical thinking’ and I think that’s a great description of the premise of this clever but very touching novel. At the online book launch, Joe Heap mentioned fantasy as making up some of his own early reading – books by authors such as Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman – and it’s easy to see that influence in elements of the book. However, more than anything, When the Music Stops is an emotional story of love, loss and the power of the human spirit. I think it would make a great book club choice.
In When the Music Stops, each of these modes is represented by a song in a music book Ella acquires when she first takes up the guitar. Although other elements of her memory have faded by the time we first meet her as an old woman – alone, in rather strange circumstances – the tunes are still at her fingertips, evoking memories of significant stages in her life – and the people who shared them with her. As she muses, “There are seven songs. I have to play all of them, though I don’t know what will come at the end. I just have to play them.”
The ability of music to evoke memories is just one of the fascinating concepts explored in the book, along with the nature of memory itself and how we experience the passing of time. I’ll leave others to explain Einstein’s theories on the latter but I liked the metaphor Robert, Ella’s friend since childhood, employs. He compares time to a long-playing record. While you’re listening to the second verse of a song, he explains, the first verse is still there but you’re just not listening to it anymore.
As the reader learns, Ella’s life has been punctuated by moments of loss, often signalled by that thing we’ve probably all come to dread – the unexpected early morning or late night telephone call. Robert’s earlier metaphor is applicable here too. As he confides to Ella about a person they both knew, “I don’t think she’s really gone… I just think we can’t see her anymore.”
Another key theme of the book is that of the missed opportunities in life, especially between people like Ella and Robert. ‘The Road Not Taken’ of Robert Frost’s poem, as it were. Their encounters over the years are populated by falsely reassuring thoughts such as “There will be other chances” and fateful hesitations, “The door of possibility stays open, waiting for her to walk through, but she stays put”.
I admired the way the author recreated the atmosphere of each stage on the journey through Ella’s life, referencing the clothing, the television programmes or even the food of the time: the school playground gift of tablet (a sweet similar to fudge for you non-Scots out there) or a corned beef and pickle sandwich prepared for a picnic.
The standout section for me, entitled ‘The Rebel’, was Ella’s experiences as a session musician in 1960s London, rubbing shoulders with many famous, or soon to be famous, bands of the period. (In his acknowledgements, Joe mentions Carol Kaye, “a trailblazing female musician” who played guitar and bass on many hit records and was the inspiration for Ella.) I also found the section entitled ‘The Matron’ particularly moving.
At one point in the book, a character mentions ‘fantastical thinking’ and I think that’s a great description of the premise of this clever but very touching novel. At the online book launch, Joe Heap mentioned fantasy as making up some of his own early reading – books by authors such as Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman – and it’s easy to see that influence in elements of the book. However, more than anything, When the Music Stops is an emotional story of love, loss and the power of the human spirit. I think it would make a great book club choice.
December 27, 2021
Broken.
November 16, 2020
‘My whole life was about making some noise to fill the silence, or mask it. Music was an attractive way of doing that, but now music isn’t enough.’
Bibliophiles will understand that every so often a book comes along that is so special it forever leaves a mark on its reader. When The Music Stops is one such book. This book is unique and exquisitely captivating, as it slowly draws you in and stays with you long after the final page is turned. From its traumatic start, the story is one emotional ride - I will continue to reflect on these characters for a long time to come.
This book takes seven key moments in Ella’s life - seven key individuals throughout her long life - all tied together with her great love of music and how it evokes the memories of those times. These are the people who either appear in more than one period or are special with a lesson for just that one moment in time. There are many highs and many devastating lows as each critical episode is retold and added to the present day drama Ella finds herself in. I simply don’t want to give too much away as it is such an engaging read.
‘When would you go back to, if you could?’ Ella asks, in a lull ... she often poses this question to herself ... how far back would she have to go, to make things how she wants them to be?’
Starting in wartime Glasgow, through to London in the sixties, to the present day on a sailboat during a storm - these key events highlight how the course of one’s life can change in an instant. Those possible missed opportunities or fate playing an often unfair role in how one’s life can take shape. Undoubtedly something we can all relate to and only with hindsight understand the lasting ramifications.
The author, Joe Heap, is to be commended for the heartbreaking journey he takes you on and the original way it is presented - storytelling at its finest. From the flashbacks of the past, to the hardships of Ella’s present day dementia, Joe details a sweeping story of survival in more ways than one. I thoroughly recommend this book which came as a complete surprise to me. It is for books such as this, that I read. When events touch you so deeply, when tears spontaneously spring to your eyes, when you turn the final page and your breath is simply taken away.
‘This shouldn’t be the moment, Ella knows. This is not like the moment in the shipyard, where time waited patiently for her to change their destinies. This is just an ordinary moment. But since Sandy died, she has been too aware of these ordinary moments. She wants to make them extraordinary. She doesn’t want to waste any more time, thinking it will never run out.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
Bibliophiles will understand that every so often a book comes along that is so special it forever leaves a mark on its reader. When The Music Stops is one such book. This book is unique and exquisitely captivating, as it slowly draws you in and stays with you long after the final page is turned. From its traumatic start, the story is one emotional ride - I will continue to reflect on these characters for a long time to come.
This book takes seven key moments in Ella’s life - seven key individuals throughout her long life - all tied together with her great love of music and how it evokes the memories of those times. These are the people who either appear in more than one period or are special with a lesson for just that one moment in time. There are many highs and many devastating lows as each critical episode is retold and added to the present day drama Ella finds herself in. I simply don’t want to give too much away as it is such an engaging read.
‘When would you go back to, if you could?’ Ella asks, in a lull ... she often poses this question to herself ... how far back would she have to go, to make things how she wants them to be?’
Starting in wartime Glasgow, through to London in the sixties, to the present day on a sailboat during a storm - these key events highlight how the course of one’s life can change in an instant. Those possible missed opportunities or fate playing an often unfair role in how one’s life can take shape. Undoubtedly something we can all relate to and only with hindsight understand the lasting ramifications.
The author, Joe Heap, is to be commended for the heartbreaking journey he takes you on and the original way it is presented - storytelling at its finest. From the flashbacks of the past, to the hardships of Ella’s present day dementia, Joe details a sweeping story of survival in more ways than one. I thoroughly recommend this book which came as a complete surprise to me. It is for books such as this, that I read. When events touch you so deeply, when tears spontaneously spring to your eyes, when you turn the final page and your breath is simply taken away.
‘This shouldn’t be the moment, Ella knows. This is not like the moment in the shipyard, where time waited patiently for her to change their destinies. This is just an ordinary moment. But since Sandy died, she has been too aware of these ordinary moments. She wants to make them extraordinary. She doesn’t want to waste any more time, thinking it will never run out.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
September 28, 2022
This was one of those books that I picked up for 99p on the Amazon Kindle deal. The cover instantly told me it would be something I’d like and once I read the synopsis I was ready to get stuck in. I then found this book as an audio and thought the music element might make for an interesting listen.
The story is told from the POV of Ella, an elderly lady who finds herself in dangerous circumstances. It is clear from the start the Ella’s mind isn’t what it used to be, as a reader I found myself questioning what was really happening and hoped that this would be some strange dream of Ella’s. Alas this was not the case. Whilst navigating these dangerous circumstances Ella tells us her story through a series of flashbacks.
To put it plainly Ella’s story is like many others we have heard before. Listening to her anecdotes of her childhood she could easily be describing anyone’s childhood and I think that’s what I liked about it. This book wasn’t all singing all dancing filled with twist after twist but it was completely relatable. As a protagonist Ella was strong willed, forthright and at times lonely. Learning more about her and her complicated relationship with Robert was beautiful to read.
Despite all the loses she suffered I think it showed, at the end, just how much each of those people meant to her and what effect they had on her life. From her childhood friend to a fellow expecting mum we discovered a lot of brilliant people in Ella’s past and the support they gave her on board the ship was heart warming to say the least.
The added touches of music at several points in the story was lovely. I really enjoyed listening to the excerpts.
The story is told from the POV of Ella, an elderly lady who finds herself in dangerous circumstances. It is clear from the start the Ella’s mind isn’t what it used to be, as a reader I found myself questioning what was really happening and hoped that this would be some strange dream of Ella’s. Alas this was not the case. Whilst navigating these dangerous circumstances Ella tells us her story through a series of flashbacks.
To put it plainly Ella’s story is like many others we have heard before. Listening to her anecdotes of her childhood she could easily be describing anyone’s childhood and I think that’s what I liked about it. This book wasn’t all singing all dancing filled with twist after twist but it was completely relatable. As a protagonist Ella was strong willed, forthright and at times lonely. Learning more about her and her complicated relationship with Robert was beautiful to read.
Despite all the loses she suffered I think it showed, at the end, just how much each of those people meant to her and what effect they had on her life. From her childhood friend to a fellow expecting mum we discovered a lot of brilliant people in Ella’s past and the support they gave her on board the ship was heart warming to say the least.
The added touches of music at several points in the story was lovely. I really enjoyed listening to the excerpts.
December 24, 2020
There aren’t many books that I put 5 starts. But this one totally deserves it. I didn’t want this to end.
October 30, 2020
Every now and again I come across a book that is so unique, so different, that I am left reeling. When the Music Stops is one of those books.
The story takes us through the ‘seven stages of woman’ (inspired by Shakespeare’s seven stages of man in As You Like It *) – from Ella’s life as a child in Glasgow and her first experience of losing someone close to her when she was still a child, to now, when she is old. She is on a boat. It is starting to sink and is gradually filling with water. Ella is 87 and alone apart from a baby which she discovers in a room which has been turned into a nursery. The baby is very young and needs looking after. This part really stressed me out while I was reading. I kept praying nothing would happen to him.
As she grows up, she meets a lot of people while playing the guitar in various bands and as a session musician. A few of those people have a marked impact on her life and some of them die too soon – I’m sure we have all experienced this. My friend Sally suddenly left school one day when we were about 14 and never returned. We all knew she was ill. I didn’t see her again until she was 35. In the intervening time she had married, divorced, miscarried twice, had kidney failure and a heart attack. She died a few months later. She was 36. I think she would be on my boat if I had one, along with my sister who died before I was born.
Suddenly Ella is no longer alone on the boat. Her first visitor is someone we know to be dead. We then go back to Ella’s twenties, where someone else close to her dies and they also turn up on the boat. We know they are dead and that Ella is not, and I still kept worrying about the baby, not being sure if he was really there, other than the fact that he needed feeding and changing. Like the dog in the laundry basket in The Sixth Sense, to begin with I just wasn’t sure if he was also dead.
One constant in Ella’s life is Robert, also a musician – music is the theme that runs through Ella’s life – and the older brother of her best friend Rene. He is always there, yet not there, and neither can admit how they really feel. They seem to live parallel lives, which never come together. As the reader you really want them to.
Towards the end I was totally overwhelmed and had to take a break or I would have started crying and not been able to stop. Writing this review made me cry. It is rare for a story to have such a profound effect on me and make me feel so happy and sad at the same time. This is one book I will definitely read again (and I almost never do that). One of my top three books of 2020.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“All the world’s a stage” – Jacques’ monologue from As You Like It by William Shakespeare *
The story takes us through the ‘seven stages of woman’ (inspired by Shakespeare’s seven stages of man in As You Like It *) – from Ella’s life as a child in Glasgow and her first experience of losing someone close to her when she was still a child, to now, when she is old. She is on a boat. It is starting to sink and is gradually filling with water. Ella is 87 and alone apart from a baby which she discovers in a room which has been turned into a nursery. The baby is very young and needs looking after. This part really stressed me out while I was reading. I kept praying nothing would happen to him.
As she grows up, she meets a lot of people while playing the guitar in various bands and as a session musician. A few of those people have a marked impact on her life and some of them die too soon – I’m sure we have all experienced this. My friend Sally suddenly left school one day when we were about 14 and never returned. We all knew she was ill. I didn’t see her again until she was 35. In the intervening time she had married, divorced, miscarried twice, had kidney failure and a heart attack. She died a few months later. She was 36. I think she would be on my boat if I had one, along with my sister who died before I was born.
Suddenly Ella is no longer alone on the boat. Her first visitor is someone we know to be dead. We then go back to Ella’s twenties, where someone else close to her dies and they also turn up on the boat. We know they are dead and that Ella is not, and I still kept worrying about the baby, not being sure if he was really there, other than the fact that he needed feeding and changing. Like the dog in the laundry basket in The Sixth Sense, to begin with I just wasn’t sure if he was also dead.
One constant in Ella’s life is Robert, also a musician – music is the theme that runs through Ella’s life – and the older brother of her best friend Rene. He is always there, yet not there, and neither can admit how they really feel. They seem to live parallel lives, which never come together. As the reader you really want them to.
Towards the end I was totally overwhelmed and had to take a break or I would have started crying and not been able to stop. Writing this review made me cry. It is rare for a story to have such a profound effect on me and make me feel so happy and sad at the same time. This is one book I will definitely read again (and I almost never do that). One of my top three books of 2020.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“All the world’s a stage” – Jacques’ monologue from As You Like It by William Shakespeare *
January 30, 2025
The story of Ella, currently 87 years old and has dementia. She is on a boat in a storm with her daughter, her daughter’s partner and her grandson, she is left looking after her grandson (who she can’t remember his name). The story flashes back to her childhood in Glasgow and receiving her first guitar and music book, with 7 songs and each one gives a story of a different stage in her life and people that were part of her life. Beautifully written and the story stays with you long after the last page.
June 4, 2025
„Aber ich habe die Gitarre in der Hand und den Ton im Hals. Ich bin bereit zu spielen. Donner grollt, aber ich ignoriere ihn. Er ist bloß ein angeberischer Perkussionist. Ich schlage den ersten Akkord an und fange an zu singen.“
Das sind die Gedanken der alten Protagonistin Ella aus dem Buch „Wenn die Musik verklingt“ von Joe Heap. Wie ich auf dieses Buch aufmerksam geworden bin, weiß ich ehrlich gesagt nicht mehr, aber ich bin froh, dass ich es für mich entdeckt habe und in wenigen Tagen durchgerauscht bin. Dabei ist das Buch eher wieder ein ruhig erzähltes Buch und langsam aber sicher, brauche ich wohl auch mal wieder etwas mehr Aktion.
„Wenn die Musik verklingt“ erzählt die Geschichte der Profimusikerin Ella. Es ist ein Buch voller Musik (für den ein oder anderen Leser vielleicht zu viel Musik?) über ein Leben voller Höhen und Tiefen, ein Buch über Freundschaft, Liebe und Verlust, ein Leben an das sich die alte demente Ella, scheinbar allein auf einem in Seenot geratenen Schiff hier erinnert. Lange Zeit wusste ich nicht wirklich, wie ich die Rahmenhandlung auf dem Boot zu greifen habe. Ist es nur „sinnbildlich“ gemeint oder ist der Sturm, das Unglück auf dem Wasser wirklich passiert? Ich weiß auch nicht wirklich, ob ich diese Rahmenhandlung so wirklich gebraucht hätte. Ich denke, das hätte man auch anders lösen können.
Das Buch ist dank der unkomplizierten Sprache schnell und flüssig zu lesen und trotzdem ist es ein Buch voller schöner Sätze, die einen innehalten lassen. Was mich letztlich an diesem Buch so fasziniert hat, kann ich gar nicht sagen. Vermutlich fühle ich mich Ella aufgrund unserer gemeinsamen Liebe und Leidenschaft zur Musik besonders verbunden, auch wenn ich ihr nie so nahe gekommen bin, wie es hätte möglich sein können.
Auch wenn ich das Buch sehr mochte, weiß ich nicht, ob ich es uneingeschränkt jedem Leser/ jeder Leserin empfehlen würde. Mir hat, denke ich, meine Leidenschaft zur Musik und auch Kenntnis in Sachen Musiktheorie, hier schon geholfen. Gut möglich, dass das auch als etwas zu viel Musik-Theorie empfunden werden kann.
Das sind die Gedanken der alten Protagonistin Ella aus dem Buch „Wenn die Musik verklingt“ von Joe Heap. Wie ich auf dieses Buch aufmerksam geworden bin, weiß ich ehrlich gesagt nicht mehr, aber ich bin froh, dass ich es für mich entdeckt habe und in wenigen Tagen durchgerauscht bin. Dabei ist das Buch eher wieder ein ruhig erzähltes Buch und langsam aber sicher, brauche ich wohl auch mal wieder etwas mehr Aktion.
„Wenn die Musik verklingt“ erzählt die Geschichte der Profimusikerin Ella. Es ist ein Buch voller Musik (für den ein oder anderen Leser vielleicht zu viel Musik?) über ein Leben voller Höhen und Tiefen, ein Buch über Freundschaft, Liebe und Verlust, ein Leben an das sich die alte demente Ella, scheinbar allein auf einem in Seenot geratenen Schiff hier erinnert. Lange Zeit wusste ich nicht wirklich, wie ich die Rahmenhandlung auf dem Boot zu greifen habe. Ist es nur „sinnbildlich“ gemeint oder ist der Sturm, das Unglück auf dem Wasser wirklich passiert? Ich weiß auch nicht wirklich, ob ich diese Rahmenhandlung so wirklich gebraucht hätte. Ich denke, das hätte man auch anders lösen können.
Das Buch ist dank der unkomplizierten Sprache schnell und flüssig zu lesen und trotzdem ist es ein Buch voller schöner Sätze, die einen innehalten lassen. Was mich letztlich an diesem Buch so fasziniert hat, kann ich gar nicht sagen. Vermutlich fühle ich mich Ella aufgrund unserer gemeinsamen Liebe und Leidenschaft zur Musik besonders verbunden, auch wenn ich ihr nie so nahe gekommen bin, wie es hätte möglich sein können.
Auch wenn ich das Buch sehr mochte, weiß ich nicht, ob ich es uneingeschränkt jedem Leser/ jeder Leserin empfehlen würde. Mir hat, denke ich, meine Leidenschaft zur Musik und auch Kenntnis in Sachen Musiktheorie, hier schon geholfen. Gut möglich, dass das auch als etwas zu viel Musik-Theorie empfunden werden kann.
Read
October 8, 2020This was my first read by this author and I can honestly say it won't be my last. The author has a way with words that pulls you in from the very first sentence and takes you on a journey you won't forget for quite some time. In When the Music Stops the main character Ella is suffering from dementia and the story begins with her on a boat with her daughter and grandson. There's a storm and 87 year old Ella finds herself alone with just the baby when she wakes up.
Music plays an integral part in this emotional story and it is the key to unlocking Ella's memories of growing up in Scotland and her life ever since. It's beautifully told and I loved how each of the characters showed up at just the right time and how through it all, Robert remained a constant. Ella's life is revealed through the narrative as we travel between the present and the past and it is wonderfully done.
I was completely gripped by the story and loved how it unfolded even bringing a few tears along the way. It's easy to give this book 5 stars and if you are looking for a story that includes music and love, this is one that you won't regret reading.
Music plays an integral part in this emotional story and it is the key to unlocking Ella's memories of growing up in Scotland and her life ever since. It's beautifully told and I loved how each of the characters showed up at just the right time and how through it all, Robert remained a constant. Ella's life is revealed through the narrative as we travel between the present and the past and it is wonderfully done.
I was completely gripped by the story and loved how it unfolded even bringing a few tears along the way. It's easy to give this book 5 stars and if you are looking for a story that includes music and love, this is one that you won't regret reading.
June 13, 2022
the ending would’ve been perfect if little robert wasn’t left all alone
February 21, 2021
This book. This book... Guys, this book is a real gem.
This is the story of Ella and Robert, whose lives began on the same Glasgow Street and which are intertwined through both loss and music through the decades. Structured around the seven modes which music has been arranged since ancient times, this story takes us from present-day Ella - elderly and stranded in a perilous situation - back to pivotal points in her life where Robert and a cast of other wonderful characters played defining roles.
This book blends shades of One Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven with ghosts, music and a building sense of tragic tension to create something totally unique. From Glasgow during WW2 to the London beatnik scene, recording studios to a burns unit, bedsits to a luxury cruiser, we visit Ella in every stage of her life. And carrying us through is Heap's simple yet gorgeous prose, with a touch of whimsy to stop this book ever being dark or bleak. And of course, there is the music. Almost a character itself, its power hums through the pages. I really appreciated how the importance of music in dementia patients is really core to this book, and linked it all together.
I adored this book, and will definitely be adding Joe Heap to my auto-buy authors!
I was sent a Netgalley of this title from HarperCollins in return for a review. All opinions my own.
This is the story of Ella and Robert, whose lives began on the same Glasgow Street and which are intertwined through both loss and music through the decades. Structured around the seven modes which music has been arranged since ancient times, this story takes us from present-day Ella - elderly and stranded in a perilous situation - back to pivotal points in her life where Robert and a cast of other wonderful characters played defining roles.
This book blends shades of One Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven with ghosts, music and a building sense of tragic tension to create something totally unique. From Glasgow during WW2 to the London beatnik scene, recording studios to a burns unit, bedsits to a luxury cruiser, we visit Ella in every stage of her life. And carrying us through is Heap's simple yet gorgeous prose, with a touch of whimsy to stop this book ever being dark or bleak. And of course, there is the music. Almost a character itself, its power hums through the pages. I really appreciated how the importance of music in dementia patients is really core to this book, and linked it all together.
I adored this book, and will definitely be adding Joe Heap to my auto-buy authors!
I was sent a Netgalley of this title from HarperCollins in return for a review. All opinions my own.
November 8, 2020
A totally ingenious, unique and touching novel about music,love ,loss and life. It tells the story of Ella and Robert through flashbacks of their lives.It introduces seven characters from seven moments in their lives. Each one has a piece of music which relates to each person. I loved Ella's character and the way she went through life wanting to say so much but afraid to. Music is a big part of this novel as both Ella and Robert play instruments but their relationship started when Ella was seven and Robert ten . They lived on the same street and tragedy brought them together and thus begins their story. I was emotionally drained but in a good way by the end of it. Thank you to Joe Heap and Harper Collins for sending me a copy to read. Not only is the cover beautiful but the story is too. I look forward to hearing the audio version with the music as well.
October 28, 2020
This is a beautifully written story of life, love, loss and serendipity. Music and the number seven define the parameters of this story which explores Ella's life and her lifelong love of Robert. The writing is lyrical, as Ella revisits her past at seven pivotal times and introduces seven characters who left their emotional mark on her life.
The flashbacks are vivid and written with historical details and insight. They immerse the reader into the story and make it believable. Throughout, Ella is authentic and flawed. Her mistakes are a reflection of her humanity, and they make you consider your life and choices. The love story is gentle and tragic, but this is real love, and it's ending is worthy of the angst.
I read this in a day and enjoyed it for its originality, realism and supernatural twist.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The flashbacks are vivid and written with historical details and insight. They immerse the reader into the story and make it believable. Throughout, Ella is authentic and flawed. Her mistakes are a reflection of her humanity, and they make you consider your life and choices. The love story is gentle and tragic, but this is real love, and it's ending is worthy of the angst.
I read this in a day and enjoyed it for its originality, realism and supernatural twist.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
February 8, 2021
Ella, an elderly woman with dementia, revisits her life through the music that is somehow still carved into her memory as the other connections to her past fade. Through stories of love and loss, we follow her story from interwar Glasgow, through sixties London to the present day. I felt so emotionally connected to the main figures in this story, which is deftly told by the author through a central musical motif.
March 10, 2021
Wow! This book will be with me for a while! My heart was in my throat most of the way through! An absolute must to listen to this as an audiobook because of the musical 🎵 element!
The overview doesn’t prepare you! Would love to read more of this author
The overview doesn’t prepare you! Would love to read more of this author
November 7, 2020
There are some books that just take my breath away, that become seared into my brain. There are some books whose characters become a part of my life, almost living and breathing alongside of me. There are some books that I will never, ever forget. When The Music Stops is one of those books.
Magnificently structured, and written so beautifully, I was totally swept away by this story. Ella and Robert are two of the most cleverly constructed, utterly realistic; flawed, yet perfectly so. I can see this story played out on the big screen, and what a tear jerker it would be.
The reader meets Ella when she is in her late eighties. It's a strange, almost ethereal opening, but one that catches the imagination instantly. Ella is alone, on a boat on the Ionian Sea. She's unsure what has happened to her daughter, and there's water coming in from somewhere. Ella remembers .... the baby ..... and sure enough, there's her tiny grandson, also alone, and also in a cabin that's filling with water.
This opening passage is frantic, my heart was in my mouth, wondering what on earth has happened and will happen. It's sometimes pretty difficult to read, the outcome seems inevitable at times.
The author then takes us back to Ella's early years. She's a small girl and it's 1936. The reader learns about Ella's best friend Rene, about their relationship and about the greatest sadness of Ella's life. A sadness that will continue throughout her life.
This is a book of 'seven's; and incorporates seven key moments in Ella's long and fascinating life. We meet the seven most influential people in her life and we learn about seven pieces of music that each hold an individual memory for her.
Ella leads a life that is full, and fast. She has incredible highs as her musical career blooms. She also has the lowest of lows, as she falls under the influence of people and substances who she thinks are friends, but only destroy her. Throughout this, Robert is always there. Sometimes nearby, often far away geographically, but always with her emotionally. Robert is the older brother of her childhood friend Rene and shared her first loss and becomes part of every key moment that follows.
I could write for hours about When The Music Stops. There is so much to say, so many factors to unpick and so many colourful characters to love. It's utterly beautiful; the way that it's put together; the creation of characters who worm their way into your life and the wonderful sense of place and era.
As the strap line says; 'some people change your world forever'; they certainly do, and some books can change you too.
This is bold, inventive and perceptive. Dazzlingly good, this one will stay with me forever. Highly recommended.
Magnificently structured, and written so beautifully, I was totally swept away by this story. Ella and Robert are two of the most cleverly constructed, utterly realistic; flawed, yet perfectly so. I can see this story played out on the big screen, and what a tear jerker it would be.
The reader meets Ella when she is in her late eighties. It's a strange, almost ethereal opening, but one that catches the imagination instantly. Ella is alone, on a boat on the Ionian Sea. She's unsure what has happened to her daughter, and there's water coming in from somewhere. Ella remembers .... the baby ..... and sure enough, there's her tiny grandson, also alone, and also in a cabin that's filling with water.
This opening passage is frantic, my heart was in my mouth, wondering what on earth has happened and will happen. It's sometimes pretty difficult to read, the outcome seems inevitable at times.
The author then takes us back to Ella's early years. She's a small girl and it's 1936. The reader learns about Ella's best friend Rene, about their relationship and about the greatest sadness of Ella's life. A sadness that will continue throughout her life.
This is a book of 'seven's; and incorporates seven key moments in Ella's long and fascinating life. We meet the seven most influential people in her life and we learn about seven pieces of music that each hold an individual memory for her.
Ella leads a life that is full, and fast. She has incredible highs as her musical career blooms. She also has the lowest of lows, as she falls under the influence of people and substances who she thinks are friends, but only destroy her. Throughout this, Robert is always there. Sometimes nearby, often far away geographically, but always with her emotionally. Robert is the older brother of her childhood friend Rene and shared her first loss and becomes part of every key moment that follows.
I could write for hours about When The Music Stops. There is so much to say, so many factors to unpick and so many colourful characters to love. It's utterly beautiful; the way that it's put together; the creation of characters who worm their way into your life and the wonderful sense of place and era.
As the strap line says; 'some people change your world forever'; they certainly do, and some books can change you too.
This is bold, inventive and perceptive. Dazzlingly good, this one will stay with me forever. Highly recommended.
November 6, 2020
This was one of those novels that came as a complete surprise. I had no idea what to expect as I’d never read Joe Heap’s work before, but what started out adagio builds to an absolute crescendo of emotion and I shed tears over Ella’s story. Through two time frames we meet Ella as an old lady shipwrecked on a yacht called Mnemosyne with a small baby. She’s struggling physically and seems forgetful, whether through injury or age we don’t know at first. Then we are taken back to different points in her life, significant moments with specific people. Whether with her for a short or long time, these are people she has lost and that loss had a massive impact on her life. We first meet Ella when she’s a little girl, living in a Glasgow tenement and spending time between her home and that of her friend Rene. Rene has a beautiful guitar, made for her by her father and Ella is quite jealous of it, wishing she had a father who could make such things. One evening, after school Ella wants to avoid going home and keeps Rene out in the cold on a local playground. Rene has asthma. The next morning, when Ella wakes she senses something wrong and when she goes into the main room where her parents are up and making breakfast she sees Rene’s guitar and knows immediately. Her friend is gone.
This loss when she is so young, sets in motion events that will resonate throughout her life. First, it brings her into contact with Rene’s brother Robert who is a few years older. He brings her a parcel and she expects something terrible, some retribution or punishment for what she sees as her culpability in his sister’s death. What she opens is a block of ‘tablet’ a Scottish fudge-like sweet made by their mother with sugar and condensed milk. This gift cements their friendship, one which will last their entire lives. Secondly, after vowing never to look at Rene’s guitar she decides to learn and her father takes her to a music shop for a beginner’s guitar book. Yet Ella is drawn to something different. She picks up a book of seven guitar exercises featuring songs that encompass stages of life, from the child to the crone. Called The Songs of the Dead, the shop owner is unsure whether it’s suitable for a child but Ella is sure. It is each of these exercises that separates the sections of the book. The structure is incredibly well done, it feels natural and organic rather than a forced device.
Each section comprises the song, the memory and then Ella’s present situation with an unusual element - each person she has lost returns from the past with her. It is never explained whether this is a supernatural element, whether Ella is hallucinating these characters or whether they’re a way of expressing how she remembers these people’s contribution to her life. Each one brings something to the present whether it is the mechanical expertise wanted to pump out the water in the hold, or a philosophical context to Ella’s experience. I loved how her friend Sandy describes life, death and time using the vinyl record as inspiration. He believes that we all still exist in time, even after death. In the same way other music tracks exist on a record, even while we’re playing a different one. The other tracks are always there, we have the memory of playing them, or anticipate hearing them again. They’re not wiped the moment a needle leaves the groove. There’s also the concept of two types of time; the time measured by clocks, work hours and timetables and a different kind of internal time. It’s something I discovered through meditation, but we all experience it from time flying when we’re having fun or the feel that summer holidays used to last forever when we were children. Time seems to speed up as we get older, it barely seems like we’ve got one Christmas over before another is round the corner. As adults we need to find positive ways to slow down our internal time such as mindfulness. For Ella, time is coming full circle, and she’s slowly revisiting each life that touched hers either for a moment or for a lifetime. Each character is so fully realised. I loved Lester, a one time lover of Ella’s who helps her cope with the baby when he’s ill. I found Mai, a young woman who met Ella briefly in the labour ward as they both gave birth to their children. In finding each other again Ella can fill in the gaps in Mai’s knowledge and reacquaint her with a son she never knew. In return Mai can help Ella face a loss she hadn’t fully apprehended. Each person’s story is so emotional and so real. I love that the author doesn’t judge any of the characters we meet, even where their influence on Ella isn’t always a positive one. We see them as fully rounded people and with such fondness, possibly because we’re seeing them through Ella’s lens and her love for them shines through.
The settings are also vivid. I throughly enjoyed Ella’s period in London, playing as a session guitarist and sharing a flat with Robert. Musicians come and go, and the flat is a whirlwind of jam sessions and parties. The 1960s were equally exciting as Ella becomes very sought after and chance finds her playing on tracks with some famous names. Of course the party can’t last and not all Ella’s experiences are happy ones, but she learns from each one. Her time as a nurse in a burns unit was also well drawn and as anyone who cares for others knows, there are patients who will remember what you did for them and others who get under your skin and stay with you forever. Like every life there are moments of bliss, excitement and love. Similarly there are moments of grief, dislocation and despair. All the time Robert is there, repeating like a musical refrain, rippling quietly under the surface of the music or occasionally becoming the main melody. We all have those people who come and go, who don’t always figure in our everyday lives, but who are constantly there. There were so many points where I thought of my own life. I thought of my friend Elliot who I was close with through school, and after university, and who I see intermittently but think of constantly. My friend Nigel who died only a couple of years ago, we were only friends for a few years but he taught me so much, made me laugh and simply let me sit in his house and relax when I was a full time carer and desperately needed an escape. I am one of those people who fall in love with people I meet regardless of age, gender or situation in life. So, when I’ve worked in care there have been patients who have stayed with me forever, especially a little 90 year old lady called Mary who could sit on her own hair. I would go in on my days off and wash and dry it for her and she often used to sneak up and put her little hand in mine and follow me about while I made beds and doled out biscuits. I’ve often wondered when my time comes who would come to meet me. For anyone who has lost someone this story is especially poignant, but somehow it manages to stop short of sentimentality. Instead it feels profound, honest and raw and left me with such a beautiful bittersweet afterglow.
July 2, 2024
This is such a moving story of Ella.Beginning on a stranded boat with Ella and her little grandson it chronicles her life over the years.
Poignant,beautifully written and the ending broke me.
Poignant,beautifully written and the ending broke me.
November 3, 2020
When the Music Stops is a fascinating look through all the myriad facets which make up the minutiae of a life. From childhood, through to the infirmity of old age, we follow the story of Ella and Robert from their school days in wartime Glasgow, through to the London of the swinging sixties, and beyond, and each time their lives intertwine so little pieces of themselves are left behind.
Through seven important key points and with a continuous love for music, Ella's life is explored in detail, gently examining those moments which have been so important to her. Moving as it does between time frames, we begin to understand more about Ella, not just her past, but also her present, her regrets, and her successes, all of which give credence to her world which, in her eighties, has begun to be confusing to her.
I enjoyed following Ella's journey through her fascinating life and the interesting way the story evolves helps to keep everything flowing in a thought-provoking way. Ella's colourful life as a musician comes to life, in particular through the music scores which are scattered like jewels throughout the more pertinent moments of her life.
Taking inspiration from his own grandparents story, the author has written a beautifully, described look at love, loss, regrets and, ultimately, the treasure of keeping alive the memory of those people who capture our heart forever.
Through seven important key points and with a continuous love for music, Ella's life is explored in detail, gently examining those moments which have been so important to her. Moving as it does between time frames, we begin to understand more about Ella, not just her past, but also her present, her regrets, and her successes, all of which give credence to her world which, in her eighties, has begun to be confusing to her.
I enjoyed following Ella's journey through her fascinating life and the interesting way the story evolves helps to keep everything flowing in a thought-provoking way. Ella's colourful life as a musician comes to life, in particular through the music scores which are scattered like jewels throughout the more pertinent moments of her life.
Taking inspiration from his own grandparents story, the author has written a beautifully, described look at love, loss, regrets and, ultimately, the treasure of keeping alive the memory of those people who capture our heart forever.
November 28, 2024
4,5 Sterne
"Wenn die Musik verklingt" ist ein fantastisches Buch!
Nach einem Sturm sind nur noch die Protagonistin Ella und das Baby ihrer Tochter an Board. Alle anderen sind spurlos verschwunden und plötzlich braucht es jemand der Verantwortung übernimmt.
Aber was passiert, wenn eine demente Frau, die kaum zum selbstständigen Leben fähig ist und sich nicht einmal an den Namen ihres Enkels erinnert, plötzlich alleine auf einem Segelschiff mitten im Meer treibt?
Der Autor schreibt unglaublich fesselnd, zeigt auf, wie sich ein Mensch mit Demenz verändert und was trotzdem noch alles möglich ist. Abwechselnd erzählen die Kapitel von Ella's Vergangenheit, in der sie viele schlimme Verluste ertragen musste und der Gegenwart auf dem sinkenden Schiff.
Besonders spannend waren für mich die Stellen im Buch, in denen beide Welten miteinander verschmolzen. Denn nach jedem Kapitel aus der Vergangenheit, in dem Ella einen geliebten Menschen verlieren musste, trat dieser als "Geist", beziehungsweise als visuelle Erinnerung, in ihre missliche Situation auf dem Schiff ein, um ihr zur Seite zu stehen und beim Erinnern zu helfen.
Das Buch ist fesselnd geschrieben, unglaublich tief, bewegend und eine absolute Leseempfehlung! Es liest sich total flüssig und ich konnte es gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.
Zu den 5 Sternen hat mir in manchen Momenten lediglich etwas Emotionalität gefehlt.
"Wenn die Musik verklingt" ist ein fantastisches Buch!
Nach einem Sturm sind nur noch die Protagonistin Ella und das Baby ihrer Tochter an Board. Alle anderen sind spurlos verschwunden und plötzlich braucht es jemand der Verantwortung übernimmt.
Aber was passiert, wenn eine demente Frau, die kaum zum selbstständigen Leben fähig ist und sich nicht einmal an den Namen ihres Enkels erinnert, plötzlich alleine auf einem Segelschiff mitten im Meer treibt?
Der Autor schreibt unglaublich fesselnd, zeigt auf, wie sich ein Mensch mit Demenz verändert und was trotzdem noch alles möglich ist. Abwechselnd erzählen die Kapitel von Ella's Vergangenheit, in der sie viele schlimme Verluste ertragen musste und der Gegenwart auf dem sinkenden Schiff.
Besonders spannend waren für mich die Stellen im Buch, in denen beide Welten miteinander verschmolzen. Denn nach jedem Kapitel aus der Vergangenheit, in dem Ella einen geliebten Menschen verlieren musste, trat dieser als "Geist", beziehungsweise als visuelle Erinnerung, in ihre missliche Situation auf dem Schiff ein, um ihr zur Seite zu stehen und beim Erinnern zu helfen.
Das Buch ist fesselnd geschrieben, unglaublich tief, bewegend und eine absolute Leseempfehlung! Es liest sich total flüssig und ich konnte es gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.
Zu den 5 Sternen hat mir in manchen Momenten lediglich etwas Emotionalität gefehlt.
August 29, 2023
⭐️ 4 ⭐️
Review to follow
Review to follow
August 28, 2020
I’m swiftly becoming a big fan of Joe Heap! His first novel (The Art of Seeing) was excellent and so is this. It’s a gentle story, in flashback, by an elderly lady suffering from dementia. She is travelling, by boat with her daughter and son in law, when there’s a storm at sea and Ella is left ‘holding the baby’. The story is of her struggle for survival with dementia while the reader learns of her life previously, as a successful guitarist.
I thoroughly recommend this book...
I thoroughly recommend this book...
November 20, 2020
This is a time slip novel which records the experience of a confused older woman in an extreme situation, as well as the story of Ella, a woman who experiences life and loss over much of her life. The book is held together by music, specifically seven pieces of music which express different elements of life. A moving and beautifully written story, the author has constructed a story which creates realistic characters and puts them in a narrative held together by music. Ella is specifically a guitarist, beginning with an inheritance that shapes her life while she meets people and has experiences that are possibly unusual for a woman at the time, in the nineteen fifties and sixties. As she grows up, moves to London, makes mistakes, meets people who become important to her, and has experiences which are recorded in quite a linear way, there are gaps and the indication that some people die. This is a semi fantastic novel which deals with music, life and death, and the attitudes of people who live on. The framing story of a woman in peril on a boat links into the main narrative in a unique way which is brilliantly handled. I found this a very readable novel, and was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this unusual book.
The narration of the ongoing story which gives the framework for the life story is so constructed as to be imprecise and make the reader gradually realise. The older woman narrative is to be seen as battling with memory loss and confusion, but it also means that she is calm in what emerges as challenging circumstances. The potential loneliness of her situation is relieved in a most unusual way.
The story of Ella begins in a poorer area of Glasgow, where she is at primary school with her friend Rene. When tragedy strikes she takes up a guitar, and discovers an obscure music book of seven pieces which she learns. Despite being female, she gets the opportunity to play with a small amateur band for a short while until life moves on. She discovers some of the highs and lows of love and life while getting short assignments to play the guitar. She grows up quickly, learning about people, dealing with problems of the time, avoiding some of the difficulties of London life, falling into other traps. The guitar playing is technically described, yet the spirit of the music as it develops through Ella’s life is movingly described.
This is a unique novel about the love of music, the value of people who come and go in our lives, and the way that the memory of people survives. It asks questions about how people can be seen to live on, perhaps on the edge of conscious life for other people. It speaks of the decisions that people make, the tragedies that can happen as a result, the way that life flows on as a result of our choices. This novel in its two dimensions is a mature handling of the complexity of a life in the second half of the twentieth century. I found this a very readable book which drew me into Ella's story. I recommend it for all those interested in the trials and tribulations of being a professional musician, but also the gift of music to enable a positive life.
The narration of the ongoing story which gives the framework for the life story is so constructed as to be imprecise and make the reader gradually realise. The older woman narrative is to be seen as battling with memory loss and confusion, but it also means that she is calm in what emerges as challenging circumstances. The potential loneliness of her situation is relieved in a most unusual way.
The story of Ella begins in a poorer area of Glasgow, where she is at primary school with her friend Rene. When tragedy strikes she takes up a guitar, and discovers an obscure music book of seven pieces which she learns. Despite being female, she gets the opportunity to play with a small amateur band for a short while until life moves on. She discovers some of the highs and lows of love and life while getting short assignments to play the guitar. She grows up quickly, learning about people, dealing with problems of the time, avoiding some of the difficulties of London life, falling into other traps. The guitar playing is technically described, yet the spirit of the music as it develops through Ella’s life is movingly described.
This is a unique novel about the love of music, the value of people who come and go in our lives, and the way that the memory of people survives. It asks questions about how people can be seen to live on, perhaps on the edge of conscious life for other people. It speaks of the decisions that people make, the tragedies that can happen as a result, the way that life flows on as a result of our choices. This novel in its two dimensions is a mature handling of the complexity of a life in the second half of the twentieth century. I found this a very readable book which drew me into Ella's story. I recommend it for all those interested in the trials and tribulations of being a professional musician, but also the gift of music to enable a positive life.
November 19, 2020
In simple terms I adored this book! It follows the lives of Ella and Robert from their birth place of Glasgow, living in London and then finally into suburbia and family life. It’s a tale of missed opportunities and adventure, love and loss, hope and despair. It’s structure is just music itself and it definitely strikes a chord in my heart.
I don’t think I have ever seen a book structured in this way before. Ella buys a score of songs when she is first learning to play the guitar and each of those songs relates to a section of the book with the song printed at the start of it. I wish I still could read music as well as I used to as I’m sure the songs would be beautiful and haunting especially when you relate it to the narrative.
I think ‘When The Music Stops’ grabbed me so much was due to the characters lives beginning in Glasgow. I could recognise so much of my home city and I could visualise scenes like those set in the docks vividly. It captures the essence of Glasgow in the 1950’s and I could even recognise my grandad back from the war and visually altered to those he loved. Ella and Robert would have been the same generation as my Mum and I remember her stories of being discriminated against in the workplace due to her gender, just like Ella. So much of this section of the book resonates with me and it grabbed and hooked me in so much so that I read the book in one sitting!
I loved how Ella and Robert’s stories intertwined with one another - they would connect and then disconnect, connect and then disconnect, an ever revolving door. There are just some relationships like this - never meant to be, or are they? Does timing work out for them? Well for that you will need to read the book which is something I completely encourage you to do. An easy 5⭐️ review from me!
I don’t think I have ever seen a book structured in this way before. Ella buys a score of songs when she is first learning to play the guitar and each of those songs relates to a section of the book with the song printed at the start of it. I wish I still could read music as well as I used to as I’m sure the songs would be beautiful and haunting especially when you relate it to the narrative.
I think ‘When The Music Stops’ grabbed me so much was due to the characters lives beginning in Glasgow. I could recognise so much of my home city and I could visualise scenes like those set in the docks vividly. It captures the essence of Glasgow in the 1950’s and I could even recognise my grandad back from the war and visually altered to those he loved. Ella and Robert would have been the same generation as my Mum and I remember her stories of being discriminated against in the workplace due to her gender, just like Ella. So much of this section of the book resonates with me and it grabbed and hooked me in so much so that I read the book in one sitting!
I loved how Ella and Robert’s stories intertwined with one another - they would connect and then disconnect, connect and then disconnect, an ever revolving door. There are just some relationships like this - never meant to be, or are they? Does timing work out for them? Well for that you will need to read the book which is something I completely encourage you to do. An easy 5⭐️ review from me!
December 31, 2020
I cried.
I won't say which part of the book made the tears flow, because that would give some of the plot away, but Heap managed to tug on those strings when I least expected it. Completely blindsided me after I had become almost complacent to Ella's almost natural ability to sail through every situation. To draw upon the strength and love of others to save herself when she finds herself in a state of confusion and complete isolation.
I loved this book. It's plotted with precision and yet also has a unique element of chaos about it all at the same time. The endearing is combined with the selfish, the worry with the tender care, and the lies with the hard uncomfortable truth.
Heap is an exceptional storyteller and that is perhaps what will attract the readers the most - his ability to switch from present, past and somewhere in between without losing focus or the attention of the person turning the pages. Ella isn't a perfect character. Ella is a main character who has lived a life full of regrets, wrong choices and paths never taken.
This is what she realises subconsciously as her ability to keep memories, facts, people and time in a straight order is threatened by her own inner enemy.
The author connects Ella, her emotions and memories to her musical abilities and a very special guitar. All of which is born from a sense of guilt, loss and grief, which is perhaps why is reluctant throughout to actually live the life she wants to. Being good, better and exceptional becomes synonymous with the ghost of her past - living her life for someone else?
Her story takes place in a segment of memories, as she returns to those who have made the greatest impact in her life, as they in turn help her to overcome her fear in a time of need. It's truly an exceptional read I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to other readers.
*I received a courtesy copy*
I won't say which part of the book made the tears flow, because that would give some of the plot away, but Heap managed to tug on those strings when I least expected it. Completely blindsided me after I had become almost complacent to Ella's almost natural ability to sail through every situation. To draw upon the strength and love of others to save herself when she finds herself in a state of confusion and complete isolation.
I loved this book. It's plotted with precision and yet also has a unique element of chaos about it all at the same time. The endearing is combined with the selfish, the worry with the tender care, and the lies with the hard uncomfortable truth.
Heap is an exceptional storyteller and that is perhaps what will attract the readers the most - his ability to switch from present, past and somewhere in between without losing focus or the attention of the person turning the pages. Ella isn't a perfect character. Ella is a main character who has lived a life full of regrets, wrong choices and paths never taken.
This is what she realises subconsciously as her ability to keep memories, facts, people and time in a straight order is threatened by her own inner enemy.
The author connects Ella, her emotions and memories to her musical abilities and a very special guitar. All of which is born from a sense of guilt, loss and grief, which is perhaps why is reluctant throughout to actually live the life she wants to. Being good, better and exceptional becomes synonymous with the ghost of her past - living her life for someone else?
Her story takes place in a segment of memories, as she returns to those who have made the greatest impact in her life, as they in turn help her to overcome her fear in a time of need. It's truly an exceptional read I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to other readers.
*I received a courtesy copy*
November 2, 2020
When The Music Stops has to be one of the most unique books I have read! It’s beautifully written and highly emotional which makes it a very compelling read.
There’s something very interesting about following one person throughout their life, especially if they have lived through some significant historical events. I found it fascinating to follow Ella and to see how certain things have shaped her life. That being said I never really warmed to Ella as a character as I found her to be very prickly and some of her decisions incredibly questionable. I did feel sympathetic towards her however and although I didn’t agree with her choices I had to admire her bravery.
The story is told in two timelines one following Ella through the important events her life, while the other focuses on elderly Ella who is trapped in a sinking boat with a baby. While she is trying to work out what’s happening and care for the baby she is visited by old friends who help her make amends for past mistakes. I have to admit I enjoyed the flash backs to Ella’s life much more then the present day as I found it quite stressful reading about Ella trying to care for the baby. It was a weird situation as I wanted to keep reading to see what happens to them but at the same time wanting to skip that part as I found the tension too great.
Overall I really enjoyed this absorbing and intriguing read which will definitely stay with me. I think I went through every emotion as I read, laughing and crying alongside the characters. I will be recommending this book to everyone and will definitely be buying a few copies as Christmas presents.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
There’s something very interesting about following one person throughout their life, especially if they have lived through some significant historical events. I found it fascinating to follow Ella and to see how certain things have shaped her life. That being said I never really warmed to Ella as a character as I found her to be very prickly and some of her decisions incredibly questionable. I did feel sympathetic towards her however and although I didn’t agree with her choices I had to admire her bravery.
The story is told in two timelines one following Ella through the important events her life, while the other focuses on elderly Ella who is trapped in a sinking boat with a baby. While she is trying to work out what’s happening and care for the baby she is visited by old friends who help her make amends for past mistakes. I have to admit I enjoyed the flash backs to Ella’s life much more then the present day as I found it quite stressful reading about Ella trying to care for the baby. It was a weird situation as I wanted to keep reading to see what happens to them but at the same time wanting to skip that part as I found the tension too great.
Overall I really enjoyed this absorbing and intriguing read which will definitely stay with me. I think I went through every emotion as I read, laughing and crying alongside the characters. I will be recommending this book to everyone and will definitely be buying a few copies as Christmas presents.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
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