The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

It's 1988. The CD has arrived. Sales of the shiny new disks are soaring on high streets in cities across the country. Meanwhile, down a dead-end street, Frank's music shop stands small and brightly lit, jam-packed with records of every kind. It attracts the lonely, the sleepless, the adrift. There is room for everyone. Frank has a gift for finding his customers the music they need. Into this shop arrives Ilse Brauchmann - practical, brave, well-heeled. Frank falls for this curious woman who always dresses in green. But Ilse's reasons for visiting the shop are not what they seem. Frank's passion for Ilse seems as misguided as his determination to save vinyl. How can a man so in tune with other people's needs be so incapable of helping himself? And what will it take to show he loves her?

It's 1988, and Frank owns a music shop, vinyl only, if you please. CDs are taking over the record market, and the shop is in a seedy part of town. But Frank doesn't care; his heart is in music, and he has a gift of finding just the right music to help people through difficult times. One day, a woman shows up in his shop, dressed in green, and, unexpectedly, she passes out. It is Frank who helps her come to, and he finds that he has let this woman into his heart, something he never wants to do. Who is she? What are her secrets?

A magical story of music and relationships. I read the book all in one day, and part of the fun of reading the book was listening to the playlist posted online while I read it.

This was a delight to read! Be sure to check out the corresponding playlist on Spotify!

This book made me really, really mad. I hate books that are described as “love stories” when the relationship between the two main characters doesn't even come close to resembling real love. I will admit that the sections devoted to music are well done, and while I might not agree with Frank's interpretations I appreciate the absolute joy he takes in each diverse piece.

The rest of this rant will be hidden due to spoilers.
So we're supposed to love Frank because he finds everyone the right music and tries to help perfect strangers. But when he meets Ilse he is in turn shy, rude, long-winded and finally cruel. This is supposed to demonstrate that he is IN LOVE and doesn't know how to handle it.Why can't Frank handle love? Well, because he had an evil mother who taught him all about music but never did any maternal things like show him warmth and affection. But his mother's ultimate sin happened many years ago, when she encouraged his high school girlfriend to have an abortion instead of letting the teenagers get married. Never mind the fact that the couple were probably too young to have a baby or make decisions about their future, it was EVIL. And then his mother left all of her money to charity instead of to Frank, who as a grown man really should have been able to support his own damn self. Get over yourself, Frank.And what are we to make of Frank's true love, Ilse? She faints when she first sees him. She's shy and does a lot of listening as he expounds on music. For some unknown reason she can fix mechanical things. But other than that one characteristic, she's basically a cipher who Frank loves because...well, because he just does. Every time he turned her down I wanted her to smack him around or stand up for herself, but what does she do? More than twenty years later, she drops everything and goes looking for him, spending all of her time and energy to find him and capture his attention. Does he finally come to his senses? Does it matter? The two never really had a real relationship, just a series of one-sided encounters in which he mansplained and admired, and she listened adoringly.

The secondary characters are quirky, as they usually are in this type of novel, but at least I was more invested in seeing them find some level of happiness than I was in Frank finally getting his head out of his butt. I realize I am in the minority here but I found this book more disturbing than charming.