2 weeks Ago By Reviewed by Owen White
Holly Brickley combines romance with early-2000s nostalgia in her music-obsessed debut novel . Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Holly Brickley combines romance with early-2000s nostalgia in her music-obsessed debut novel . Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Holly Brickley combines romance with early-2000s nostalgia in her music-obsessed debut novel .
Percy Marks is full of opinions about music and shares them with everyone, whether they want to hear or not — she’s obsessed, but has little talent of her own. She meets Joe Morrow, an aspiring musician in desperate need of a critical ear. When she helps him with one of his songs, to great success, they form a years-long partnership, friendship and “will they, won’t they” romance.
Brickley’s music references are non-stop and always topical. She uses songs to describe Percy’s feelings and memories. Listeners’ feelings toward a song is changed by the memories associated with it.
Brickley makes that point early as Percy listens to by Yo La Tengo. Deep Cuts “The lyrics were about music’s almost supernatural power to make you feel, but only at the whims of memory and experience: a song never made the narrator happy until he danced to it with her, and now when he hears it, much later, it makes him lonely,” Brickley writes. Brickley uses this to show growth.
As Percy changes, so do the memories and feelings that come from the music she hears. Percy’s story, told from her perspective, mirrors Brickley’s closely. They both went to UC Berkeley and Columbia University, they both worked in branding after getting degrees in writing.
reads as an invitation to join them on their journey of self-discovery. The social issues of the time aren’t clouded by nostalgia. Percy struggles to find her role in the music industry as she begins to notice the misogyny she faces in both her past and present.
Her belief that she has no musical talent slowly changes to an understanding that she didn’t have the opportunities to develop the skills, but it’s not too late. She learns to make her own way, and that her talent for critiquing music goes beyond just Joe. Weekly A weekly look at what’s happening in Winnipeg’s arts and entertainment scene.
Those picking up in hopes of a love story won’t be disappointed. It’s a romance novel. But it’s also about memory, feminism and music.
Music lovers will find some familiar classics to revisit, alongside (as the title suggests) some deep cuts they’ve never heard. Owen White is a writer and musician who has always preferred music to people. Deep Cuts: A Novel By Holly Brickley Crown Publishing Group, 288 pages, $27 Advertisement Advertisement.
