Blog Tour stop for the Epic tale of music, fame, creativity and success
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" 'War and Peace for creatives' (Bob and Roberta Smith) – this epic novel traces the rise and fall of a 1970s songwriter/composer from childhood to old age, exploring the wider repercussions of creativity and success "
Synopsis
The Story of John Nightly is a novel about the nature of creativity – at the level of genius.
It mixes real and imagined lives in the tale of a young singer-songwriter. John Nightly (b. 1948) finds his dimension in pop music, the art form of his time.
His solo album becomes the third best-selling record of 1970. But success turns out to have side effects.
After a dazzling career, John renounces his gift, denying music and his very being, until he is rediscovered thirty years later by a teenage saviour dude who persuades him to restore his quasi-proto-multi-media eco-mass, the Mink Bungalow Requiem.
Can John Nightly be brought back to life again?
My Review
There are some books you read that are engaging or compelling that draw you or we say keep us hooked then there are books so special that reading them feels like an event.
This is an epic book a real deep breath to start as you feel the weight of its huge 850 pages laid out before you but it is a glorious event.
I have read biography's before and to me this felt like that a real life biography of a made up character, but it was oh so good!
I never found one of it 850 plus pages too much or in any way boring instead where there was no such thing as a standard book plot as such instead I was taken on the ultimate journey of a persons life, the beauty of music and the creative genius it takes to make the type of music that effects people.
This book explores and invokes the whole Rock and Roll lifestyle and as the locations, times and even the presentation of the writing is consistently changing which makes it even more enthralling and the use of inserts and images makes it feel like you are intimately exploring this life and giving even more context to the events happening.
I love the characters and the mix between real life and fiction, I found the knowledge of the music industry but interesting and a testament to the authors own experiences and his research. The books explore the heights of fame and the fortunes its bring yet also the more emotional and sad turn of events of perhaps peaking to early in life and having to deal with the after effects of never been "at the top" again
This book was an utter delight, an epic read of course, but pure brilliance and I recommend you just savour every moment of reading it.
Author Bio
Tot Taylor is a writer, composer, art curator and music producer.
He has worked in music, film, theatre and the visual arts since being signed by Island Records while still at school.
For the past thirteen years, he has been cocurator of the Riflemaker gallery in Beak Street, Soho, which he co-founded with Virginia Damtsa.
Their artists have been featured at Tate Modern, MoMA, the Pompidou Center and Frieze Masters, among others.
The Story of John Nightly is his first novel.
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Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.