August 1969 - Tumblr Posts
Book Review | Songs in Ursa Major
Author: Emma Brodie
Cover Art: Andrew Davis
Publication date: June 22, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Romance Novel
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The year is 1969, and the Bayleen Island Folk Fest is abuzz with one name: Jesse Reid. Tall and soft-spoken, with eyes blue as stone-washed denim, Jesse Reid's intricate guitar riffs and supple baritone are poised to tip from fame to legend with this one headlining performance. That is, until his motorcycle crashes on the way to the show. Jane Quinn is a Bayleen Island local whose music flows as naturally as her long blond hair. When she and her bandmates are asked to play in Jesse Reid's place at the festival, it almost doesn't seem real. But Jane plants her bare feet on the Main Stage and delivers the performance of a lifetime, stopping Jesse's disappointed fans in their tracks: A star is born. Jesse stays on the island to recover from his near-fatal accident and he strikes up a friendship with Jane, coaching her through the production of her first record. As Jane contends with the music industry's sexism, Jesse becomes her advocate, and what starts as a shared calling soon becomes a passionate love affair. On tour with Jesse, Jane is so captivated by the giant stadiums, the late nights, the wild parties, and the media attention, that she is blind-sided when she stumbles on the dark secret beneath Jesse's music. With nowhere to turn, Jane must reckon with the shadows of her own past; what follows is the birth of one of most iconic albums of all time. Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early '70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?
OH MY GOD! I've been meaning to read this book for a long, long time... and finally I did! One of the comments you can find somewhere on the Internet referring to the book is the one that Red magazine wrote: "Full of sex and rock 'n' roll...if you enjoyed Daisy Jones and The Six, this will be a big hit with you too." When they said big hit I didn't think I would have been thrown out of a moving car.
I read Daisy Jones and The Six (By Taylor Jekins Reid) before I read Ursa Major and yes, I was absolutely destroyed by the fact that all of the characters never existed - I cried for a whole hour over that book. So, when I read this one I was already mentally prepared and not get too attached to the characters and the story; I made a mental note that none of this was real and still I forgot about it.
This book was utterly transporting and addictive to read, I found myself reading in bed and every time I read a chapter I looked at the clock; I was so invested on the story that i stood awake until three in the morning. It was like i were in the story, like i was a spectator watching everything. It takes a lot of pratice and power to make a reader feel that way. Emma Brodie has that power. She writes so passionately and beautifully, poetically even. She's a fantastic writer.
In my opinion, I think that Brodie wrote this book thinking about how, at the time (early 70s), and now still, mental illness is something that we hide and pretend that it doesn't exist. Like as if it were all in a distant universe, when, in reality, the person next to you might suffer from it.
She also wrote about how unfair it is that we get to live when a loved one has died, and how that guilt grows inside a person's heart, a person's mind and the many ways it can affect your coping mechanisms, being one of them drugs - which isn't that big of a suprise taking into account that we are talking about the 60s and 70s.
So yeah it was one hell of a hit. Almost a literal one, as it can hit you in every way possible.
Also this book was inspired by Joni Mitchel and James Taylor's romance. So I recommend you to listen to their songs while reading this book - just the ideia.