The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Thanks, Amy!  Several years ago, Amy, my youngest sister, urged me to read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, which tells the story of Morrie Schwartz, who was a college professor of the author.  I read it, and like many others, was incredibly touched by the book.  It is, I've learned recently, the bestselling memoir of all time.

Have you read any books by Mitch Albom?  If so, which ones did you enjoy the most?  I've read quite a few of them, including The Five People You Meet in Heaven,  For One More Day, Have a Little Faith, and The First Phone Call from Heaven.  I reviewed Have a Little Faith and The First Phone Call from Heaven on this blog.  Obviously, I'm a fan of the author's work.  Books written by Mitch Albom take hold of my emotions, of my heart.  Naturally, I was eager to read an advance reader's edition of Mitch Albom's new novel, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, which will be released very soon, on November 10.


The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is the story of a very talented singer and guitarist.  The book begins by noting the death of the main character, Francisco de Asisi Pascual Presto, known as Frankie Presto, who was born in Spain in the city of Villareal in 1936.  The novel goes back and forth in time to tell the story of Frankie's life, and the lives he changed with his music and his six blue strings.  The story is told by various narrators, including real musicians and singers such as Darlene Love, Roger McGuinn (the Byrds), Paul Stanley (KISS), Tony Bennett, and Wynton Marsalis, and by the most essential and prevalent narrator, Music.  It's a bold way to present the story, using the voice of Music, but it works because Mitch Albom is such a talented and creative writer (I also learned that he's a talented, lifelong musician himself).

"All humans are musical.  Why else would the Lord give you a beating heart?"

"Here is what I know of love.  It changes the way you treat me.  I feel it in your hands.  Your fingers. Your compositions. The sudden rush of peppy phrases, major sevenths, melody lines that resolve neatly and sweetly, like a valentine tucked in an envelope."
~ The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, Mitch Albom 

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto makes numerous wonderful statements about music (please note that the quotations above may change, as they are not from the final edition of the book).  Music is certainly one of life's great pleasures as far as I'm concerned.  The older I get, the more I appreciate (many different kinds of) music.  When I listen to music, I feel it deeply.

In addition to the music in this book, there's a wonderful love story, between Frankie and Aurora York, and there is more magic as well, sprinkled throughout the pages. And there are many "little touches" in this book that I enjoyed a great deal, such as a "cameo appearance" by Hank Williams (I adore his music). 

Like his other books, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto reminds us and inspires us to live with passion and purpose, and to love deeply.  Although it's fiction, there's some true history in this book, and many musicians and musical events, such as Woodstock, are depicted, in a realistic manner.  The author met with many of the musician "characters" in this book, and the result is an imaginative yet believable, thoroughly entertaining novel.  I LOVED this book!

Special thanks to Trish from TLC for including me on this tour.  For more reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on TLC's blog tour for The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.  Thanks for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

The First Phone Call from Heaven

I'm crying as I type up this review.  For the past few years, I've kept a phone message from my mother from May of 2011. She passed away less than a month later, of cancer.  In the message, she's telling me that her most recent cancer treatment was okay.  She's reassuring me, as she often did. (After her first chemo treatment, about ten months earlier, she called me on my cell, to let me know that it was tolerable.)  Her message is definitely a "keeper", a connection to her that I want to save, forever.  When I need to hear my mother's voice, I listen to her last message.  The power of hearing someone's voice is very great, very real.

Something extraordinary happens in  The First Phone Call from Heaven, the new book by Mitch Albom, published in 2013.  The people of Coldwater, Michigan, begin to get phone calls from deceased loved ones.  Coldwater is just another ordinary small town, until the phone calls begin.  Phone calls from heaven.  

• Tess Rafferty's deceased mother, Ruth, calls and leaves a message on the answering machine for her daughter.
• Police chief Jack Sellers gets a call from his deceased son, Robbie, who tells him not to worry.
• Katherine Yellin excitedly tells Pastor Warren that she's received a call from Diane, her deceased sister. 

This is just the beginning of the calls from heaven.  Initially the calls are met with shock and disbelief, but this changes into joy and anticipation and excitement as time goes on, for most of the recipients. They relish hearing the voices of their loved ones, and they relish their words. The deceased tell loved ones not to worry, that they are at peace, that heaven is magnificent. The dead are miraculously able to communicate, by phone, with their loved ones.

Katherine decides to share the amazing news and tells the congregation at the Harvest of Hope congregation about her phone calls from her sister, which began three weeks earlier.  She tells them that Diane's soul is alive in heaven, and that she's been calling regularly.  The town is suddenly cast into the spotlight, and the whole character of Coldwater quickly changes as a result of people's reactions and invasive media attention which focuses on the phone calls from heaven.

But some people, including Sully Harding, who's suffering because his wife, Giselle, died tragically, thinks the calls are a hoax, while Sully's young son, Jules, wishes that his mom would call from heaven.  Many suspend their skepticism and want to believe that the calls are real, because the calls reassure them and indicate that a beautiful heaven awaits.  The book brought to mind The Miracle on 34th Street, a movie I've loved since I was a child.  To believe or not to believe, that is the question.  As a reader, I wanted to believe.    

I'm a big fan of Mitch Albom's work, so I was thrilled to be among the first to read this book (an uncopyedited manuscript I'm not to quote from).  I've read Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven,  For One More Day, and Have a Little Faith.  Books written by Mitch Albom always manage to engage my emotions.  His books get to me, because he writes about belief and faith and life and death, in an eloquent, intelligent, and loving manner.  This time, I felt as if I were rediscovering the author and his tremendous talents as a storyteller.  While reading the book, I imagined how'd I feel if my mother called me from heaven.  She'd sound as cheerful as she always did, and although she wouldn't stay on the phone for too long (she never did), she'd convey her care and concern for me.

The First Phone Call from Heaven is an incredibly inspiring story about what happens to people when they hear from their deceased loved ones.  Will this astonishing communication with the deceased incite the residents of this small town, and people elsewhere, to live more joyfully and lovingly?  I think you know the answer to this question.

Special thanks to Trish from TLC for sending me the first edition of this novel.  For more reviews of the book, please visit the other stops on TLC's blog tour for The First Phone Call from Heaven.

Thanks for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

Mailbox Monday: New Books and a Sweater for Daisy

Last week, I received two books in the mail, House of Miracles by Ulrica Hume, and The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom, which arrived for an upcoming tour with TLC.  I also got an adorable, handmade, crocheted sweater from Naida, the bookworm, for Daisy, my feisty little Chihuahua blend puppy.  As you can see, the color and fit are perfect for her.  Thank you very much, Naida!

Created by Marcia from To Be Continued, Mailbox Monday is a meme that gives book lovers a reason to relish Mondays.  This month, Gina from Book Dragon's Lair is hosting Mailbox Monday.

What new books did you add to your shelves recently?