- Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Downtown Press; Reprint edition (April 26 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743497007
- ISBN-13: 978-0743497008
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.9 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 200 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,306,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Two sisters, Leeann and Mary Beth, have the debut novel The Song Reader firmly in their grip. Author Lisa Tucker seems almost entranced by her main characters, a teenager and her older sister whose mother is dead and father has disappeared. They've put together a cheery and eccentric life in their small midwestern hometown. Mary Beth--beautiful, empathetic and smart--practices an art she calls song reading. Clients come to her and tell her the songs that are stuck in their head, and she decodes the song to help them with their problems. Says her little sister Leeann, the novel's narrator: "She could take a customer who had all kinds of problems--poverty and family quarrels and lost love and even illness--and point her finger at the one thing that, if they found it and dealt with it, would give them the strength to handle all the rest." Leeann sees Mary Beth's song reading--and everything else about her sister--as admirable and glorious. But Mary Beth's gift leads her to a secret truth about a prominent neighbor, and the fragile structure of the girls' orphaned life comes tumbling down. Each secret seems to domino another until the sisters' whole complex emotional history is laid bare. The Song Reader can be a little willfully twee with its wacky characters and unlikely scenarios, but Tucker has so thoroughly imagined her protagonists' psychological workings that the book exerts an undeniable pull. --Claire Dederer
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Tucker's assured debut novel is an achingly tender narrative about grief, love, madness and crippling family secrets. Preteen Leeann Norris introduces readers to her world: recently orphaned when her mother was killed in a car accident, she lives with her older sister, Mary Beth, who supports them by waiting tables and performing "song readings" for locals in their small Missouri town. Rather than reading palms to tell people's future, Mary Beth analyzes the songs stuck in their heads, explaining what the song fragments reveal about her clients' psyches. The plot device is fascinating, but what cleaves the reader to the page is the relationship between the two sisters-one determined to track down their long-missing father, the other equally resistant to looking at the past. When Mary Beth's song reading uncovers a local scandal, the community turns against her, and her resolve to help those around her crumbles. Leeann must become the stronger sister, and her quest to find their father finally succeeds, though not in the way she'd hoped. Tucker's dexterous portraits of the fragile family dynamics expose quirky and compelling characters. Her expertly sprung revelations will surprise readers. This intoxicating debut may remind them of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides, but it's not lost in their shadows.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
My sister Mary Beth was a song reader. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
My sister Mary Beth was a song reader. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Wonderful,
By
This review is from: The Song Reader (Paperback)
I think my seventeen year old Grandaughter might have liked this bookbut it wasn't for me. The songs really didn't have much to do with anything. Why didn't someone get help for the pathetic Father?? The ending was rushed and left you wondering if Mary Beth had really recovered from her break down or was Leeann going to be looking after her once again. Too many unanswered questions.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well Done,
By
This review is from: The Song Reader (Paperback)
Lisa Tucker's The Song Reader is a very well done novel about two sisters, Leeann, the teenage narrator and her older sister Mary Beth, the song reader of the title. The sisters live on their own--their father left years ago and then their mom died tragically in a car accident. Mary Beth seeks to supplement their income using her talents as a song reader--sort of like a psychic, but instead of reading palms, she reads the songs people have in their heads. This story isn't so much about Mary Beth as it is about Leeann and her growing up. You will root for the sisters to succeed in both life and love in this enjoyable and engaging novel.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flat Out FANTASTIC!!!!!,
By lipschtik (In A World Of My Own) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Song Reader (Paperback)
I just finished reading this incredible novel about a week ago, and I still can't get it out of my head. While the story has an unusual premise, this is more about the trials and tribulations of relationships, most notably of family. Mary Beth and her younger sister Leeann are two of the strongest characters I have come across in fiction, and I truly cared for what they went through, along with the help of their friends and the deep love of both of their boyfriends (I agree 100% with one other reviewer here who states they enjoyed the support of strong male characters...I especially loved Ben, who kept on loving Mary Beth, no matter how much she tried to push him away). Lisa Tucker is an amazing gifted writer who lets you share the inner most thoughts of her characters, both good and bad, and makes you really root for their happiness in the end. I loved "The Song Reader", and it goes without saying that I will recommend this book to anyone who wants a great story with a believable cast. I look forward to reading Lisa's newest book, "Shout Down The Moon", and will avidly watch for all of her new works in the future..in short, she's an author NOT to be missed!!! :-)
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