Greatest Hits is a biography of the fictional singer songwriter Cass Wheeler, it charts her highs and lows and through the lyrics of her songs, takes the reader on the journey that has been her life so far.
Laura Barnett is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. Her debut novel The Versions of Us was a superb masterpiece, so when I was sent an arc of Greatest Hits I was both extremely excited, and a little nervous. Eva ( The Versions of Us ) is one of my favourite fictional characters, she made me love her from the first page, and with every chapter of her story I cared more and more, could Cass ( Greatest Hits ) do the same?
Cass Wheeler - a British singer-songwriter, hugely successful since the early 70s, whose sudden disappearance from the music world three decades later has been the subject of intense speculation among her fans - is in the studio that adjoins her home, taking a journey back into her past. Her task is to choose sixteen songs from among the hundreds she has written since her early teens, for a uniquely personal Greatest Hits record, describing the arc of her life through song.
It has been over a decade since Cass last put out an album; ten years since a tragedy catapulted her into a breakdown. In the course of this one day - both ordinary and extraordinary - each song Cass plays sets off a chain of memories, leading us deep into her past, and into the creative impulse that has underpinned her work.
This is the story of a life - the highs and lows, love and separation, success and failure. Of what it is to live a fulfilled life, and how to make peace with our mistakes.
I was wrong to be worried, Cass jumped off the page, grabbed me by the hand and pulled me heart and soul into her story. I laughed, cringed, gasped in both awe and horror and cried my eyes out. I had a VERY embarrassing moment when I burst into tears whilst reading in the staff room of a school. Trust me to come across the most heartbreaking moment of the entire story when I was in public!
Each chapter begins with one of Cass' songs and as it plays an avalanche of memories flood Cass' mind. We follow Cass through the years, from restless and creative child to rebellious teenager. From young, talented and in love to successful artist and survivor. Each stage of her life, each chapter of memories exposing the deepest thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears of the person behind the celebrity.
Certain aspects of the story touched me deeply, her daughter's story especially was a little too close to home and the emotions were overwhelming. And akin to catharsis in a Greek tragedy, my time with Cass took me on an emotionally charged journey, one that ended with me smiling, feeling renewed, faith in humanity and life restored.
Laura Barnett has collaborated with singer songwriter Kathryn Williams on the lyrics and I cannot wait to hear the melodies that accompany the verses of Cass' life and ( insert a loud and giddy squeeeeeee ) there will be a collaborative tour, author and singer, that as you can probably guess, I am incredibly excited about it!
I absolutely adored Greatest Hits. Sublime storytelling that will shatter your heart. A gloriously wonderful book!
Greatest Hits
author: Laura Barnett
publisher: W & N
publication date: June 15th 2017
isbn: 9781474600200
Goodreads
Waterstones
WHSmith
I received a copy of Greatest Hits in exchange for an honest review.
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