The Song is You by Arthur Phillips

As an iPod (and now iPhone) addict, this is a book I thought would be up my reading alley of interests. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips is a book very much of our times... written in a splendid and moving style, it is a book about love, obsession, and the role technology can play in relation to those timeless emotions. Anyone with an extensive music collection who has placed significant meaning onto songs (and what song the shuffle chooses for you) can find something to relate to in The Song is You. Phillips’ novel follows Julian Donahue as he ipods his way through his life - good, bad, and indifferent, all these times have their song and the memories that song invokes.

Julian’s life is not at a high point when he hears Cait O’Dwyer sing in a New York bar. Julian becomes obsessed with Cait and her music and the story follows from there. Phillips’ writing is a fine thing and this book’s ability to comment meaningfully on the above mentioned love and obsession is noteworthy. Philips also has way with emotions which at times can be quite moving. Often when I read a book with such enjoyable prose, the story somehow falls flat for me - fortunately, The Song is You is an exception to this (I am sure my love of music certainly played a role here).

Arthur Phillips writes a sad and beautiful book with humor and playfulness. The love of music is evident within this book, as well as an understanding and description of emotion that is quite extraordinary. My only real complaint about the novel (and it is a very small one) is that, while I enjoyed it, and do recommend it, I am not sure if it is one which will read well in 15 years... The use of today’s technology is akin, in my opinion, to reading a sci-fi novel set in 1997. At some point this novel runs the possibility of becoming as obsolete as the technology we consider commonplace today. In short, the books hook (ok, maybe not its “hook”, but an aspect of the story), its modern sensibility, may also be its biggest obstacle to longevity - although, I hope this is not this case as it deserves to be read. Check it out when you get a chance - I know I will be looking into Arthur Phillips’ previous novels.