The Melody

From the Man Booker shortlisted author of Harvest. Alfred Busi, famed in his town for his music and songs, is mourning the recent death of his wife and quietly living out his days in the large villa he has always called home. Then one night Busi is attacked by a creature he disturbs as it raids the contents of his larder. Busi is convinced that what assaulted him was no animal, but a child, ‘innocent and wild’, and his words fan the flames of old rumour – of an ancient race of people living in the bosk surrounding the town – and new controversy: the town’s paupers, the feral wastrels at its edges, must be dealt with. Once and for all. Lyrical and warm, intimate and epic, The Melody by Jim Crace tracks the few days that will see Busi and the town he loves altered irrevocably. This is a story about grief and ageing, about reputation and the loss of it, about love and music and the peculiar way myth seeps into real life. And it is a political novel too – a rallying cry to protect those we persecute. 'The Melody takes its place among his finest [novels] . . . an ecological fable for modern times' Guardian

"Will you listen to me?" asks a beautiful melody. But the mountains, forests, stones, and streams have no interest. And the animals have no need for the melody either. Only when a baby hears its mother sing does the melody finally find a home. While this seems to be a simple story of a melody in search of love and acceptance, look a little closer and you will find beautiful Jewish connections. Whether seen as the story of our embracing the Torah, or as a reminder of the importance of sharing it, The Melody invites us to lift our voices and join the chorus.

After dropping out of university and breaking up with her girlfriend of three years, Chris Morrison's life is now a mind-numbing mess. She doubts that working at the small neighborhood bookstore is going to change that. The rest of her time is spent mostly playing guitar and ignoring the many messages her mother keeps sending her about going back to college. But one day, an adorable and charming new bookseller waltzes her way into Chris's life. Josie Navarro is sweet, flirty, and she always has a new book in her hands. The two girls start a fast friendship that, for Chris, holds the promise of something more. But is she reading too much into this or is it possible that Josie feels the same way?

Siblings Riley and Aidan Gordon are survivors. Together, they survived an abusive childhood, and when a fiery accident incinerates all they have—except for each other—they survive that, too. The tragedy leaves them with burdens and pain beyond their years, but it also sets them free to forge their own paths. Aidan’s road to happiness seems smooth and carefree. But Riley continues to struggle, her only saving grace being a passion for music that helps soothe her damaged soul. As their paths diverge and college looms, Riley will have to depend less on Aidan and more on herself. Fear of failure drives her, but will finding love derail her single-minded determination to succeed, or will it open the door to the family she’s always wanted?

Joe Davis, the focus of The Melody Man, enjoyed a 50-year career in the music industry, which covered nearly every aspect of the business. He hustled sheet music in the 1920s, copyrighted compositions by artists as diverse as Fats Waller, Carson Robison, Otis Blackwell, and Rudy Vallee, oversaw hundreds of recording session, and operated several record companies beginning in the 1940s. Davis also worked fearlessly to help insure that black recording artists and song writers gained equal treatment for their work. Much more than a biography, this book is an investigation of the role played by music publishers during much of the twentieth century. Joe Davis was not a music “great” but he was one of those individuals who enabled “greats” to emerge. A musician, manager, and publisher, his long career reveals much about the nature of the music industry and offers insight into how the industry changed from the 1920s to the 1970s. By the summer of 1924, when Davis was handling the “Race talent” for Ajax records, he had already worked in the music business for most of a decade and there was more than five decades of musical career ahead of him. The fact that his fascinating life has gone so long under-appreciated is remedied by the publication of Never Sell A Copyright. Originally published in England, in 1990, Never Sell a Copyright: Joe Davis and His Role in the New York Music Scene, 1916-1978 was never released in the United States and available in a very limited print run in England. The author, noted blues scholar and folklorist Bruce Bastin, has worked with fellow music scholar Kip Lornell to completely update, condense, and improve the book for this first-ever American edition.

I’ve come to believe that the Lord opens doors before me and closes them behind me, and if I don’t drag my feet too much, He will take me where He wants me to be. It’s exciting to explore the rooms along the way. With my husband’s help and encouragement every step of the way, I’ve tried to take advantage of opportunities that have knocked. This is part of the journey. These recollections of events from the past were purposely pursued in order to find lessons I had learned—or should have learned—from a life rich with many people, students, family and friends who share a part. I think that this book, an my desire to help you through it, is one of the open doors.

"No one should presume that The Melody of Faith simply provides a better understanding of Orthodox theology, because it does much more. In this book Vigen Guroian helps the reader understand, see, and sing the Christian mysteries, for Creation is a Trinitarian love song that envelops us all." --- Stanley Hauerwas author of Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir --Book Jacket.

Psychotherapy has been described humorously as the art of practicing a science which doesn't exist. Brauer and Faris submit that the practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on both art and science and should be conducted only by those who are properly trained with sufficient experience and steeped in the empirical literature based on solid research. Insightful and well-trained therapists should, therefore, draw heavily from the scientific disciplines of child development, medical science, biology, neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. To tap into the great body of research in such areas means the well-read psychotherapist must be able to assimilate contributions from a rather broad array of specialties. This is a daunting task and is not for the intellectually faint of heart. Listening to the Melody of the Mind attempts to provide a comprehensive exploration of the person who is the therapist.