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A review by thecatladybooknook_penny
The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Historical fiction fans, this book is for you.
Music/Motown fans, this book is for you.
Romance readers, this book is for you.
Did you ever watch any of the Rocky movies "Yo! Adrian!"? I remember as a kid watching those movies (not all of them). Rocky was working for a loan shark "collecting". Or the Godfather? This book reminded me of these things in a way.
Benny Lament was the son of a man in the mob..."and family takes care of each other." Back in the late 1950s when most of this book is set, the mob ran the clubs in New York. You get to see some of the inner workings of the mob, the family, but also a girl who just wants to sing during a time when segregation was strong. Benny is a white man who loves his music and Esther is a young black/mixed girl who just wants wants a manager so she and her band (comprised of her brothers) can perform.
This story is gets intense from MANY angles as you can guess, but it's a story worth telling; it's a story worth reading. It's a story of passion for music and passion for family; it's a story through Benny's eyes of his growth as a man and a person, seeing what it was like living through a segregated world. It's just as much Esther's story of finding herself as a strong woman through everything that had happened TO her when she was just a baby as well as living in a time such as that.
There's also a dual timeline interspersed between chapters in radio interview format from 1969. Benny recounts for a big name talk radio host what happened when he met Esther. I cried.....
I HIGHLY encourage the audiobook for this as I read the ebook/audio together. There's only one narrator but he did a great job on the narration.
Music/Motown fans, this book is for you.
Romance readers, this book is for you.
Did you ever watch any of the Rocky movies "Yo! Adrian!"? I remember as a kid watching those movies (not all of them). Rocky was working for a loan shark "collecting". Or the Godfather? This book reminded me of these things in a way.
Benny Lament was the son of a man in the mob..."and family takes care of each other." Back in the late 1950s when most of this book is set, the mob ran the clubs in New York. You get to see some of the inner workings of the mob, the family, but also a girl who just wants to sing during a time when segregation was strong. Benny is a white man who loves his music and Esther is a young black/mixed girl who just wants wants a manager so she and her band (comprised of her brothers) can perform.
This story is gets intense from MANY angles as you can guess, but it's a story worth telling; it's a story worth reading. It's a story of passion for music and passion for family; it's a story through Benny's eyes of his growth as a man and a person, seeing what it was like living through a segregated world. It's just as much Esther's story of finding herself as a strong woman through everything that had happened TO her when she was just a baby as well as living in a time such as that.
There's also a dual timeline interspersed between chapters in radio interview format from 1969. Benny recounts for a big name talk radio host what happened when he met Esther. I cried.....
I HIGHLY encourage the audiobook for this as I read the ebook/audio together. There's only one narrator but he did a great job on the narration.