When I spotted Rare Singles on NetGalley I’d read just one novel by Benjamin Myers – The Offing – although I have The Perfect Golden Circle on my TBR shelves and Cuddy on my ‘to buy’ list. Spanning three days, it’s about an American singer in his seventies with the slimmest of back catalogues who’s accepted an invitation to headline a Northern Soul weekender in Scarborough having never set foot outside the US before.
The glare of the lights trained to the stage obscure his view but if he squints from the wings, he thinks he can see familiar faces in the front row. Faces from the past, faces of those he has loved and lost. All ghosts gathered.
Earlon ‘Bucky’ Bronco spends much of his life longing for the ‘golden hour’ when the opioids to which he’s addicted soothe the excruciating pain in his hips. Bucky’s barely scratched a living since his promising career as a soul artist was scuppered by a beating after a James Brown concert and an eighteen-month prison stint. He’d recorded just four songs as a solo artist, one of which is a Northern Soul favourite, unbeknownst to him. Dinah thinks she’s scored something of a coup, booking Bucky as the finishing act to the weekender, unaware of the dire state of his finances, or that he’s escaping the first anniversary of his beloved wife’s death. She has her own troubles married to a useless husband whose son seems to have inherited his genes rather than hers. When Dinah meets Bucky at the airport, he’s oblivious of his cult status, somewhat daunted by the performance expected of him but looking forward to the unaccustomed luxury of a hotel room. Checked into the once grand now dilapidated Majestic, he makes a horrifying discovery. Over the next three days, Bucky finds himself bemused by Yorkshire, desperate to ease his pain and saved by three capable women who offer the prospect of a very different future.
This time tomorrow the last great living voice of Northern Soul would be closing the weekend with his one-and-a-half hits and everyone would be able to boast that they had seen Earlon Bronco in the flesh. Or would they?
There’s a good deal of quiet humour running through Myers’ novel but as Bucky roams the corridors of the Majestic, suffering from jetlag and cold turkey, he revisits memories he’d rather avoid unfolding a life marked by tragedy and hardship. Dinah bears the twin burdens of her husband and son with admirable stoicism, escaping into music, dance, and cold-water swimming. Myers’ use of language is as striking as I remembered from The Offing but it’s his characters, written with affection and empathy, that stood out for me. I wasn’t at all sure what to expect when I started it but I grew to love this feelgood novel lightly woven through with a state-of-the-nation theme. The blurb compares it to Jonathan Coe and David Nicholls, both of which seem appropriate to me.
Bloomsbury Books London 9781526671905 224 pages Hardback (Read via NetGalley)
I’ve just finished reading this too, and loved it, as much for Myers’ use of language as the gently handled plot. I’m in awe of his writing a very different book every time. Coming straight after the masterful Cuddy, it’s an astonishing achievement. You’ll have gathered, I’m a Benjamin Myers Groupie!
Happy to join you in that! So impressive to write so convincingly in such a different style.
I wasn’t sure about this one, but the Jonathan Coe mention makes it a must-read for me now. (BTW, Coe has a new book out soon – can’t wait!!!)
I had my doubts when I saw how different it was from The Offing but the Northern Soul mention was intriguing. I spotted the Coe on NetGalley recently…
I’ve ordered this from the library for my husband — it seems more up his street than mine, though we both equally loved The Offing.
I hope he enjoys it, Rebecca. Myers has quite a writing range.
I’ve not read anything by Myers and I’m not sure this would be the right place for me to start, but he’s clearly a very talented and versatile writer!
He is, indeed. This one and The Offing couldn’t be more different.
Bloomsbury cruelly rejected my NetGalley request for this one, despite my positive reaction to Cuddy, but I’m glad to hear it’s good. He really never writes the same book twice.
So, I gather. A rare talent! I nipped in very promptly with my request which gave me an advantage, I assume.
I did like The Offing. For reasons that escape me now, it was not at all the book I was expecting it to be, and I remember spending half of it getting my head around the cognitive dissonance. At least with this one I should be completely prepared for something that is not quite like The Offing! It sounds very tender and delicately profound.
I think, given our exchange about David Nicholls, you’d like this one.
I really like the sound of this, and of the author generally – would this be a good place to start or should I read another of his first?
I think The Offing might suit you as a starter, although you’d probably like this one, too. I’m looking forward to reading more of his writing given out different both of those were from each other. I’ve been put off The Gallows Pole by reviews mentioning torture scenes.
Your description has made me very curious as to how things will pan out for these characters who I find very sympathetic already!
I’ll just say things turn out pretty well!
Now I’m even more determined to look it up!
This sounds quietly moving, I can imagine it would make for a very satisfying read.
It was; a very pleasing resolution.
I loved this – reviewed it quite recently and had saved your review. I also loved the quiet sense of community. I haven’t read anything else by him but fancy The Perfect Golden Circle and apparently should read The Offing! https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/book-review-benjamin-myers-rare-singles/
Thanks for the link, Liz. I’m pleased to see you enjoyed it. I loved The Offing. Very different but I gather all his books are. I also have The Perfect Golden Circle. Crop circles were a big thing not to far from where I live so I couldn’t resist it.