Hauntingly Beautiful Story of Human, Flawed People

I really liked this story of a widow with two children who inherited a huge Spanish house in the country. Isabella, the young widow, whose deep passion for her violin and music, perhaps is too high a priority, has to learn a totally new way of life. But what I appreciated and most loved about the story was the honesty in which it was written. People DO have to go through hardships and work through grief in order to value what is most important in their lives. This isn't a cheap or tawdry tale, although there are some in the small town who make some unfortunate and selfish choices. There are MORE that make better choices and are loyal and end up doing right by their neighbors. The novel is hauntingly beautiful and meets my criteria of having an ending worth the wait.

14 people found this helpful

Extremely valuable book!

It was thanks to this book that I got all the windows in the house washed -- inside and out -- the garage floor swept and both the linen closet and the sewing room reorganized. I couldn't stop listening -- I had to find some way to justify taking the time to keep listening.

This was my first exposure to Jojo Moyes -- never heard of her before, never come across any of her books before this one, when I rolled the dice on yet another really great Daily Deal. "Night Music" won't be the last -- except that I expect I'll listen to this one a few more times before I'm finished with it.

It's funny, I see other reviewers saying that this isn't Moyes best book, which just blows my mind. Can't quite see how any of them could be better than this, but... hey, I'm willing to try.

Maybe it's just me, but there's something about a battle over a house that attracts me. Another of my favorite books (not the film) is Andre Dubus III's "House of Sand and Fog" which also involves a house everyone wants, and the emotional pull such an embattled dwelling can bring about. "Night Music" is very different from that book -- maybe even better -- but I felt the same compulsion to keep listening until it all got worked out. Of course "Night Music" is really about the people -- the fragile, wounded, too-trusting professional violinist who inherits it, the corrupt builder who pretends to help restore it, but has evil plans of his own, the children caught in the middle of it, the guy who's camping out, unknown, in the boiler room... and the rabbits. Can't forget the rabbits.

What can I say? Don't miss this one. Your own house will be a whole lot cleaner by the time you finish!

19 people found this helpful

Brilliant Book

Isobel is a gifted violinist, spoiled by her husband and two children, who have allowed her to live cocooned lost in her music.
A tragic accident forces her to drastically change from an ineffectual mother into a grown up and take charge of hers and her childrens' lives. She inherits a dilapidated old mansion in the middle of nowhere and uprooting her family moves in. The local builder and close neighbour has coveted the mansion for years and pretending to be their friend in reality does all he can to make them leave, with disastrous consequences.

This book gives a delicious depiction of small village life. There's the lovely gay couple Henry and Asad inexplicably called "The Cousins". They own the village shop: "Where are the handmade cards, Henry? We don't stock the ones with ages any more, all the fours and fives would go and you'd be left with a ton of elevens"!!!


The good ol' gossip Mrs Linnet: "Word will get out (she said mysteriously, tapping her nose). We'll become a magnet for all sorts of undesirables. It'll be paediatricians next"?!?

These are of course only 3 of the characters. All the characters were believable and could be related to on some level.
Clare Corbett was also brilliant with the delivery of the story

5 people found this helpful

Jojo Moyes is my favorite.

Any additional comments?

Jojo Moyes is my favorite author now. I read one of her books and loved it so I tried another. most of the time I am disappointed in the next book I read by the same author, this time I was pleasantly surprised. So I dared to do it a third time and then a fourth. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them and give them 4 stars each, something I rarely do.

17 people found this helpful

I enjoyed this story

Night Music hit all the right notes (ha ha). :-) I really enjoyed the story and the narrator was very good. The story is good from the beginning to the end with no boring parts. I'm also glad the author knew when to end the story and did not extend it longer than necessary.

18 people found this helpful

Poor Quality Narration

I was disappointed after beginning to listen to this book as the story sounds pretty good, but the main narration is in a whisper, and the other characters are at normal volume. Since I listen to audiobooks in the car this didn't work for me. I could not hear most of the dialogue.

2 people found this helpful

Love JoJo

While this might not be one of my favorite JoJo books, it was enjoyable. She does a good job of developing her characters. The plot wasnt exactly original but it was enjoyable. The narrator does a nice job and the book kept my interest.Recommend it if you are looking for an easy listen.

8 people found this helpful

A good book but not a great book

What did you love best about Night Music?

Picturing the scene where the house was set - the village and characters.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was ok I think. I listened to this book about 4 weeks ago and I cannot actually remember the ending...so I guess it wasn't very memorable!

Would you listen to another book narrated by Clare Corbett?

Yes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really, it was a bit predictable. I liked the Byron character, so I think his relationship with the young boy would be the most compelling relationship of the story - therefore a bit moving I guess.

Any additional comments?

An easy listen...not overly memorable or anything...but 'nice'.

12 people found this helpful

Great Story... Awful Sound!

Jojo Moyes does not disappoint, no surprise there! But the sound of this audio book is awful! I constantly found myself rewinding and turning up the volume to make sure I did not miss anything important. The chapters as labeled in the app do not correspond at all with the book. Took a while to get through it because of all the technical difficulties.

1 person found this helpful

Loved the story and the characters, but...

Why do the author and publishers feel such a need to have profanity to create realism? An audible book doesn’t let you skip over it, you are forced to hear the crude language. I believe you can emit emotion and poor character traits with less offensive words. Give it a try Jojo.

3 people found this helpful