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When the Music Stops

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When the Music Stops

By: Joe Heap
Narrated by: Caroline Guthrie
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About this listen

‘A truly original, bittersweet tale of life, loss and enduring love that had me completely hooked. A treasure of a book!’ Sunday Times bestseller, Ruth Hogan

Stunning, stunning, stunning’ Anstey Harris

This is the story of Ella.
And Robert.
And of all the things they should have said, but never did.

‘What have you been up to?’
I shrug, ‘Just existing, I guess.’
‘Looks like more than just existing.’
Robert gestures at the baby, the lifeboat, the ocean.
‘All right, not existing. Surviving.’
He laughs, not unkindly. ‘Sounds grim.’
‘It wasn’t so bad, really. But I wish you’d been there.’

Ella has known Robert all her life. Through seven key moments and seven key people their journey intertwines.

From the streets of Glasgow during WW2 to the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll of London in the 60s and beyond, this is a story of love and near misses. Of those who come in to our lives and leave it too soon. And of those who stay with you forever…

©2020 Joe Heap (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
20th Century Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Romance

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Critic reviews

‘A truly original bittersweet tale of life, loss and enduring love that had me intrigued from the first page and then completely hooked. A treasure of a book!’ Ruth Hogan

Stunning, stunning, stunning… A masterclass in structure, character, and how-to-write-about-love’ Anstey Harris

‘A bold read’ WOMAN & HOME

‘A lyrical tale of love, loss and regret, When the Music Stops will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading’ HEAT

A brilliant kaleidoscope of love, friendship and heartache that takes the reader on a never-to-be-forgotten journey. I adored it!’ Celia Anderson

‘This is a story of love, near misses, and of those who stay with you forever’ Best

‘It’s a thing of beauty… a triumph’ Fionnuala Kearney

‘The most incredible thing about Joe Heap’s When The Music Stops is the way it mixes the ordinary with the extraordinary. In one way it’s a version of David Nicholls’ One Day, but set over a longer period . . . A stand-out book’ Frost Magazine

Praise for The Rules of Seeing:

Strikingly brilliant’ Sun

‘An exceptional book’ Dundee Courier

‘This year’s Eleanor Oliphant’ Claire Allan

Astonishing’ Ruth Hogan

‘A tender, tense drama about love and the unexpected places you can find it’ Sunday Express

‘A quirky love story which promises to make you see the world in a completely new way’ Daily Mail

‘Joe Heap’s fascinating debut makes you think about the things most of us take for granted’Good Housekeeping

‘An inspiring story of love, loss and friendship’ #1 bestselling author Catherine Alliott

‘It really made me re-evaluate how I see the worldoutstanding’Katy Regan, author of Big Little Man

‘Startlingly, outstandingly good’ Benjamin Ludwig, author of Ginny Moon

All stars
Most relevant
It took me a while to get into this book but gradually I liked it more and more and then couldn’t stop listening!

Unusual but engaging

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This, Joe Heap's second novel, is exceptional - stunning in the way that it's so vital, real and heart-breaking as it flows through the past and present, it leaves you reeling.
When the Music Stops opens with 87 year-old Ella in a sinking ship clutching her baby grandson, It's the scene to which the many narratives return as Ella's life is played out in sections from early childhood to the present time in the boat and, briefly, beyond. Ella is confused by the present, but not by the past and slowly we realise that the people with her as she clings to the baby are all those whom she has loved and lost through her life. The musicality of the book's structure and the powerful effects of suggestion and what is left unsaid are from the realms of poetry, whilst the dialogue and narratives have the stark clarity of prose.
This sounds a depressing scenario but Joe Heap, who writes poetry as well as prose, handles it all as one long prose poem united by the music which Ella plays expertly on her guitar, and which bound her to fellow musician Robert with whom she played when she was 18. Her undeclared love for him has been the one constant in her life. Through wartime Glasgow childhood (the whole is read in a strong Glasgow accent which adds to the raw reality of it all), through the wild 60s, through a loveless marriage, work as a nurse, Ella and Robert converge at long intervals, but as Robert ruefully reflects, 'Nobody gets life right'. The story's poignancy will find an echo in every listener's heart.
The ending is both heart-rending and uplifting. It's a novel of what ifs, if onlys, saids and not saids, what could have beens... Don't miss it.

"Nobody gets life right"

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