The Best Of Adam Sharp

Publication Date: 9 February 2017

Goodreads Description

Can you define your life by a single song?

Adam Sharp - former pianist in a hip Melbourne bar, now a respectable IT consultant in Norwich - can. And it's 'You're Going to Lose that Girl' . . . On the cusp of fifty and a happy introvert, Adam is content. He's the music expert at his local pub-quiz and he and his partner Claire rumble along. Life may not be rock n' roll, but neither is it easy listening. Yet something has always felt off-key. And that's his nostalgia for what might have been, his blazing affair - more than twenty years ago, on the other side of the world - with Angelina Brown, a smart and sexy, strong-willed actress who taught him for the first time, as he played piano and she sang, what it meant to find - and then lose - love. How different might his life be if he hadn't let her walk away?

My Review

This book was a serious departure from the type of books that I usually read, but I was given the opportunity to read it and I actually felt like I needed a break from the murder, mayhem and twisted minds that constitute the subject matter of my favourite genres.

I had previously read The Rosie Project by this author, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and so it wasn't a total leap of faith starting this book. Let me say at the outset that the main character in this book, Adam, didn't quite have the same appeal as Don Tillman, but I liked Adam nevertheless. He's a man that's settled, he has an ordinary life, with a partner that he loves but yet the relationship lacks the passion and adoration that he would like. He has largely forgotten about the love of his life, the "one that got away", until a strange and unexpected email arrives in his inbox saying nothing but "Hi". This seemingly innocuous email has complex ramifications and before long, Adam finds himself thinking about the "what ifs", thinking about the Australian actress that stole his heart all those years ago.

This is a well written book. It's a book about every day life, about the routine that many of us settle into. But it's also a book about fate, taking chances and how, in life, we often don't appreciate the people that love us most. Was I absolutely blown away by this book? No, not really, but I did like it. To be fair to the author and the book, this isn't really my typical read and so it was going to be very difficult to blow my socks off. I did find it rather strange though, especially the second half. The story went in a direction that I didn't expect, and that I'm not too sure I really understood or could relate to. Simsion's other books are very different to this and I can't say with confidence that because you liked the others, you will like this one. Oh yes, and for those of you with a good knowledge of music, you'll get a kick out of all the references to song's throughout the book. I really liked that aspect. Overall a good read.

My rating: * * *

Many thanks to author Graeme Simsion, publisher's Penguin UK and NetGalley for my copy.