Songs in Ursa Major: A novel
Jun 2021 · Vintage
4.3star
3 reviewsreport
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336
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About this ebook
A scintillating debut from a major new voice in fiction, Songs in Ursa Major is a love story set in 1969, alive with music, sex, and the trappings of fame.
Raised on an island off Massachusetts by a mother who wrote songs for famous musicians, Jane Quinn is singing in her own band before she's old enough to even read music. When folk legend Jesse Reid hears about Jane's performance at the island's music festival, a star is born--and so is a passionate love affair: they become inseparable when her band joins his on tour. Wary of being cast as his girlfriend--and haunted by her mother's shattered ambitions-- Jane shields her relationship from the public eye, but Jesse's star power pulls her into his orbit of fame. Caught up in the thrill of the road and the profound and lustful connection she has with Jesse, Jane is blind-sided by the discovery she makes about the dark secret beneath his music. Heartbroken and blackballed by the industry, Jane is now truly on her own: to make the music she loves, and to make peace with her family Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?
Raised on an island off Massachusetts by a mother who wrote songs for famous musicians, Jane Quinn is singing in her own band before she's old enough to even read music. When folk legend Jesse Reid hears about Jane's performance at the island's music festival, a star is born--and so is a passionate love affair: they become inseparable when her band joins his on tour. Wary of being cast as his girlfriend--and haunted by her mother's shattered ambitions-- Jane shields her relationship from the public eye, but Jesse's star power pulls her into his orbit of fame. Caught up in the thrill of the road and the profound and lustful connection she has with Jesse, Jane is blind-sided by the discovery she makes about the dark secret beneath his music. Heartbroken and blackballed by the industry, Jane is now truly on her own: to make the music she loves, and to make peace with her family Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?
Ratings and reviews
4.3
3 reviews
brf1948
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June 24, 2021
I received a free electronic ARC of this novel from Netgalley, Emma Brodie, and Knopf Publishing Group. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read Songs in Ursa Major of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Emma Brodie brings us a tightly woven tale with personable protagonists. This is a book I am happy to recommend to friends and family, and one I will want to read again in the future. We spend much of our time back in the 1960s, 1970s, buried in the in's and outs of the professional music world, those highs and lows that make or break an artist, the pressures that make their lives more difficult or muddy their choices with personal angst. Jesse and Jane are interesting and lovable characters, one's we would like to see succeed in the maelstrom of modern business today. And make us sorry, again, that business has anything to do with the music that we so love.
About the author
EMMA BRODIE has worked in book publishing for a decade, most recently as an Executive Editor at Little, Brown's Voracious imprint. She graduated from the Johns Hopkins University's Writing Seminars program, and is a longtime contributor to HuffPost and a faculty member at Catapult, Co. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and their dog, Freddie Mercury
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