Amazon says Long Way Gone by Charles Martin is a modern retelling of the parable of the prodigal son. It’s not. However, aside from that being a ridiculous description, the book was a fun read. There were too many deus ex machina moments for me to say it was a great read — specifically, three highly over-contrived moments that stood out — but I still enjoyed the story.
In summary: Cooper grows up as the musical side of his pastor-father’s tent revivals. But he longs to be a songwriter and flees to Nashville where he falls in love with a singer named Daley. A scheming manager and terrible injury destroy their relationship. Years later, Cooper returns to his hometown, and Daley passes through to sing at his club. They rekindle their relationship and help each other learn about faith and forgiveness.
I’m not super musical, but I’m music literate. So I enjoyed much of the concept of the musician being trained in dozens of styles standing out among professionals who only know their own thing. I also enjoyed hearing about beautiful Music City as well as getting a new grasp on the shorthand professionals use to annotate music. Fun glimpses.
In a sweet moment between the two main characters, the protagonist (the male) observes that his girlfriend often touches him without realizing it or looking over, almost like she’s sending out a sonar ping to see how close he is and make sure he is still within proximity. I chuckled because I think I do that to my husband, and the idea of sonar ping makes me feel like we are submarines. But I think it was mostly that most of the book analogies are auditory due to the musical story.
One thing jumped out that probably isn’t new to many people but the protag also makes the observation that what sets a great musician apart from a good musician isn’t how many notes s/he can play, but knowing which notes to leave out. That is a profound statement, as I believe the same is true for writers (or aspiring ones, like me). It isn’t the length of the sentence or the paragraph or the novel, it’s choosing the right words and not adding anything unnecessary.
I also don’t personally enjoy angels appearing and talking to people in books — I find that distracting — and that happens on several occasions.
Reasons this is not at all the parable of the prodigal son:
There is no older son - a HUGE element to the lesson of this parable
The father dies before the son returns so WHAT and HOW. Just no. I mean that is literally the point.
The son hits rock bottom but then becomes wildly successful in his chosen field.
