WHAT YOU DO TO ME
Rochelle Weinstein
Lake Union Publishing
October 17, 2023
363 pages
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I always say that I turned on the radio when I was 7 years old and I haven’t turned it off since. Many, years have passed by and so have many songs.
Cecilia works for The Rolling a Stone as a budding writer. She is obsessed with songs, determined that there is either a secret message for someone in every song or a personal story behind each song. She is determined to find the artist of one particular song and figure out who the muse was for him. Cecelia’s time line is the 1990s
Dual time line, the other goes back 20 years prior, about the artist and his love.
Both time lines are interesting. Cecilia is a bit of a wreck. Her obsession with music causes her personal life to fall apart. She has no sense of reality or responsibility. She has a back story too, which slowly comes clear as the book progresses. I couldn’t help but hope the best for her.
Each chapter is titled by a song and artist. Try as I might, I could not find any relation to the song title and the content of the chapter. While I loved the reminders of many old songs, if there was any intended imagery or special meaning, it went over my head. The songs were all about relationships. Perhaps if I had taken the time to check out the lyrics to each one, I could have found the commonality.
It’s a complex story with a lot going on. It kept my interest. It was easy to follow. There are places and events mentioned that are historically correct. I even Googled a certain apartment building in Florida to see what it looked like. Things like this always make me feel that a story is more genuine, even when I I know it is fiction.
Poignant ending, not exactly what I expected. But, it was fitting.
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