Mitch Albom is one of my favorite authors, and I am excited to write a review of his new book. Ever since my teacher read me "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," I have been hooked on his books. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" really struck me because it provided a unique take on heaven. Since reading this novel, I have constantly loved Albom's messages and how they touch your heart.
"The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" tells the story of Frankie Presto, one of the best guitarists to ever walk the earth. Frankie is an orphan who deals with a constantly changing life, with only one constant being his guitar. He travels throughout the world and creates a large name for himself with those he meets. Frankie becomes a rock star and goes down the dark path that most stars go. We as readers are able to follow Frankie’s path to recovery and discover the strength that it takes for him to do so. The story is amazingly written with Frankie connecting with famous musicians such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard. The truly amazing part of the story is the guitar that follows Frankie around the world. While the guitar itself may not hold a large amount of magic, the guitar strings do. Each guitar string changes color when Frankie affects people. In this way, the guitar and Frankie himself touch six different people’s lives.
One of the most unique parts of the story is the narrator, music itself. By putting music in control of the story and interweaving interviews from different people, Albom creates a perspective no one has ever truly considered. One of my favorite things that music gives to the reader is the idea of bands. Music shows us that throughout life we join in many different bands and each band is unique in its formation. Like most bands, ours fall apart and become disconnected, but we form new ones. This is constant throughout the novel and brings the reader to consider which bands they have joined in their lives, as well as which have fallen apart.
"The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" will bring you on a journey throughout history and leave you feeling connected to each person you meet. We learn that music holds large power and can affect our lives in the way that love can. As the novel says, “You will never know all there is to know. You will learn until your final days. Then you will inspire someone else. This is what an artist does.” Go out and create new bands within life.
