Reviews

Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life by Roddy Doyle, Paul Quarrington

fluffysmallfry's review against another edition

5.0

This was written by Paul Quarrington who was one of my uncle's very good friends. There is a full chapter about my uncle

flowershoney's review against another edition

5.0

This was written by Paul Quarrington who was one of my uncle's very good friends. There is a full chapter about my uncle

jeffrossbooks's review against another edition

I miss Paul.

bent's review against another edition

3.0

I had looked at his book several times before I finally decided to read it. I've read several of Quarrington's novels before, but wasn't sure if I would appreciate his non-fiction treatise on music. Paul Quarrington wrote this book with the knowledge that he had terminal cancer. It's a story of his life, seen through his music. Until I read this book, I hadn't realized that he was a musician before he was a writer. It's an interesting story, although not being a musician, I found myself losing interest whenever he got to technical - guitar chords, for example. Despite that, I found it enjoyable for the most part, and learned things along the way, which is never a bad thing.

Paul Quarrington seems to have made the most of the time he had left, writing this book, touring and recording music. He's left a good testament behind to remember him by.

lyrehc's review against another edition

5.0

I have been a Paul Quarrington fan for years. Like many people who met him I was not just a fan of his art but of him. Reading this book had me pausing lots to add songs to my Spotify playlist and made me reminisce over many musical moments of significance in my life.
As a music lover I found the history and references in the memoir awesome. As a Paul Quarrington fan his humour and sweetness made me miss him even more.
I would recommend this book highly and suggest you read his catalogue if you haven’t already.