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sunfish03's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was beautifully written. The prose was gorgeous and so descriptive, some characters' POVs only appeared in one chapter and despite that Warrell paints such a rich and detailed picture of that character that I was still immersed in their world even though we only met them once.
My biggest complaint about the book was that the characters are all very flawed (with grace given, of course, to 15 year old Koko who is surrounded by crappy adults). There's nothing wrong with a flawed character but I felt like there was chapter after chapter about crappy people doing crappy things to each other and it was frustrating to read. I wish the author had given me a little more to root for than just "damn these people need to get it together".
That said, I was satisfied by the way the book resolved, and would definitely still recommend it. The end wasn't so picture perfect as to be unrealistic, but also gave the characters some serious growth that eased the earlier frustration. I just wish Warrell spent a little more time showing the growth - it felt like she spent a lot of time on the crappiness and not a lot on how the characters eventually grew through it.
My biggest complaint about the book was that the characters are all very flawed (with grace given, of course, to 15 year old Koko who is surrounded by crappy adults). There's nothing wrong with a flawed character but I felt like there was chapter after chapter about crappy people doing crappy things to each other and it was frustrating to read. I wish the author had given me a little more to root for than just "damn these people need to get it together".
That said, I was satisfied by the way the book resolved, and would definitely still recommend it. The end wasn't so picture perfect as to be unrealistic, but also gave the characters some serious growth that eased the earlier frustration. I just wish Warrell spent a little more time showing the growth - it felt like she spent a lot of time on the crappiness and not a lot on how the characters eventually grew through it.
thissagreads's review against another edition
Almost 3 hours into the audio and I just wasn’t quite feeling it. It felt choppy and confusing for audio- especially the time periods and jumping between characters- so that was a bummer. But the narrator kept me entertained and for that, I would give this book another try, but only with the physical copy alongside the audio.
michellechien930's review
4.0
It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, piano jazz is playing on your computer, accompanied by occasional drops of rain and the warm yellow glow of your desk lamp. You're reading "Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm" by Laura Warrell, a book you picked up at a bookstore recommended by Jack Edwards but mostly because of how pretty the cover was. It's surprising how interesting the book is a few chapters in- "Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm" is a story about an enigmatic jazz musician on the twilight of his career, Circus Palmer, and in turn tells the stories of all the women entangled in his life- his estranged teenage daughter Koko, mentally unstable ex-wife, a woman he met on a train, and his self-proclaimed love of his life. Circus is destructive, his romantic life full of escapades, impulse, regret, and loneliness. Reading the stories are like curling up in the corner of a dark, subterranean bar listening to a lone jazz musician on stage. The writing style is pure, vulnerable, but "Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm" is not without flaws, with its focus on too many women (many of which have very similar narrative voices) which seems to take some of the impact away from what else would be a very strong story. Still, starting off 2023 with a wonderfully beautiful physical copy of "Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm", 4.5 stars/would recommend!
Some magical quotes:
"He watched her and loved her but knew with each step he took to the room where she waited, his love would fade, and by the time he got to the door, it would have drained completely."
"Everything about Maggie seemed to crackle like lightning--her percussive laugh, her smile, her gait. There was nothing familiar about her, yet as soon as they spoke, everything was easy. For three years, he went to her whenever he needed that sense of recognition and whenever she called in need of whatever she got from him. He'd never thought about how long it would last or how it would end. Until tonight."
"What need was there to name it any-way, though if he had to call it something, he'd have called it a moving into idyllic spaces, brief stretches of quiet time, loving time, between the accelerated hustle of living."
"Maybe the soul didn't leave the body in the instant of death, she thought, but was always leaving every day, and maybe death was simply the soul's final withdrawal, like the way a tree could be dead inside for years before its limbs began to decay."
"He sensed both a compression and a stretching of time- the faint memory of their final morning together looming near enough to make him feel as if it had happened only seconds before, yet far enough away to make him doubt the moment had ever happened at all."
"The warm air outside flowed in through Koko's window, and Circus relaxed into it. He imagined the second bedroom where she would sleep, the old instruments and speakers he'd have to find a new place for, the furniture he'd have to buy--a mattress, a dresser, and whatever girls liked--his routine, his habits, and everything else he'd have to rearrange. A fury rose in him, but at its end was something unexpected, a moment of clarity, accidental but stark, that told him he might not want to be a different person--he couldn't possibly be -but somehow the man he had already become was enough for this girl, and she could show him ways to be better. But this, Circus didn't think he should say aloud, not here, not yet, so he only took his daughter's hand, comforted by how baby soft her skin still was and by the part of him that wanted to tell her, I will give you anything if you only love me. Forgive me. Listen."
Some magical quotes:
"He watched her and loved her but knew with each step he took to the room where she waited, his love would fade, and by the time he got to the door, it would have drained completely."
"Everything about Maggie seemed to crackle like lightning--her percussive laugh, her smile, her gait. There was nothing familiar about her, yet as soon as they spoke, everything was easy. For three years, he went to her whenever he needed that sense of recognition and whenever she called in need of whatever she got from him. He'd never thought about how long it would last or how it would end. Until tonight."
"What need was there to name it any-way, though if he had to call it something, he'd have called it a moving into idyllic spaces, brief stretches of quiet time, loving time, between the accelerated hustle of living."
"Maybe the soul didn't leave the body in the instant of death, she thought, but was always leaving every day, and maybe death was simply the soul's final withdrawal, like the way a tree could be dead inside for years before its limbs began to decay."
"He sensed both a compression and a stretching of time- the faint memory of their final morning together looming near enough to make him feel as if it had happened only seconds before, yet far enough away to make him doubt the moment had ever happened at all."
"The warm air outside flowed in through Koko's window, and Circus relaxed into it. He imagined the second bedroom where she would sleep, the old instruments and speakers he'd have to find a new place for, the furniture he'd have to buy--a mattress, a dresser, and whatever girls liked--his routine, his habits, and everything else he'd have to rearrange. A fury rose in him, but at its end was something unexpected, a moment of clarity, accidental but stark, that told him he might not want to be a different person--he couldn't possibly be -but somehow the man he had already become was enough for this girl, and she could show him ways to be better. But this, Circus didn't think he should say aloud, not here, not yet, so he only took his daughter's hand, comforted by how baby soft her skin still was and by the part of him that wanted to tell her, I will give you anything if you only love me. Forgive me. Listen."
sarahrogersx17's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thekinnireads's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kpatrice362's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hayleybeale's review
3.0
After jazz trombonist, Circus Palmer, turns 40, all his chickens, in the form of women from his past and present, come home to roost. Like a jazz piece, there are some major themes - Circus and his teen daughter Koko - and then different women step up to take a solo in a series of vignettes that weave back into the main narrative.
Though a skilled musician, Circus has never, and will never, make the big time. He’s still playing mid level gigs at bars and a sushi restaurant (but it’s a “classy joint”) and a record company executive dismisses him as “not interesting.” He teaches at Berklee but his more talented students clearly feel like he has nothing they can learn from him. Over the course of the novel, he comes to some sort of acceptance of the gap between his self-view and that of the outside world.
Where he does have a major talent is with the laaadies. He has hooked up with many women and casually discarded them, then picking them back up when he has the whim. But even this is starting to sour as some turn the tables on him.
The second narrative theme is Koko’s burgeoning interest in sex. But this is often viewed as something rather frightening and distasteful, a harsh comparison to the way her father acceptably coast through bedrooms. Koko’s coming of age and her growing into herself are a golden thread in this sometimes discordant melody.
My problem (and, having read the author’s note and seen how much work has gone into this novel, I feel really mean about being so blunt) is that I found Circus a pretty unpleasant and rather pathetic character and was really annoyed by the women who were charmed by him and then hung around limply waiting for him to call. So, despite the skill that has clearly gone into creating these characters, the elegant writing, and the fluid structure, it is more a book I could appreciate rather than enjoy.
Thanks to Pantheon and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
Though a skilled musician, Circus has never, and will never, make the big time. He’s still playing mid level gigs at bars and a sushi restaurant (but it’s a “classy joint”) and a record company executive dismisses him as “not interesting.” He teaches at Berklee but his more talented students clearly feel like he has nothing they can learn from him. Over the course of the novel, he comes to some sort of acceptance of the gap between his self-view and that of the outside world.
Where he does have a major talent is with the laaadies. He has hooked up with many women and casually discarded them, then picking them back up when he has the whim. But even this is starting to sour as some turn the tables on him.
The second narrative theme is Koko’s burgeoning interest in sex. But this is often viewed as something rather frightening and distasteful, a harsh comparison to the way her father acceptably coast through bedrooms. Koko’s coming of age and her growing into herself are a golden thread in this sometimes discordant melody.
My problem (and, having read the author’s note and seen how much work has gone into this novel, I feel really mean about being so blunt) is that I found Circus a pretty unpleasant and rather pathetic character and was really annoyed by the women who were charmed by him and then hung around limply waiting for him to call. So, despite the skill that has clearly gone into creating these characters, the elegant writing, and the fluid structure, it is more a book I could appreciate rather than enjoy.
Thanks to Pantheon and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
buffywantbooks's review
4.0
“This is what you do. Bleed the passion out of something, then miss it.”
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway, thank you!
Circus Palmer is one of the most unlikable characters I have read in a LONG time. The most difficulty I found reading was that in every action he made, I did not think he had the ability to be a better man. He had plenty of opportunities, but because he didn’t CARE to change, he couldn’t understand why his life was stagnant and I fulfilled.
This was beautifully written and hopeful, but so sad. I wanted all these women to be connected by something other than this awful, cruel man, but the connections they made eventually felt genuine and well earned.
This was a wonderfully written debut and definitely for those who love character studies. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway, thank you!
Circus Palmer is one of the most unlikable characters I have read in a LONG time. The most difficulty I found reading was that in every action he made, I did not think he had the ability to be a better man. He had plenty of opportunities, but because he didn’t CARE to change, he couldn’t understand why his life was stagnant and I fulfilled.
This was beautifully written and hopeful, but so sad. I wanted all these women to be connected by something other than this awful, cruel man, but the connections they made eventually felt genuine and well earned.
This was a wonderfully written debut and definitely for those who love character studies. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!