Perfect Tunes

December 23, 2019
Gould’s sharply observant novel (after Friendship) follows an aspiring singer-songwriter on the fringes of New York City’s rock music scene. In the early 2000s, 22-year-old Laura moves from Columbus, Ohio, into her high school friend Callie’s East Village apartment, too late to catch the neighborhood’s “mythic version of itself that existed in her mind.” While working as a greeter at a slick lounge, she dreams of a music career and begins dating and doing drugs with Dylan, singer and guitarist for an up-and-coming band. After Dylan dies in a drug-related accidental drowning, Callie and Laura are invited to replace Dylan in the band, but Laura, pregnant with Dylan’s child, opts not to. Callie joins, and later, single mom Laura moves to Brooklyn, teaches music classes, and settles down with a divorced father. By 2016, Laura’s baby has grown into a rebellious teenager and Laura continues to waver between making ends meet and pursuing her dream. While Gould falters when depicting emotional connections, she offers vivid glimpses of N.Y.C.’s recent past and impresses with striking language: a hangover makes Laura’s head “feel like a black banana,” and her baby is a “bomb” that requires “steady-handed defusing.” Gould’s portrait of a would-be artist as a young woman offers fresh, poignant insights into the challenges faced by the city’s transplanted dreamers.

Narrator Candace Thaxton embodies wide-eyed 20-something Laura, who moves from Ohio to New York City with a notebook full of songs. Listeners are drawn into Laura's adventure of making it in the city that never sleeps. Thaxton takes listeners through Laura's twenties, starting from when she is a newcomer, moving into a troubled relationship, and landing at middle age, when she is a single mother. Thaxton evokes empathy for Laura's deferred dreams as she shoulders the responsibilities of adulthood. Her light narration is easy on the ears and flows smoothly through Laura's challenges as well as her lyrics. This is a quick listen for anyone looking for a contemporary story of a mother who makes good on her dreams. M.R. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine