An immersive, moving story of a struggling rock star.
In this immersive and moving story, rock star Greta James is trying to put her life back in order after a public breakdown following the unexpected death of her beloved mother. She can’t find her old joy in her music, is not sure if she can perform again, and on top of that is manipulated by her brother into an Alaskan cruise with their father. Greta and dad Conrad do not get along, and he constantly rides her about her lifestyle choices, but during the cruise they grudgingly try to get past their differences and deal with their shared grief.
Smith is excellent at portraying emotional conflicts, and presents believable conversations/arguments between the characters, including old family friends and a… maybe new lover for Greta. No one is perfect or without justified guilt here, which is refreshing. I particularly enjoy the fact that Greta is unapologetic about her choice of a performing career over a husband and kids and suburban BBQs everyone else pressures her to embrace.
The details of the cruise and the stunning Alaskan wilderness are also wonderful, especially a pivotal trek to a glacier for Greta and her father.
Where the novel disappoints is that there is very little feeling of Greta as a musician and how she experiences and plays her guitar and sings. She struggles over writing new songs in her grief, but somehow that feels abstract. I didn’t feel the driving rhythms she creates, or the immersion in music.
Still, I cheer Greta on in her path following her Muse.