historical fiction
The Songbook of Benny Lament is the story of (no surprise) Benny Lament—a 1960s
songwriter/singer and his collaboration and romance with singer Esther
Mine. In between the chapters of his
story are brief snippets from an interview between Benny and a radio station
disc jockey that takes place in 1969. These interview sections, looking back on
the prior 9 years of Benny’s life, serve to provide a little forecasting of the
direction of the main story as well as insight into the public knowledge of Benny’s
and Esther’s lives vs. the full truth.
I enjoyed the character of Benny and his back story a lot.
The story of Benny and Esther was fun and their relationship was volatile. If a reader only read the
interview sections, they’d get an abbreviated version of the novel. But the
meat of the novel dives into the details so the reader understands the
challenges Benny was facing during the 9-year period, including those related to
the larger civil rights battles of the times.
His story included several real-life
famous musicians and music industry professionals which was fun. I liked his
matter-of-fact understanding of the downsides of his family’s mob ties and his
attempts to steer clear of them as much as possible while walking the thin
line. I loved the musical story as well as the song lyrics.
I liked the novel but it was a mild tale compared to most of
the other Amy Harmon novels I’ve read. I’ve appreciated Harmon’s musicality in
all of her books but this was only the second one where the music was a main character.
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