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The magic strings of Frankie Presto  Cover Image Large print book Large print book

The magic strings of Frankie Presto / Mitch Albom.

Summary:

"Mitch Albom creates his most unforgettable fictional character--Frankie Presto, the greatest guitarist to ever walk the earth--in this magical novel about the bands we join in life and the power of talent to change our lives. An epic story of a great guitar player, and the six lives he changed with his magical blue strings. In Albom's most sweeping novel yet, the voice of Music narrates the tale of its most beloved disciple, young Frankie Presto, a war orphan raised by a blind music teacher in a small Spanish town. At nine years old, Frankie is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. But Frankie's talent is touched by the gods, and his amazing journey weaves him through the musical landscape of the 20th century, from classical to jazz to rock and roll, with his stunning talent affecting numerous stars along the way, including Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Carole King, Wynton Marsalis and even KISS. Frankie becomes a pop star himself. He makes records. He is adored. But his gift is also his burden, as he realizes, through his music, he can actually affect people's futures--with one string turning blue whenever a life is altered. At the height of his popularity, Frankie Presto vanishes, but his legend grows. Only decades later, does he reappear--just before his spectacular death--to change one last life. With its Forest Gump-like romp through the music world, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is a classic in the making. A lifelong musician himself, Mitch Albom delivers a remarkable novel, infused with the message that "everyone joins a band in this life" and those connections change us all." -- Provided by the Publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780062416865 (softcover : large print) :
  • Physical Description: 526 p. (large print) ; 23cm.
  • Edition: First HarperLuxe edition.
  • Publisher: New York : HarperLuxe, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2015.
Subject: Guitarists > Fiction.
Future, The > Fiction.
Genre: Large type books.

Available copies

  • 2 of 2 copies available at South Central Regional Library. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Manitou Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Holdable? Status Due Date
Manitou Library LP F Alb (Text) 36620001674749 Large Print Volume hold Available -

  • Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2015 September #1
    At the funeral of guitar superstar Frankie Presto, who disappeared at the peak of his fame, the Spirit of Music looks back on his life from his birth in a church during the Spanish Civil War to his years as "the next Elvis Presley." In Albom's latest mystical tale (The First Phone Call from Heaven, 2013, etc.), Francisco's mother dies after giving birth. The newborn is rescued by a nun, but she's soon overwhelmed and, Moses-like, casts him adrift in the Mijares River, where he's found by Baffa Rubio's hairless dog. Rubio later runs afoul of Franco's thugs, and Francisco, only 9, is smuggled from Spain on a tramp freighter by El Maestro, his blind guitar instructor. In London, surviving as a busker, Francisco meets Django Reinhardt when the legendary guitarist is on his way to play with Duke Ellington in America. Francisco travels with him, his talent soon to earn international acclaim. Though a guitar virtuoso, Francisco neglects the beloved instrument to become a pop star, j oining the glitterati. The moral? "Fame is addictive." Over decades, Francisco meets a litany of musicians, including Roger McGuinn, Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, and Paul Stanley of KISS, who reminisce in separate chapters while Music (imagine James Earl Jones reading poetry) spins out Francisco's life story. There are occasional odd descriptive phrases like "with hair the color of dark grapes," but Albom can elicit tears when he writes about loss, and he has fun with you-are-there butterfly-effect anecdotes, as when Francisco tells Hank Williams not to buy a baby blue Cadillac, the car in which he would ride to his death. "All lonely roads lead back to Music" in this sentimental journey that might be a mashup of the lives of shooting stars like Bobby Darin or Ricky Nelson. Copyright Kirkus 2015 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
  • Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2015 June #1

    An author of spiritually engaged fiction and nonfiction, Albom is also a successful songwriter/lyricist. Here he blends the spiritual and the musical to tell the story of Frankie Presto, the greatest guitar player the world has ever heard. Fleeing Spain for America with a battered old guitar, he moves from the Forties to the Sixties, affecting everyone and transforming a few, for that old guitar has six magical blue strings, one for each life he manages to set right. With a 1.5 million-copy first printing.

    [Page 72]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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