Thursday, April 22, 2010

Book Review: When the Sax Man Plays: Part 1 - Making It by Yvonne Marrs


When the Sax Man Plays, by Yvonne Marrs, is a story about a young music tutor, Jason Bottelli, who finds himself obliged to put together a band in order to compete in a talent contest. A group of very unlikely characters put themselves forward as candidates and as the band is assembled they surprise themselves to find out that they can perform surprisingly well together.

The strength of this book is its readability, written in a flowing style with always enough hinting as to what is to come ensuring that the reader quickly progresses through the book. There are episodic levels of suspense associated with the band going through the rounds which leads to a constant temptation to take a quick peek at the last page to see what will happen to the group.

The characters in this book are quite likable and distinctive, enough for the reader to care about what happens to them although for readers who enjoy richly developed characters this book falls a little short as what we discover about them is conveyed in rather too brief a fashion; we are told facts about them rather than have them skilfully revealed piece by piece. Similarly, although the plot is engaging it is only the basics that are relayed to the reader and certain incidents are described in a slightly hackneyed style.

Even taking into account its faults, When The Sax Man Plays has a certain appeal that is difficult to put one's finger on; maybe it is a certain raw talent from this first-time author which mirrors the fresh, unsophisticated style of her character's music.


I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy an easy read with a good story. I would also encourage readers who like something a little different from the best-seller style to try this book and support the author so that Part 2 materializes.

Score: 6/10

1 comment:

vijay patidar said...

I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I enjoyed every little bit part of it. It contains truly information. I want to thank you for this informative read; I really appreciate sharing this great.

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