I loved Gone. It will stay with me for a long time

A remarkable and original memoir . . . thrilling

Intense, elegiac and completely mesmerizing ... a beautifully pitched memoir which hits many different registers

Riveting . . . her story of bereavement and resilience, and the determination to pursue one's art no matter what obstacles stand in one's way, is as enchanting as Kym's recording of a Brahms concerto

A remarkable story of love and loss . . . Also a gripping thriller that contains a hint of scandal, as well as money, villains and a secret

Fascinating . . . a tragic musical love affair . . . told in admirably lucid and uncluttered prose

A movingly uncertain memoir of obsession, love and loss . . . Kym has an easy, elegant way of describing music

Deeply moving

This book makes for a devastating but ultimately redemptive read. It is much more than a story about a lost violin: it is about who we are, how we love, how we grieve

Gone is an extraordinary memoir of violinist and child prodigy Min Kym as she grows to understand her gift

A story to pluck at your heartstrings

Swiftly, skilfully drawn

The memoir is both intensely raw- Kym's agony is at times so vivid it is hard to read on- and beautifully crafted

An incredibly moving story

A happy book

What joy. A big-hearted, beguiling story full of charm, gentleness and humour and peopled with glorious characters. A love song to beauty on the margins, friendship, and the intrinsic power of music.

I especially adored the music bits; fascinating snippets about everyone from Liszt to Led Zep.

An uplifting read, full of humour and authentic characters.

This nostalgia hit will lift your spirits.

I loved Rachel Joyce's The Music Shop.

Rachel Joyce has established a reputation for novels that celebrate the dignity and courage of ordinary people and the resilience of the human spirit.

A tender novel about heartache and redemption, full of humour and perceptive observations,

Delicately observed... this one both charms and stings... A romance about a lonely muso [and] a love letter to the power of vinyl.

Book of the day

A sensitive, sweetly melancholic story of music, connection and community

BOOK OF THE WEEK: An uplifting read…full of humour and authentic characters

Breezily written, heart-warming and unashamedly sentimental… [a] modern fairy tale

Rachel Joyce returns to some of the themes in her bestselling debut The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: loss, the past and the bonds that can be forged with strangers. This time the pilgrimage is through music.

A quirky, romantic fairy tale perfect for summer.

My Christmas pick: I love any novel by Rachel Joyce, whose The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was a huge success. Now she has created another Pied Piper of the heart in Frank, the proprietor of The Music Shop...This bewitching love story sings out the unique beauty of every human being, leaving you uplifted.

The Music Shop is a one gulp, super-satisfying read. Love it, love it, love it.

Joyce, a British actress and playwright, whose first novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was longlisted for the Man Booker, continues to enchant and break hearts with her lovable misfits trying to survive in a modern world determined to pass them by. Irresistible.

An unforgettable story of music, loss and hope. Fans of High Fidelity, meet your next quirky love story. Vinyl fans, hold onto your turntables - Joyce's latest is a buoyant homage to the healing power of music well-played.

‘The Music Shop’ is an unabashedly sentimental tribute to the healing power of great songs, and Joyce is hip to greatness in any key…. [The novel] captures the sheer, transformative joy of romance — ‘a ballooning of happiness.’ Joyce’s understated humor…offers something like the pleasure of A.A. Milne for adults. She has a kind of sweetness that’s never saccharine, a kind of simplicity that’s never simplistic…. I wouldn’t change a single note. Rachel Joyce, if music be the food of love, write on!

Rachel Joyce’s charming and deceptively simple fourth novel chronicles an offbeat love story between a mystery woman and an ardent, if lonely, collector and gently explores the power of memory and music and the certainty of change…. love, friendship, and especially the healing powers of music all rise together into a triumphant crescendo…. This lovely novel is as satisfying and enlightening as the music that suffuses its every page.

Magnificent…. Joyce’s novel is intellectually and emotionally satisfying on every possible level. If you love words, if you love music, if you love, this is 2018’s first must-read, and it will be without question one of the year’s best.

Joyce has a knack for quickly sketching characters in a way that makes them stick…. This is a touching, sometimes funny book about surviving change, the power of music and the importance of having a community — wacky or not. As with all of Joyce’s books, it will surprise you.

Joyce…continues to enchant and break hearts with her lovable misfits trying to survive in a modern world determined to pass them by. Irresistible.

Magical…. [Rachel] Joyce has a winner in this deceptively simple love story…. Joyce’s odes to music…and the notion that the perfect song can transform one’s life make this novel a triumph.

Whether on foot, as in her novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, or track by track, on this unlikely musical odyssey, Joyce excels in enveloping readers in epic journeys of lost connections and loving reunions.

[Rachel] Joyce sets up a charming cast of characters, and her spirals into the sonic landscapes of brilliant musicians are delightful, casting a vivid backdrop for the quietly desperate romance between Frank and Ilse. From nocturnes to punk, this musical romance is ripe for filming.