Cohen gets the music biography he truly deserves

Simmons’ clear affection for her subject helps to illuminate Cohen’s motivations and working methods and gives an intriguing insight into his singular mind

The year’s most meticulous, elegant and satisfying rock book

Simmons loves language, hates cliché and takes her time... [she] recreates long-gone incidents with such vigour that you’d swear Simmons was there at the time, sitting in the corner and taking notes

A well-rounded portrait of the poet-singer…his dry wit finds an echo in Simmons’s phrase-making

Magnificently detailed and affectionate

Enthralling, meticulously researched…definitive volume on the guy right at the top of the tower of song

Simmons’ stunning biography leaves you wanting more: more on Cohen, more from Cohen an more music biographis as meticulously researched and engagingly written as this…there is no shortage of Cohen studies out there, now there’s no need for any more

An absorbing and well-rounded biography of the downbeat Canadian troubadour

Simmons – a music journalist of impeccable pedigree – triumphantly rises to all challenges

Fascinating

A triumph

An authoritative biography

A definitive account of [Leonard Cohen] and his music

Sylvie Simmons’ account of Cohen’s ascent is as dense, rich and haunting as any admirer, casual or devoted, could desire

Brilliant… Buy this book and keep it by your Leonard Cohen albums

A n excellent biography, easy to read and highly enjoyable. It is at times deeply revealing, as Simmons aims for the core of Leonard Cohen’s being, using various biographical details to sculpt the whole. It is highly recommended, both for those who are new to his work and long-term lovers, and more generally to fans of music biography

My biggest treat this year was I’m Your Man, Sylvie Simmons’ biography of Leonard Cohen

The perfect accompaniment to roaring fires and languid winter evenings, this book
guarantees to see any man through the festive period

A must-have for Bowie fans

Revelatory and surprising – perfect for the Ziggy completist

Beguiling … the fabulosity of Bowie’s life and times lends itself extraordinarily well
to the oral history form

An affectionate, sometimes surprising, always fascinating picture of a Star Man in the real world

Of all the volumes to appear since Bowie’s death last year, this is perhaps the most useful

A treat for enthusiasts […] it bulges with essential and telling Spinal Tappish gossip

An intimate, detailed and gossip-spangled survey of the life of the great enigma

There are sixty-two and a half million books written about David Bowie; this is the one that has been unanimously praised. Indeed, David Bowie: A life might be the only one that you really need.

You can go to any page and read something really interesting. It’s the only book about another artist that I’ve really enjoyed.

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.