First published 2011
Bennie once screamed into microphones as a punk rocker. Now he sits behind a desk as a record executive, watching the music industry crumble around him. His employee Sasha steals compulsively and carries wounds from her past that won't heal. Their lives intersect with a dozen other characters across decades of shifting musical landscapes. A washed-up guitarist tries to stage a comeback. A publicist manipulates celebrity scandals. Teenagers discover punk rock in suburban bedrooms. Each person struggles against time's relentless march, seeking connection through the one thing that transcends everything else: music. The beat drives them forward even as their dreams fall apart. Some find redemption in unexpected places. Others learn that survival itself can be a form of victory.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, music, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, redemption, time-jumps
Period: 21st-century
341 pages · Paperback · Anchor Books