Rare Singles: 'A book of rare charm by a writer who understands the magic of music' - IAN RANKIN

(Paperback)

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A warm, tender and funny story about unlikely friendships, second chances, and the magic of soul music

**Selected as a book of 2024 by the Guardian, New Statesman and Good Housekeeping**

'A book of rare charm by a writer who understands the magic of music' Ian Rankin
'An entertaining tale of grit, fecklessness and Northern Soul' Daily Telegraph
'The book you didn't know you need' Bobby Palmer
'A tale of soul music and second chances' Guardian
'The laureate of friendship, a chronicler of unexpected, transformative connection' Wendy Erskine
'A meditation on grief, love, and the redemptive power of music' Observer

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Dinah has always lived in Scarborough. Trapped with her feckless husband and useless son, her one release comes at her towns Northern Soul nights, where she gets to put on her best and lose herself in the classics.

Dinah has an especial hero: Bucky Bronco, who recorded a string of soul gems in the late Sixties and then vanished off the face of the earth. When she manages to contact Bucky she cant believe her luck.

Over in Chicago, Bucky Bronco is down on his luck and has been since the loss of his beloved wife Maybelle. The best he can hope for is to make ends meet, and try and stay high.

But then an unexpected invitation arrives, from someone hes never met, to come to somewhere hes never heard of. With nothing to lose and in need of the cash Bucky boards a plane.

And so Bucky finds himself in rainy Scarborough, where everyone seems to know who is preparing to play for an audience for the first time in nearly half a century. Over the course of the week, he finds himself striking up new and unexpected friendships; and facing his past, and its losses, for the very first time.

'A writer who continues to build a rich and bold body of work on his own terms' Ronn Hession

Wise, hilarious and profound, Rare Singles is an unforgettable story about the power of music and friendship to bring us back to ourselves.

Reviews

An entertaining tale of grit, fecklessness and Northern Soul ... reflects the authors dedication to Northern stories, and his knack for making them come alive * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Vivid as a Polaroid snapshot ... A charming hymn to the power of music ... A book of affection that takes joy in its main characters and their passions, about pain, loss and the possibility of redemption * OBSERVER *
Myers is the laureate of friendship, a chronicler of unexpected, transformative connection ... So how beautiful to read something so affirming and full of light, and to have music, ephemeral as it might be, presented as precious and transformational -- WENDY ERSKINE

Lovely to spend time with two characters I really wished could be real ... A book of rare charm by a writer who understands the magic of music

-- IAN RANKIN
A book that captures just why music is so magical. Music pulses throughout a novel that, in part, reads like a love letter to the timeless American classics of Chess Records, Stax and Motown ... If you want a heartwarming summer read, I definitely suggest you give Rare Singles a spin * independent.co.uk *
A story that takes joy in its characters and their passions ... Myerss descriptions of the northern soul scene carry the passion of a true believer * GUARDIAN, Book of the day *
A meditation on friendship, community and the power of music to unite and uplift * IRISH TIMES *
A celebration of the redemptive power of music. In essence, the novel is a love song to love songs Those who enjoy a love story set to a fantastic soundtrack should embrace this nostalgic trip to Scarborough. If David Nicholls and Nick Hornby had a literary love child, this book would be it * IRISH TIMES *
Following the Goldsmiths-winning Cuddy, a tale of soul music and second chances, as a washed-up American singer meets a Scarborough woman * GUARDIAN, Books to look out for in 2024 *
This is a story about kindness and warm hearts, but one told by way of acrid humour, irreverence and fizzy dialogue * IRISH INDEPENDENT *
Some characters get under your skin, and Earlon Bucky Bronco, an ageing addict who once had a hit record, is one of the most memorable Ive come across in a long time. When hes invited to a Northern Soul event in Scarborough, he meets downtrodden Dinah his number one fan and the two find hope in each other * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, 20 best books of the year *
A poignant and soulful story that delves into the nuances of human experience through the power of music * GLAMOUR *
Myers, a consummate storyteller, is in his element here; empathetic and generous * i paper *
Warm, witty and unexpected, Rare Singles is that rare thing a novel filled with truth and tenderness and genuine humanity. The book you didnt know you need -- BOBBY PALMER, author of Isaac and the Egg
Pulses, not with the pounding beats of Northern Soul, but with the shifting rhythms of lives lived, moving from stasis to flux * THE CRACK *
An absolute banger * RED *
A nostalgic tale of love, loss, friendship and music * RADIO TIMES *
People, youre going to love this. A beautiful vignette of redemption, loss, faded seaside glamour and Northern Soul -- MAT OSMAN
Scarboroughs Northern Soul scene is the setting for Rare Singles by the Durham-born Benjamin Myers, who won the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize * NEW STATESMAN, 2024: The year in fiction *
Returns Myers to his past as a music journalist, telling a warmly nostalgic tale of northern soul and unlikely friendship in Scarborough. The great but forgotten Bucky Broncos visit to the Yorkshire coast is handled with Myerss customary humour and generosity of spirit. * GUARDIAN, Fiction to look out for in 2024 *
Praise for Benjamin Myers: One of our finest, and most deftly imaginative, writers * I NEWS *
What a radical thing, these days, to have written a book so full of warmth and kindness ... Gorgeous -- MAX PORTER
A writer of extraordinary and incandescent talent -- ALEX PRESTON
Here is a strong, spiritual writer who sees and loves every dewdrop, old oak, soft little animal and buried sword, and offers them up to us like the precious treasures they are * THE TIMES *
Book by book, over the past decade, Ben Myers has proved himself to be one of the most singular, moving and crucial voices of our times -- DAVID PEACE

Author Bio

Benjamin Myers was born in Durham in 1976. He is the author of ten books, including The Offing, which was an international bestseller and selected for the Radio 2 Book Club; The Gallows Pole, which won the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction and was adapted for a BBC series by Shane Meadows with A24; Beastings which was awarded the Portico Prize for Literature, and Pig Iron which won the inaugural Gordon Burn Prize. He has also published non-fiction, poetry and crime novels and his journalism has appeared in publications including the Guardian, New Statesman, TLS, Caught by the River and many more. He lives in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire.

benjaminmyerswriter.com / @BenMyers1