Dear Bibliotherapist.......

Dear Bibliotherapist,

I spend far more time listening to music than I do reading. When I was younger I had time to do both, but I now tend to only read for work, and listen to music for pleasure. Some of my friends listen to audio books in the car, but I would far rather listen to an opera, or pop music on the radio. I long to find something to read that is as satisfying as lying back and listening to a great piece of music, and I would be willing to try listening to a book if you can think of one to grab me.

 

Dear Music Lover,

Alex Ross’s new book, Listen To This, as the perfect book for you to lose your audio virginity to. It should appeal to you perfectly as the ‘indispensible’ guide to music “from Bach to Bjork and beyond”, written by the music critic of the New Yorker. Ross describes his aim in writing the book as being to "approach music not as a self-sufficient sphere but as a way of knowing the world”.  Already famous for his previous book “The Rest is Noise”, which describes the twentieth century through its music, and vice versa, Ross has now embraced music of the ages with his characteristic brilliance. The audio version of the book, recorded by the author himself, includes thirty musical samples, so it could be precisely what you are looking for to replace your musical moments in the car.

While this is a book that will clearly appeal, as it deals with subject matter closest to your musical heart, I suggest you now experience the music of words in the tongue of a master, and obtain an audio version of Ulysses by James Joyce. Listen to it in your car or on an i-pod while you walk, and treat it like music. Jim Norton’s reading is accomplished and sympathetic. There will be moments when you will benefit from combining the audio experience with reading, but these are few – most of the book can seep into you by ear alone.  The genius of the writing is almost more in the sound than it is in the written word – many readers deprived of the audio experience have expressed the need to “hear” the book with an Irish accent.

Following your conversion to the world of audio literature, turn now to what seems from your letter to be an unfamiliar pursuit: read a novel.  One of the most intensely musical novels I have read is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. “Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.” Nabokov wrote in English with a poetic awareness of the language that few native speakers have ever surpassed, in prose at least. Treat the experience of reading the book as something similar to absorbing a tragic opera.

Now that you are once more embracing the joy of reading, discover Bel Canto by Anne Patchett.  This novel takes a group of unconnected people who are kidnapped by terrorists, one of whom is a stratospheric opera singer. Her voice when singing to both the kidnappers and their captives helps them to transcend their differences. The writing itself is magnificent with not a word wasted, and you will be firmly reassured of the inescapable power of music. 

 

Ella Berthoud is a bibliotherapist at The School of Life.  For more information about the service, click here.

Comments

[Constantine Gregory]

And if you haven't time for the wonderful Jim Norton reading "Ulysses", why not try a short story, poem or play downloaded from Spoken Ink - www.spokenink.co.uk, the home of short audio. Their strap line is "Enjoy being read to". Says it all.