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I won this from Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ first reads, and was thrilled.
I enjoy music as much as the next guy-- well, rock music and oldies at least. I do prefer  to use my ear pods for listening  to books over listening to music, though.  I can't read music and don't play any instruments.  Could not tell you the difference between allegro and adagio.   In other words, I'm not exactly what you'd call  musical. Thus when it hit me that Music is the narrator of this book, I was a little worried.  Then I immediately thought  of Death as the narrator in The Book Thief, which I loved, so I thought "Keep an open mind. This could  be very special."
Or a little magical, as it turned out.  Just a smidge; just enough.

While Music tells us about Frankie becoming orphaned as a baby during the Spanish Civil War and his musical training as a boy, other chapters are told by famous people who knew Frankie, Burt Bacharach and Tony Bennett to name two, those who learned of Frankie's death and are eulogizing  him.  We learn how he was as talented or moreso than Elvis during the time of Elvis, we learn of his diverse singing and amazing abilities with those guitar strings, a unique talent who had it  all--voice, talent, and  looks--up to getting high at Woodstock.  I loved the continuous name dropping  of musicians met along the way of Frankie's  search for his childhood sweetheart, to all the music meccas of the U.S.:  Detroit, Nashville, New Orleans, and of course Woodstock.  All while the lyrics of well-known love songs sing out Frankie's feelings for his beloved Aurora. 

It started feeling very much like Forrest Gump after a while--the time period, Frankie's loneliness and perseverence, just a tad magical, very musical--and I can picture this being turned into that same type of movie.  I felt this even before I noticed my book jacket mentions Gump as well.

Well, in the end this was very, very special.  Music is just one of many talents we are infused with, some people  more than others.  We all know that Music, though, can absorb your memories, with a single tune taking you back years to where you were and what you were doing the first time you heard  it.  Music can and has changed the world.  It is alive in us from birth, and when we die Music takes it back, to pass on to his next disciple.  Really a beautiful thing from this very talented author, who inevitably tugs at the strings of my heart. 4.5 stars and I think I'll round up this time.