The Music Room by Dennis McFarland is a recommended novel that focuses on a dysfunctional family of alcoholics.


Marty Lambert's life is already in shambles when he receives the call informing him that his brother, Perry has committed suicide in NYC. Marty, a record producer in San Francisco, and his wife are divorcing and he has already started to reduce his possessions down to 2 suitcases when he recieves the phone call that sends him to NYC to try and figure what lead his younger brother to apparently commit suicide. When he arrives in NYC, Marty finds no easy answers explaining the reason for Perry suicide. He does meet Perry's girlfriend, Jane Owlcaster, and inherits his dog.

Perry's death leaves Marty with a mystery that he is determined to solve, although he goes about it in a befuddled, self-examination kind of trance rather than face his need for mourning. As Marty seeks answers, along the way he also reminisces about the past and recalls the neglectful, turbulent upbringing he and Perry experienced in a family of alcoholics. As can often be the case some of the answers may be found in the past. Or maybe there are no real answers to be found. Marty must also face his own inherited legacy of alcoholism.

McFarland's beautifully expressive prose carries the novel while the narrative itself can be trying. Reading about a family of wealthy, self-centered alcoholics doesn't usually guarantee any great connection with the characters for me. Although I certainly felt empathy for Marty, I grew weary of him wallowing in his unhappiness as he explored his emotions. That said, there are some very poignant scenes with a keen insight into these deeply flawed characters.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Open Road Media via Netgalley for review purposes.
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Sometimes I pick up a book and, in spite of it and my best intentions, we don't click. I thought The Music Room was off to a running start when I began to read the story of a man who had just learned that his brother took his own life - I mean, that's a hard-hitting entrance to a story, right? Unfortunately (and this is not a morbid joke), everything went down from that high moment. I struggled with The Music Room , folks. This one slowed me down, big time, and honestly - for a while, it made me regret even trying to carve out time to read.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Feb. 22, 2014. ( )

Not bad if you don't mind DEPRESSING subject matter...self-indulgent wealthy people drinking away their trust funds & then developing a conscience before commiting suicide. Well, maybe I'm being a little flip, but I've always had to work for a living & have a hard time mustering sympathy for those that don't & then ruin their own sorry lives. It did get more readable as it progressed and I was ultimatley involved enough to shed a tear at the sense of loss provoked at the end. And I did appreciate the change brought about in the protagonist, although it was a little trite. ( )