Review and quotes: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

Review, of sorts, to follow.
This is the book I'm highlighting right now---

Title: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Book Beginning:

"I have come to claim my prize. He is there, inside the coffin. In truth, he is mine already. But a good musician holds respectfully until the final notes are played."

Friday 56:

"'You will call me El Masestro,' he said."

Summary: Frankie Presto is the greatest guitarist to ever live. This is his story, as told by MUSIC itself. It is also the story of a boy who is born in the lowliest of circumstances, raised by someone other than his parents, and taught to play the guitar by a blind drunkard he called El Maestro. When he is sent away from Spain at the age of nine, all he has to call his own is a guitar and a set a strings. As it turns out the strings seem to have magical qualities, each saving or changing a life before turning brilliant blue. Frankie just wants to make music and to reunite with the girl of his dreams, Aurora. But fame gets in the way of both. When he finally can't stand himself anymore, he disappears for years, finally re-emerging for one last spectacular concert before his death.

Review: I was quite taken by this book and was enchanted by the narrator: Music. Several reviewers said they didn't like the shtick that Albom used by making everything about music which included musical terms to describe the action. But I loved it. For example, he said that every love story follows the four parts of a symphony: Allegro, Adagio, Minuet/Scherzo, and Rondo. Thankfully the narrator explains each term, not leaving musical intelligence to the reader. My favorite parts of the story were supplied by the musical interludes---interviews with actual musicians about their interactions with Frankie Presto. At the end of the book, Albom explained that he contacted each of the real musicians and asked them if they would allow some event in their real life to have Frankie Presto inserted into their history. It was so clever. Apparently Albom is quite musical himself and has played in many bands during his life.

My sister gave me this book for my birthday even though she hasn't read it because she (and I) are Mitch Albom fans. His books are very readable and often deal with spiritual themes. I gave the book 4 stars on my Goodreads review because it seemed a bit too long, though I really shouldn't be picky since it only took a few days to complete. It is the second book I finished for the "My Own Books' reading challenge. Part of that challenge involves deciding what to do with the book after finishing it. I will share the book with my sister and my cousin-once-removed. The book deserves wide distribution.

Source: Albom, Mitch. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. HarperCollins, 2015. Print.