Wait for Me: A Novel

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted.

This was a beautifully written novel about strong women, music, romance, betrayals, second chances, and forgiveness. What stood out for me more than anything was the exceptional writing – so many sentences could have been song lyrics or song titles. The poetic phrasing, the emotional observations, the evocative descriptions – as expressive as the work of award-winning songwriters Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.

This is a story with two timelines, two romances, and two women searching for someone missing, while living with the pain of being left behind.

This was my first novel by Amy Jo Burns, but now I show more will be looking for her two earlier ones. show less

I don’t even know where to begin to describe Wait for Me by author Amy Jo Burns. Mysterious. Magical. Surprising. Heartbreaking. Hopeful. Uplifting. Bittersweet. Layered. Suspenseful. Satisfying. Superb. It’s all of those things and much more. It’s about love – of music, of people, of mountains and rivers and woods. It’s about disappointment and betrayal and revelation. It’s about journeys that stretch out and then pull back and wind back in. It’s about expectations and settling, fear and regret. About anger and hate and desire for revenge. About looking inward.

Wait for Me really is all that. It’s so carefully written, so well-crafted, well-researched. It’s one of those books that burrows into your soul and just show more won’t leave I don’t know how she does it but all of Burns’ books are like that. You experience such a wide range of emotions while reading: happy when the characters are happy, sad when they are sad, always worrying about them, wondering if there is such a thing as a happy-ever-after for some people, and never knowing exactly what will come next.

There are so many parts to the story it’s almost as if there are several books in one, but author Burns weaves them seamlessly together, connection points are invisible and everything makes sense. The meteor is the catalyst for much that happens but it’s the people that take center stage. Marijohn is at a crossroads, sad that her best friend Lazarus is leaving their little town of Lenora for college. She doesn’t want him to leave but she knows he can’t stay; she’s afraid to reveal the depth of her feelings for him beyond ‘best friend’ but is afraid not to; she’s such an old soul, waiting for something her entire life . . . her mother? Answers? Her father Abe’s obsession with Elle Harlow, the folk singer who disappeared about 18 years ago is fascinating, and so is Marijohn’s supposed role in that story. Her interactions with Lazarus are sweet, and her emotion at his betrayal – intended as that or not – are heartrending.

Elle Harlow has been searching or waiting or running her entire life. Her origin story is spellbinding and horrifying at the same time. She’s never enough, can never hold on to people, can never make things right, can never conquer her restlessness. Her time in Nashville trying to break into the music business is often depressing and the betrayals done to her are beyond sad.

Yet while much of what happens to these characters is heavy and overwhelming Burns also injects so much joy into the story that you will be captivated and uplifted. There is the music and the lyrics and the artistry, the pull of home and the family ties. These are mountain people with their own ways, their own loyalties and their own wants and desires.

To reveal too many details about Wait for Me would spoil the experience of reading it yourself; the perfect sentence structure, the ‘aha’ moments when something is exposed, the hopefulness sitting right alongside the dread about which way all these stories will go and how they will finally come together. I received an advance copy of Wait for Me from Celadon Books. It’s one of the books on their ‘highly curated list’ that never fails to amaze and satisfy; it’s truly a magical read and I recommend it without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own. show less

Amy Jo Burns garnered acclaim for her three previous books Cinderland, Shiner and Mercury. Wait for Me feels destined to follow in their trajectory of success and likely beyond.

One December night in 1973, hugely successful country folk artist, Elle Harlow disappeared. Following her sole Grand Ole Opry appearance, she got into her pink custom car, with her pink custom guitar and simply vanished. Rumors abounded. Abe Shaw swore he was the last person to see her, but who is going to believe a back-woods garage mechanic who plays her records on repeat, and hoards any Elle Harlow memorabilia as if it were the crown jewels? “Abe was a folk ballad in the flesh … he tended to lost things [just] in case their owners returned.”

One of those show more lost items is the daughter he has lovingly raised for the past 17 years. Deep in his heart Abe just knows that his Marijohn is actually Elle’s child, left in a wicker basket by his gas pump on the same night that the singer disappeared. The only clues left behind were a battered mandolin and a pinned-on note suggesting the baby’s moniker. Music has been Marijohn’s second language, and she would love to pursue it in college, but who can afford tuition on a grease-monkey’s pay – especially when he continually blows it on Elle Harlow collectables?

On an evening [1991], prior to leaving for college, Marijohn’s boyfriend Lazarus sets up the camcorder to record a song that the two of them wrote together. But the universe has other plans as a giant meteor comes flaming into the countryside. Burying some things and digging up others.

I have not read Amy Jo Burns’ previous novels, so I cannot attest to this being her typical style, however the text/style of Wait for Me is some of the most exquisitely beautiful, engaging prose that I have encountered in a long while. WFM is a complex novel that explores the star-crossed lives of a young woman who is beginning to realize her potential, with another woman whose fame was cut short. Burns captures the cut-throat dealings behind-the-music of Nashville and exposes the sacrifices artists make simply for a taste of success. We hear about the hard scrabble life of Elle Harlow her great loves, and debilitating disappointments that colored her life and her music. And we see the parallels with Marijohn, a young inexperienced woman as she sets out on a similar trail. Burns weaves believable characters that, with less finesse, could have been treated as cartoonish in back woods country settings. This is a beautiful, touching, spell-binding book. You do not have to be a connoisseur of country or folk music to appreciate Adams’ distinctive writing style – perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. I cannot wait to visit her earlier materials, and to witness the reception of this, her latest novel. show less

Wait for Me by Amy Jo Burns is a highly recommended domestic drama following two folk singers decades apart. This beautifully written story will hit the right note for those who love poetry, song writing, and music.

In 1973 folk singer Elle Harlow, 22, reaches the height of her fame, following two successful albums and one devastating betrayal. After an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry stage, she disappears from the public view, back into her rural Appalachian home town. In 1991, Marijohn Shaw, 18, is pumping gas at her father Abe's rural Pennsylvania gas station while writing songs and playing her broken mandolin. Marijohn was found in a basket along with the mandolin and a note with her name outside the gas station in 1973, right show more after Abe swears Elle Harlow stopped for gas. It is assumed Elle is Marijohn's mother.

When Marijohn and her friend Laz are making a video right as a meteor strikes the woods and they record it all. The video of the meteor is on the news and Elle sees it, along with the mandolin Marijohn is playing. She immediately recognizes the mandolin as one originally owned by her mentor Merry and seeks out Marijohn. Elle wants to know where she got it while demanding it's return to her, which opens up a relationship between the two women.

This is a beautifully written, even-paced novel that focuses on songwriting, mentorship between women, the struggle for success, and personal relationships. The importance of lyrics, music, and how together songs tell the personal story of someone's life plays an important role in the novel. There is a great focus on writing lyrics and the written lyrics to songs are even included at the end of the novel. The lives of these characters develop through the lyrics they are writing. The dark side of the music industry is also an important part of the plot.

The atmospheric novel follows several different timelines as the narrative unfolds telling the story of both these women across the years, before and after they meet. The complex relationship between women, as well as with the loves of their lives, is also portrayed. The characters are presented as fully realized individuals, including both strengths and weaknesses. All of their emotions and experiences end up being tied back to the lyrics they write.

There is some disbelief that must be set aside during several parts of the novel. Since much of the novel focuses on the music industry and song writing, an interest in both will assist readers in enjoying the plot. Wait for Me is a great choice for those who enjoy novels with music and lyrics as a main focus of the characters. Thanks to Celadon Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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Singer/songwriter Elle Harlow mysteriously disappears after a concert at the Grand Ole Opry. Abe Shaw claims he filled her gas tank and rescued an infant she left behind, whom he adopted as Marijohn. Now 20 years later, Marijohn wants to be a singer and find her mom. The backstory is not what you might expect and a love lost for 20 years may be found again.
I was surprised by the many turns this novel took. I especially enjoyed the audio version as the songs were sung.

A book about country music, lost and found love, the craziness of the music industry with lovely characters. Missing things - father of the main character. Why people just vanished. Amazing the stayed gone. Love a meteor in the middle of things. A very enjoyable book.