I have just finished reading Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2009), a book of five short stories all connected with music and musicians. As fiction about music, it is effective and engaging because it concentrates on the musicians relationships rather than on their music. However, the fact that they are musicians is central to the entire book. Nonetheless, it only scratches the surface of the subject that I have never found properly tackled in fiction - what makes musicians tick.
The books that get closest to that subject are But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer and The Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor. The first is a fictionalised version of historical facts while the second is about a saxophone-playing bear (surprise!), so neither really delivers, despite each being an excellent read.
So, my search continues. Any suggestions will be gratefully received (but please remember, I'm talking about fiction so no suggestions of biogs etc.)
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