Get a taste of the music behind the novel as Laura Barnett discusses the ten songs that have shaped her life.
From the author of The Versions of Us comes a story about music and the memories that make up a life.
At the heart of the novel is my fascination with the pleasures and sacrifices demanded by living a truly creative life – particularly for women – and with the process of writing and performing music. – Laura Barnett
One day. Sixteen songs. The soundtrack of a lifetime...
Alone in her studio, Cass Wheeler is taking a journey back into her past. After a silence of ten years, the singer-songwriter is picking the sixteen tracks that have defined her - sixteen key moments in her life - for a uniquely personal Greatest Hits album.
In the course of this one day, both ordinary and extraordinary, the story of Cass's life emerges - a story of highs and lows, of music, friendship and ambition, of great love and great loss. But what prompted her to retreat all those years ago, and is there a way for her to make peace with her past?
Daughter. Mother. Singer. Lover. What are the memories that mean the most?
In this bittersweet and poignant follow-up to the Number One bestselling The Versions of Us, Laura Barnett cements her position as one of the most talented storytellers of her generation.
In a ground-breaking collaboration each chapter of Greatest Hits opens with a song, with each being turned into a reality by the singer and songwriter Kathryn Williams The sixteen tracks in the book, with music by Kathryn and lyrics in collaboration with the author, will be released in June 2017 on Kath’s album Songs from the Novel Greatest Hits, via her label One Little Indian.
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781474600903
Number of pages: 464
Weight: 440 g
Dimensions: 198 x 128 x 38 mm
The mother/daughter relationship is the most moving aspect of this excellent book, and as Cass becomes a mother herself the novels asks, to what extent can harmful patterns by broken? This engaging, emotionally charged novel about music, motherhood and mental illness deserves to be a hit. - THE OBSERVER
Barnett has that rare talent, like Curtis Sittenfeld or Kate Atkinson, of building up the mundane aspects of everyday life until they acquire meaning. - THE TIMES
Barnett excels herself in this mesmerising ballad of a book.. an authentic account of the true cost of laying oneself bare as a female artist in an industry where double standards reign. - STYLIST - BOOK WARS
Barnett's portrait is unusually perceptive, a mixture of evocative detail and sharp reportage that feels fresh to read - SUNDAY TIMES
Barnett's style is poetic, perceptive and so fully realised it reads like an exceptionally well-written biography of a real person.. A fascinating, occasionally sobering, portrait of fame. - DAILY MAIL
For fans of Laura Barnett's debut novel, The Versions of Us, her next novel Greatest Hits is no disappointment.. Barnett proves once again that she can master the art of storytelling and weave a complex, enticing plot into 400 pages. - THE INDEPENDENT
this is a wonderful story - soulful, tender and full of hope - SUNDAY MIRROR
has a wisdom and a harmony that are satisfying - THE GUARDIAN
the overriding melody in this seductive novel is the pleasure and pain of living a creative life. - SUNDAY EXPRESS
Everybody's talking about Greatest Hits. - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
A thoughtful portrait of a competitive marriage, of artistic sacrifice, of female ambition and of irredemablle emotional damage." - METRO
In June look out for the second novel by Laura Barnett, the author of the bestselling debut The Versions of Us. Greatest Hits is the tale of legendary singer-songwriter Cass Wheeler who chooses 16 songs for her Greatest Hits compilation, the songs telling the story of her tumultuous life. - DAILY EXPRESS
Barnett's debut, The Versions of Us, was one of the hits of 2015. Her second novel tells the story of singer-songwriter Cass Wheeler, whose withdrawal from the music industry years ago was the cause of endless speculation. Now she's surfaced again, and over the course of one day she looks back over her life as she compiles her greatest hits album. - MAIL ON SUNDAY
The Versions of Us was a bestseller with rights sold in 25 countries. Her follow-up, Greatest Hits, is about a singer-songwriter who tells her tumultuous life story through her personal greatest hits compilation. - SUNDAY EXPRESS
Laura Barnett will follow up her bestselling debut, The Versions of Us. Greatest Hits tells the story of a hugely successful singer-songwriter who has disappeared from the music scene and selects 16 songs for her personal greatest hits compilation. - BBC NEWS
2017 is already shaping up to be a brilliant year for books. Bestselling authors Paula Hawkins and Laura Barnett will be back with their much-awaited second novels. - STYLIST.CO.UK
Laura Barnett's Greatest Hits is as readable a story as her debut The Versions of Us. - 25/01/17
A poignant story of the highs and lows of rock-star life. - TATLER
A beautiful book - Rachel Joyce
" Greatest Hits " is a highly original novel told through songs Cass Wheeler has written or chooses to tell her life story.
We get to know Cass through her songs and lyrics as a young girl, daughter,...
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Laura Barnett's The Versions of Us still sits on my TBR pile but I was interested in the idea of her second novel, especially when it was announced that Kathryn Williams would be providing an accompanying... More
A heart wrenching and emotional read, Cass Wheeler looks back over her life as a musician as she picks her Greatest Hits. Really nicely written, this was a lovely read. I really enjoyed the tie in with the songs and... More
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