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The Song Is You by Arthur Phillips

In The Song Is You, music plays an important role in Julian Donohue's life. After his son dies and his marriage disintegrates, his world seems empty. When he stumbles in a bar on a snowy night and hears Irish singer Cait O’Dwyer, music comes back into his life. He can't bring himself to meet Cait, but they begin a relationship of sorts. Through e-mails, cell phone messages, and posts on her web site, he becomes her inspiration, the one listener who can move her music forward. She becomes his obsession, his inspiration to pursue life again, and they continue the dance around their safe-distance relationship until they can't stay apart anymore. Arthur Phillips' fourth novel has received mostly positive reviews with the New York Times saying, "The Song Is You is smaller, more focused and more character-driven than Phillips's earlier books, and it's not only a welcome new direction, but also a novel impossible to put down."