Single Minded
- Andy Bracken
- Dec 20, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Pete Searle sets about locating his collection of vinyl singles, after his ex-partner ‘donates’ them to charity before he can move them to his new flat.
He salvages most of his records, and begins to look for answers in the memories they contain. All the while, his search continues for the remainder.
Pete also hopes to provoke a different kind of insight, as he takes a selection along to play for his Mum, on his weekly visits to the care home she resides in.
Highs and lows, as well as secrets, lurk inside the sleeves and in the grooves of the 7" singles. Laugh-out-loud funny meets reflective beauty, in this thought-provoking and potentially life-altering novel.
Andy Bracken creates characters that you come to cherish and believe in. Anyone familiar with the author's work, will instantly fall in love with this, his latest tome.
Listen to the Single-Minded Playlist on Spotify!
Author Notes
I hadn’t written a book in nearly three years. Life gets in the way sometimes. Speaking of which…
At the beginning of 2024, my Dad died. That event forced me to reflect on his influence, less so on my music taste, and more on a love of recorded music in general. He was the catalyst.
When I was young, about three, my Dad gave me his old singles, and a passion was born.
For me, as with so many people of a certain vintage, the 7” single became the format of both choice and financial accessibility. More than that, though, a single in the 20th century was a work of art.
It’s always fascinated me, how my life can be mapped out by songs. Every important moment is contained in a 45rpm record. So much so, that they conjure up time and place to a vivid extent.
That was it - that was the premise for the book. Or, rather, a short story. For that’s what I envisaged when I began. But I realised pretty quickly that it would certainly be a novella. And, as characters were introduced, it seemed rude to interrupt them, so it organically grew into a full-fledged novel.
There are many song references, naturally. But the book is far more than that.
Why am I so fond of it? The characters. In Anni and Spencer, I think it contains two of my finest creations. It’s about memories, as mentioned. But also about the loss of memory, and an attempt to restore and recapture times and events before it’s too late, and they’re gone forever. All the answers to all the questions in our lives, are probably contained within the records we bought.
Perhaps we simply need to look and listen.
Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A new chart-topper from Andy Bracken...
"Anyone who has read one of Andy Bracken’s books already knows that he is a truly gifted storyteller who can pull at your heartstrings while providing the perfect musical soundtrack. Single Minded is his latest offering, and it does not disappoint. Realistic and relatable characters populate this story of a love lost and found and lost again, against the backdrop of a record collection lost at the hands of an ex-lover. Andy’s gift for telling a great story has lost none of its power, and he introduces us to perhaps my new favorite resident of Brakeshire, Anni.
Do yourself a favor and purchase this volume, and while you’re at it, pick up a copy of Worldly Goods. I promise that you won’t be sorry…"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You will need plenty of tissues!
"I just read the whole book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down! It is all about memories from certain records. Relationships and friendships and lost loves. It certainly tugs at the heart strings! And there must be another book about Anni 😁 You need this book and Andy Bracken’s other books, you will not be disappointed."
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