A Broken People's Playlist

I can't remember the last time that I read a book (or a book of short, slightly connected stories), read the author's notes, then went straight back to re-read the entire thing. But that is exactly what I did with A Broken People's Playlist. Upon my second read, I made sure to find and listen to the song that was the title of each short story, which made that second read even more enjoyable.

This collection of stories about modern adults in and around Port Harcourt, Nigeria is one of the most enjoyable pieces of fiction I've read in a while--and I read a lot of fiction. It's actually worth reading twice because it took me to the halfway point to realize that they were connected, some tangentially, some directly. I will say that anyone with issues about infidelity as a plot device may not find these enjoyable, since it is definitely a theme. But it helped bring a realism to these stories that I appreciated.

My favorite of all the stories I read three times--Song for Someone is a story about female empowerment, addiction, recovery, victimization, and redemption. All in a tightly written, beautifully woven package of words.
5++ stars

In a Nutshell: I am dazzled by this collection! One of the best anthologies I have ever read, EVER! Touching, realistic, well-written. Great character development. Captivating beginnings and perfect endings. Grab this ASAP!

The only reason I had grabbed this anthology was that gorgeous cover and the title. Music has a great role to play in my life, a close second to books. Therefore a collection titled ‘A Broken People’s Playlist’ was bound to enter my agenda. I am so glad it did!

This anthology has twelve stories, all matching the theme set out by the title.
1. Each story has a ‘broken person’ as its key narrator. The brokenness could be due to a broken heart or a fractured relationship or a dysfunctional family or a shocking life experience. The reasons are varied, but the impact on the character is profound, making the story enthralling.
2. Each story has been ‘inspired’ by a song. The musical glossary at the end provides the name of the songs that provoked the author into writing the tale around it, and what a varied playlist it makes for! The titles of the stories are taken straight from their respective songs. (This makes the story titles sound somewhat cheesy; don’t let that dissuade you!)

In all honesty, I didn’t know most of the songs that were mentioned as catalysts for these stories. As such, I have no idea if the stories matched up to the feelings laid out in the song’s music or lyrics. But even without this knowledge, my enjoyment of this collection wasn’t impaired one bit!

The language in the stories sounds so authentic that we are immediately transported to Port Harcourt, the place where most stories are set and where the author grew up. I didn't understand some of the local words but that didn't hamper my understanding much. The stories stay true to the Nigerian theme, and depict the positives and the negatives of the culture in equal measure. (The depiction appeared quite authentic to me, but only a local would be able to confirm the genuineness of the portrayal.)

All the stories have a common foundation of love, family, and of course, music. In fact, music plays a more direct role in some of the stories, but even the ones without open instances of music were heart-touching. (Don't miss out on the author's note at the end, that highlights the role of music in more detail.)

The character development is outstanding, which is a feedback I cannot give for most short story anthologies. The broken people in a few stories search for fulfillment, to fix themselves, or to move on. In other stories, they use violence, cheating, and adultery. In either case, the central character is detailed out so well that you will understand their emotions. You might love or hate the characters, but you won’t be able to feel apathetic towards them. A couple of the characters come in multiple stories but no need to remember them, as the stories are not interlinked.

What surprised me was the number of stories that are written in the second person pov. This is the toughest voice to write convincingly, and even if authors use it, they don’t write more than one story of an anthology using this grammatical voice. This collection however has a majority of the stories written in this point of view. Even better, the voice is brilliantly written, and never sounds fake or forced.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twelve stories, ONLY ONE story went below the 4 star mark. (Actually, that was also a 3.5 stars for me, so it definitely wasn’t bad.) I don’t want to list out eleven stories here, so will just mention my top favourites with 5 stars each:
Hurt – A man arranges a funeral for himself. Not as morbid as it sounds! Loved how realistic this sounded despite such an unrealistic premise.
I Put a Spell on You – Men talking about something that scares them most. You wont ever guess the reason behind the events. Hilarious!
You Suppose Know – The last story of the collection, and the best one to end it with. Left me with a teary smile. Simply beautiful. Don’t want to reveal anything. Discover it for yourself.

Honorable mentions with 4.5 stars:
Music – A teenager gets back at his father. Enjoyed how this story didn’t play the typical way.
I'd Die Without You – Do past sins come back to haunt the present? Poignant!
Desperado – Can a couple still be friends after a divorce? Such a sensitive portrayal of this topic. Wow!

This is one collection I would recommend with all my heart. Even if you read it as a general anthology and not as one inspired by songs, you will find it impactful. At the same time, if you aren’t fond of the second person pov (some readers don’t seem to be comfortable with this voice), be warned in advance that it is almost omnipresent in this collection.

4.45 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the individual stories.
(If your knowledge of maths is even a little good, you will realise how rare it is for the average of twelve numbers to cross 4.4 when the range possible is 0-5!)

Dear Mr. Garricks, if you ever get frustrated with that second novel you are struggling to complete right now, please do not give up on it, because this reader is eagerly waiting to read more of your works.

My thanks to HarperVia and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Broken People's Playlist: Stories (from Songs)”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Note: The content and the language makes this collection suitable only for adults.