The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

by Mitch Albom

Overview

“Talent is a piece of God’s shadow, and under that shadow, human stories intersect.”

A Spanish war orphan born in a burning church and raised by a blind guitar teacher, Frankie Presto was gifted with extraordinary musical abilities that shape not only his life but the lives of those around him. At nine years old, Frankie meets the love of his life, Aurora; that same day, civil war tears apart his home and he is sent to America, smuggled in the bottom of a boat with only guitar and six strings imbued with the power to change lives.

Relying on music to survive, Frankie’s talent weaves him through the musical landscape of the twentieth century, from Detroit’s jazz scene and the Grand Ole Opry, to Elvis mania and Woodstock—all the while searching for Aurora.

As his fame grows, Frankie finds love, friendship, and celebrity. Even so, his gift becomes his burden, driving a wedge between him and his beloved Aurora—now his wife. Overwhelmed by life, loss, and the power of his strings, Frankie disappears for years, only to reemerge in a spectacular and mysterious farewell.

With its Forrest Gump–like journey through the music world, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is a classic in the making. “Everyone joins a band in this life,” Albom observes, “only some of them play music.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062294432
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/25/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	31,877
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mitch Albom is the author of numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, which have collectively sold more than forty million copies in forty-seven languages worldwide. He has written seven number-one New York Times bestsellers – including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time, which topped the list for four straight years – award-winning TV films, stage plays, screenplays, a nationally syndicated newspaper column, and a musical. Through his work at the Detroit Free Press, he was inducted into both the National Sports Media Association and Michigan Sports halls of fame and is the recipient of the 2010 Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement. After bestselling memoir Finding Chika and “Human Touch,” the weekly serial written and published online in real-time to raise funds for pandemic relief, his latest work is a return to fiction with The Stranger in the Lifeboat (Harper, November 2021). He founded and oversees SAY Detroit, a consortium of nine different charitable operations in his hometown, including a nonprofit dessert shop and food product line to fund programs for Detroit’s most underserved citizens. He also operates an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. Learn more at www.mitchalbom.com, www.saydetroit.org, and www.havefaithaiti.org.

Hometown:

Franklin, Michigan

Date of Birth:

May 23, 1958

Place of Birth:

Passaic, New Jersey

Education:

B.A., Brandeis University, 1979; M.J., Columbia University, 1981; M.B.A., Columbia University, 1982

Editorial Reviews

Albom’s fable about the power of song carries you along like a beautiful melody.” — People

“Albom’s The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto hits the right notes. Albom’s love for music is richly apparent... and his maxims about life will no doubt bring readers on a pleasantly sentimental journey about the bandmates in their lives.” — USA Today

“A beautiful story that forces us to think about the concept of a life well lived…Albom brings his literary magic once again.” — Huffington Post

“Albom can say in one sentence what others can spend a lifetime trying to convey.” — The Book Wheel

“Within a few pages, you’ll be as delighted with this sparkling book as I was. Start it, stick with it, and you’ll find ’The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto to be a book of note.” — Yankton Daily Press

“As always, Albom’s novel has a larger message...and The Magic Strings of Frankie Pesto resonates with a kind of cosmic connection.” — Miami New Times

“What an entertainer! Mitch Albom, author, playwright, screenwriter, nationally syndicated columnist - and philanthropist, as his audience learned, was a charmer…There seemed to be no end to this man’s talents.” — NorthJersey.com

From the Publisher

Albom’s The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto hits the right notes. Albom’s love for music is richly apparent... and his maxims about life will no doubt bring readers on a pleasantly sentimental journey about the bandmates in their lives.

USA Today

Albom can say in one sentence what others can spend a lifetime trying to convey.

The Book Wheel

What an entertainer! Mitch Albom, author, playwright, screenwriter, nationally syndicated columnist - and philanthropist, as his audience learned, was a charmer…There seemed to be no end to this man’s talents.

NorthJersey.com

A beautiful story that forces us to think about the concept of a life well lived…Albom brings his literary magic once again.

Huffington Post

Albom’s The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto hits the right notes. Albom’s love for music is richly apparent... and his maxims about life will no doubt bring readers on a pleasantly sentimental journey about the bandmates in their lives.

USA Today

Albom’s fable about the power of song carries you along like a beautiful melody.

People

Albom’s fable about the power of song carries you along like a beautiful melody.

People

Within a few pages, you’ll be as delighted with this sparkling book as I was. Start it, stick with it, and you’ll find ’The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto to be a book of note.

Yankton Daily Press

Within a few pages, you’ll be as delighted with this sparkling book as I was. Start it, stick with it, and you’ll find ’The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto to be a book of note.

Yankton Daily Press

As always, Albom’s novel has a larger message...and The Magic Strings of Frankie Pesto resonates with a kind of cosmic connection.

Miami New Times

06/01/2015
An author of spiritually engaged fiction and nonfiction, Albom is also a successful songwriter/lyricist. Here he blends the spiritual and the musical to tell the story of Frankie Presto, the greatest guitar player the world has ever heard. Fleeing Spain for America with a battered old guitar, he moves from the Forties to the Sixties, affecting everyone and transforming a few, for that old guitar has six magical blue strings, one for each life he manages to set right. With a 1.5 million-copy first printing.

Library Journal

The narrative ensemble, which includes the author, is an inspired choice for this production. Their collective talents prove equal to a story with an extensive cast and a magical blend of realism and fantasy. Omniscient narrator Music sets the pace and guides listeners through the captivating tale of an orphan whose guitar, with its magic strings, changes lives as he plays with some of the most celebrated bands of the twentieth century. Wisely, the narrators don’t attempt mimicry, yet they manage to effectively portray the voices of some musical icons. As these personalities tell Frankie's story, the narrators' perfect timing and pacing effectively deliver Albom's wonderfully natural dialogue. The fortunate listener who can briefly suspend disbelief will be rewarded with one of this season's true audio gems. M.O.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile