"Revival: A Folk Music Novel," Scott Alarik (Peter E. Randall, 328 pages, $22)
Here's an unusual topic for a novel. Instead of being based on the high-powered top-dollar rock music scene, "Revival" takes readers into the national folk music scene. Author Scott Alarik covered folk music for The Boston Globe for 20 years, so he knows this territory intimately and that's the signature quality of the novel. It's an intimate story about musicians who play the basement clubs of America. The main character, songwriter Nathan Warren, wasted the years when his talent was at its freshest. His lover, Kit Palmer, is a gifted singer who can't seem to hold it together on stage. Can they get their act together before the chance for stardom passes them by?
by Melanie Lauwers, Cape Cod Times