Sound

Set on the Jersey Shore over the course of one long summer, Sound is the story of Cincy, a young man who returns, somewhat reluctantly, to his childhood town and takes up a job as a boatyard manager. The town is saturated with nostalgia and melancholy for Cincy, and as he attempts to oversee the eclectic employees at the boatyard, he struggles to find meaning in a place that seems only to offer mundanity… until one evening he meets Vera and his purpose becomes clear.A poignant love affair with an incredibly atmospheric setting, Cincy’s search for meaning and his battle to get the girl are brilliantly evoked using the form of a musical score, with the reader ‘hearing’ the book as it is read: dialogue, thought, heartbeats and a hip-hop soundtrack are layered throughout the pages.A haunting and emotive story, enriched by a highly unusual new form, Sound rings out with simple, understated clarity. It is a wildly imaginative and inventive debut.