All Together Now by Gill Hornby
About the Book
This is a funny and moving novel about the joys of singing, about living in harmony, about falling in love...and about the importance of finding your own, true voice.
The small town of Bridgeford is in crisis. The high street is half empty, businesses are closing and the idea of civic pride feels old-fashioned to the commuters rushing home from work. Somehow, it seems to have lost its heart.
There is one thing that might just bring the town together; music. The Bridgeford Community Choir has a chance of winning the county championship. But first, the small band of singers must find out a lot of new members and a whole new sound.
Enter Tracey - one of life's soloists, and hiding a secret past; Bennett - a church choir regugee, baffled by the modern world. And Jazzy - who sees her voice as her passport straight out of town to a future of fame and fortune. Can they really fit in with dependable old regulars like Annie? Can they learn to work together, save their singing group and maybe even their community?
About the Author
Gill Hornby is a writer and journalist who has spent her life surrounded by novelists: her brother is Nick Hornby and her husband is Robert Harris. She lives with her husband and their four children in Kintbury, Berkshire. Her first novel, The Hive, was a Sunday Times best-seller and was published in 12 territories.
Q & A
When I write, I like to…
...shut the door, put on some music and put in some ear plugs until I can only hear myself think. This house can get quite busy, but three layers seems to block out the noise.
One thing that people don't know about me is…
...I can spend hours on the Karaoke machine, all on my own. In fact, preferably on my own. B. Tyler and D. Ross, thanks for asking.
The book that inspired me to write is…
...probably all those that I read as a child, and loved them so much that I lived them. Of course, there have been others since, and Sense and Sensibility is always there as the very model of novel perfection. But books like The Faraway Tree, The Family at One End Street, The Borrowers, Little Women all had such a powerful effect on me that I grew up believing that writing was a sort of magic.
My current view is of…
...mossy roof tiles, trees above, blue sky and, if I shuffle in my seat a bit, the dovecote on the wall of the cottage next door. The new baby doves are just poking their heads out and it won't be long before their loving parents have had enough of them, are grabbing them with their beaks and hurling them out into the world. I've been staring at them for a couple of years now, and can confidently report that there is no emotional conflict about the empty nest with that lot.
One of my favourite authors is...
...Elizabeth Jane Howard. Like Austen, she understands that family life is the best material to work with, with all the drama, tragedy, romance and humour that you could possibly need.
The thing I love most about words is…
...they give you the power to make someone laugh - and cry, of course. But I prefer the laughing.
