Trying to Get to You

by: Shea Adday

Published by: AEG Publishing, Joint Venture contract

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

Minneapolis writer and artist, Shea Adday, has put together a fascinating fictional account of a rock band in Trying to Get to You. She claims to feel that rock music is about courage, honesty and innovation, yet the characters in this book struggle with every part of that description.

The story is told from the point of view of Farley, a young girl who was taking care of her ill mother in Dubuque, Iowa. Her mother was dying of multiple sclerosis and in her spare moments Farley spent time with her best friend, Anita Satnin, and her family. Anita’s brother, Al and his twin sister, Ann, were musicians. They began performing together at a young age, and then in high school formed the basis for a rock band, Satnin, McGhee & Moore.

The book describes the issues of a band from the inside out. Farley is first a family groupie, but eventually marries Al Satnin. She has to learn to deal with the not-so-glamorous side of touring with the band, waiting for recording sessions, a husband who is often out all night partying, and the effects of drugs and alcohol on family and friends.

The book is also a sort of tribute to Elvis Presley. In the book the Satnin family is enamored of old Elvis music, movies and concert videos. Throughout the book there are little references to Elvis memorabilia and information about Elvis that only a “true fan” would pick out. For example, the introduction to the book says that the family name, “Satnin” comes from a pet phrase that Elvis’s mother used with him. These are interesting, but were mostly lost on me since I am not an avid Elvis fan.

One other issue with the book is the voice. It is written almost like a personal journal. Farley’s character is written in the third person, but the reader gets an almost first person narrator point of view – not an objective omniscient narration. It is a little difficult to follow as people are mentioned in passing, and then later explained almost as an afterthought. In this near first-person style, some incidences are much too detailed – as if your grandmother was describing her latest surgery to you, but other pieces of information are simply left hanging. I found this to be a flaw with the book.

Flaws notwithstanding, it seems to be a knowledgeable foray into the lives of rock musicians and would appeal to those with similar interests.

Armchair Interviews agrees.