The Midnight Dolls by Zoe Partyka

 

The Midnight Dolls by Zoe Partyka is a love letter to music. Set in the early 1970’s we have a young reporter following a band on tour and "The Midnight Dolls" is the name of the band. If it sounds like the plot of the movie Almost famous, it is true that it does have a similar basic premise. But the novel takes us down the rabbit hole of insecurity. We see rock stars who seem to have everything, but they cannot manage without crutches, be those crutches alcohol, pills or adoration. It is not just the band members who have issues. Our narrator the reporter is full of self-doubt and has his own crutches.

Rock stars doing drugs. Heard it all before? Perhaps, but the reporter and we, the audience, begin to see the band members as real people in a way that their fans never can. There is a drive to perform for people. If you have experienced it, you know what I mean. I have performed on stage as an actor, not a musician, but I know a little bit about wanting to share your art with others, to receive that energy back. In The Midnight Dolls, we see that drive to have a connection with an audience. But we also see the flipside: what if the audience wants more than you can give? What if you lose the confidence that you can give it? There are people ready to love you, but is it enough to save you?

The mountain top and the gutter. The highs and the lows. We see them all. We hope that love is enough to see them through. The reporter, Julian, makes the following observation, “there is nothing more pathetic than someone who sits atop the world yet scrapes to see the bottom.”

Partyka gives us a keen insight into the mindset of these characters, even the narrator Julien is not exempt from this soul searching. The characters may not always behave the way you want them to, but they behave in the way they have to. The author has undoubtably had experience with some of these types of people in her own life. She gives us real characters that we have a feel for. The back stories of all the people are fully fleshed-out without being intrusive.  Underlying everything is music, the love of music, the need for music.  Through music the band members and those around them experience ecstasy, consequence, and consolation. Maybe they don’t end up where they thought they would at the beginning, but that may be okay too.

It is well worth the read.

Star Liner