Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Song Is You  By  cover art

The Song Is You

By: Arthur Phillips
Narrated by: Christopher E. Welch
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Julian Donahue is in love with his iPod. Each song that shuffles through "that greatest of all human inventions" triggers a memory. But when his family falls apart, even music loses its hold on him, and he has nothing. Until one snowy night in Brooklyn, when he stumbles into a bar and sees Cait O'Dwyer, a flame-haired Irish rock singer, performing with her band, and a strange and unlikely love affair is ignited.

Critically acclaimed author Arthur Phillips skyrocketed up best-seller lists and won immense popularity for novels such as The Egyptologist and Prague. With The Song Is You, Phillips again demonstrates his mastery of form with a tale of love and obsession in the digital age.

Download a free interview with Arthur Phillips.
©2009 Arthur Phillips (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"If novelists were labeled zoologically, Arthur Phillips would fall naturally into the dolphin family: his writing is playful, cerebral, likable, wide-ranging and inventive....The whole novel zings with fresh insight and inspired writing. The Song Is You is smaller, more focused and more character-driven than Phillips's earlier books, and it's not only a welcome new direction, but also a novel impossible to put down." (The New York Times Sunday Book Review)

What listeners say about The Song Is You

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

An Okay Story

I really loved Phillip's previous book, Angelica, and so I bought this one expecting the same. The storyline about a man in love with his Ipod and along distance relationship between him and an Irish singer sounded like something I could really get into. But I didn't find the main characters all that interesting. I never really cared about what happened to them, and found myself skimming the book at times. Now, I don't want to make this book sound like it was terrible. Maybe I just didn't get what the author was trying to convey. I'd say all in all, an okay read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

The Song is You

I enjoyed the book and especially the reader until the end. I expected a better ending and was dissapointed. Call me a romantic but I really was sorry to have invested so much time for it to end that way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This was a pretty good book.....

....the characters were interesting and the storyline was intriguing.....the one thing that really frustrated me though........was the dragging on of Kate and Julian trying to get up enough "guts" to finally meet in person......GOOD HEAVENS.......just get it over with and done!!! I could relate to Julian and his use of the iPod and memories for every single song......I do the same thing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

The Song is Who?

It doesn't go anywhere. There exposition is long and drawn out. Then he chases a songstress to the extent of being a stalker, but she likes it. The story between those two is good and will pull you in. But, like another reviewer said, it just stops. Much like real life, I suppose.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved this book

I loved this book. I couldn't turn it off for a break. I also enjoyed the narrations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Really disappointing

Humorless characters who I couldn't care less about interspersed with the authors knowledge of music. And how bad can that segue music get? Elevator out-takes please go away.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

well i hated this book. Every time I started listening to it I fell asleep, and then I would start over and fall asleep again. The main character (I can't even remeber his name) falls in love with this chick and starts stalking her. I mean its depressing and stupid. Honestley I think if you are thinking of buying this book don't waste your money.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

The Song is PU

Boring people are doing uninteresting things in this novel about a self-absorbed man semi-stalking a self-absorbed wannabe Irish rock diva. The last one-thousand hours tediously describes his pursuit and her coy dodges through the cities of Europe and ends...I don't know because I just could not go on any longer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

stalking romance with music

I love this audiobook. I love music & my ipod, too, so I could relate to Julian & the conversation about music that is the backbone of this book--from his father's falling in love at a Billie Holiday concert to the Irish singer Julian falls in love with. The use of the ipod as a mystic tool--if a certain song comes up...,
his imagined, or not? relationship with the Irish singer--fun.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful