Title: The Leon Lewis Band
Author: LM Levin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781532057199
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 404
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
The Leon Lewis Band is an insightful and inspiring novel about sex, drugs, and rock and roll in the turbulent 60’s. LM Levin has written a novel that readers will love.
The Leon Lewis Band tells the story of Jackie Klein and Leon Lewis, two Jewish boys in 1950’s Brooklyn who bond over their love of rock music. They join together to form a band, the Leon Lewis Band, that tours the country trying to make their mark on the music business. While on tour, they fall in love with fascinating women, fight with each other, and embark on journeys that change them forever.
The novel is very entertaining and emotional because of Levin’s writing. The text has light moments about the band’s exciting adventures on the road with hippies, groupies, and other colorful characters they encounter on the road. Leon Lewis also deals with serious issues that affected people in the 1960’s, including racism, anti-Semitism, and the Vietnam War.
The characters in the novel are also well-developed, with Jackie and Leon having simple lives which become complicated by chasing fame and being haunted by traumatic events from their pasts. Leon’s romantic relationship with Catalina, a Latina journalist, is also a vital love story that proves that love knows no limits.
The music mentioned in the book is almost another character in the Leon Lewis Band. The evolution of the band and even America is detailed through the music in the novel. The band copes with anti-Semitism through listening and playing 50’ blues rock. The Beatles’ messages of love in the 60’s helped the rock group confront racism amid the volatility of the Civil Rights era. Even the international influence of reggae in the 1970s has the Leon Lewis band being impacted by world events.
The Leon Lewis Band would be best for fans of classic rock music and that found solace in music through tempestuous times in their lives. The book would also be ideal for readers who are fans of rock novels like Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments or Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. Even readers who aren’t fans of rock can find inspiration in the compelling relationships between the characters.
The Leon Lewis Band is a novel that tells an entertaining story about rock music and friendship that readers will find thought-provoking. LM Levin has written a book that vividly shows how music and love can overcome any obstacle.
