Into The Grey was first published in 2011 in Ireland and has won both the CBI Book of the Year Award (formerly known as the Bisto Award) and the CBI Children’s Choice Award in 2012 (the first book to ever receive both). The book is simply amazing (check Ana’s review HERE) and we are delighted to be a stop on the Into The Grey Blog Tour which features a playlist built for/around the story.
Celine Kiernan: on the Book and the Playlist
Into the Grey is a ghost story about twin brothers, Pat and Dom Finnerty, whose lives are turned upside down by the loss of their home and by a subsequent haunting. The book has quite a few chills, there’s quite a bit of political history in it, much exploration of death and loss–but there’s also a lot of love and kindness in it, a fair few laughs and a lot of bravery. I thought I’d have a bit of fun with that side of the book on this blog tour, so these posts will be all about music! Why certain songs feature in the story, what they mean to me, what memories are associated with them etc . Into the Grey is set in the Irish seaside town of Skerries in 1974, all the songs featured are evocative to me of both that time and that (very real) place As you will see, they all speak very much to the story, too, and to the characters and the rather desperate situation with which they find themselves entwined.
MoonShadow: Cat Stevens (Chapter: James Hueston)
NOTE: Cat Stevens: a man who for years projected the image of perfect balance while secretly teetering on the edge of a precipice. I thought Cat and Moonshadow were the perfect background for James and Pat as they stoically dragged their ghosts through an oblivious world.
“You’ve spent a long time in England, haven’t you, Mr Hueston?”
James looked down at his hands, smiling a bit. “Oh aye,” he said. “Quite a bit of time.” His accent registered with me then. He spoke just like my ma’s brother, Gary, who’d left home at seventeen to join the RAF and only ever returned for weddings and for funerals. James had the same warm, rounded burr to his voice.
The radio was playing low in the corner, waiting for the news to come on. Ma was listening for updates on the bus strike, I guess, hoping it would be called off. At that moment, Cat Stevens’ gentle voice was telling us that if he ever lost his eyes he’d not have to cry no more. I couldn’t bear to sit down, so I went and leant against the Aga, its latent heat a drowsy comfort against the small of my back.
“Where’s your brother?” Ma asked me.
“We left the gate open. He’s gone to shut it.”
It seemed an eternity, but no one else seemed to notice, and finally there he was: Dom-and-not-Dom, staggering up to the door. I tried not to stare as he stood there swaying slightly on the threshold, but I sussed him out from the corner of my eye. He didn’t look normal, not by any stretch of the imagination, but at this stage I figured Dom’s head would have to be off and tucked under his arm for my ma to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Giveaway Details:
We have one copy of Into the Grey to giveaway. The contest is open to ALL and will run till Saturday August 3 12:00AM EST. Use the form below to enter. GOOD LUCK.
37 Comments
Rachel Bridgeman
July 29, 2013 at 9:32 amI have to be honest this is a little grim but every time I hear The Ramones ‘Sheena is a punk rocker’ I think of ‘Pet Sematary’ by Stephen KIng…I know this was in the movie but it’s also in the book
Courtney
July 29, 2013 at 9:52 amDoes it count that thanks to fanfic, whenever I hear “The Only Time” by Nine Inch Nails, I instantly want to read all Snape bits of the Harry Potter books? Also “Bad Moon Rising by Creedance makes me think of multiple Stephen King books.
Lauren
July 29, 2013 at 11:30 amFor some reason, whenever I hear Portishead, it makes me think of American Gods (Neil Gaiman)…
superbwg
July 29, 2013 at 11:32 amAnything by Gareth Emery makes me think of Anne McCaffery books, especially her Pern and Tower and Hive series.
Sheila
July 29, 2013 at 12:22 pmI like to listen to The Cure when I read ghost stories or other “gentle” horror.
Gerd D.
July 29, 2013 at 12:48 pm“Mercy of the fallen” by Dar Williams, always reminds me of a scene in one of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson novels.
Lexi
July 29, 2013 at 1:22 pm“Queen of Skye” always makes me think of Gaiman’s Stardust.
Cecelia
July 29, 2013 at 1:23 pmLena Coakley’s book WITCHLANDERS made me think of Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ the entire time I was reading it. Something about the atmosphere…
Dina
July 29, 2013 at 2:14 pmI love when books come with playlists. Usually, I make my own (sometimes by accident) and that has led to some quite embarrassing private playlists from when I was a young teenager. All I’ll say is Harry Potter and Britney Spears go together in my head… whenever I hear and old Britney song, I see Hogwarts.
This sounds much cooler and the book definitely made it onto my wishlist.
Nazia
July 29, 2013 at 2:29 pmFor some reason every time I listen to Within Temptation’s songs (especially The Howling) I think of Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
scribe k.
July 29, 2013 at 4:03 pmradioactive reminds me of feed by mira grant
Amanda Lee
July 29, 2013 at 4:46 pmI almost always listen to instrumental movie soundtracks when I read, in particular Little Women, the Lord of the Rings, Tuck Everlasting, etc.
Shannon Renee
July 29, 2013 at 4:53 pmThe 30 Seconds to Mars song, OBLIVION always makes me think of the Hunger Games trilogy. (But then I love 30 Seconds to Mars, all their songs are like books on tape to me lol)
Alexandra the Great
July 29, 2013 at 4:56 pmI can’t listen to music while I read – it’s just too distracting – so I don’t associate a lot of books with music. I’ll make an exception for Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits album, which reminds me of long summer days as a teen spent reading and rereading Harry Potter books and plotting Harry Potter fanfic (which I never wrote).
Lan
July 29, 2013 at 5:13 pmGenerally I blast movie scores and soundtracks while reading, but if you wanted something in particular; I’d have to say The Cinematic Orchestra for Harry Potter, or A Beautiful Mind soundtrack for sci-fi sagas.
Iz
July 29, 2013 at 5:17 pmI’m reading Ender’s Game right now, it really reminds me of This is Gallifrey by Murray Gold ^-^;
Hebe
July 29, 2013 at 7:33 pmI always think of Roland from the Dark Tower series when I hear “All for One” by Blackmore’s Night.
Gaby Metivier
July 29, 2013 at 8:53 pmMuse is one of my favorite bands, and every time I listen to their song “Resistance”, I’m thrown back to the story of Lochan and Maya in “Forbidden”, by Tabitha Suzuma. It automaticly gives me goosebumps and teary eyes 😥
Matthew
July 29, 2013 at 10:08 pmSometimes when I’m reading and listening to music, if something really intense happens in the book and the music matches just enough, the song and the book are completely bonded in my brain. So we’ve got, for instance, “Omaha” by the Counting Crows matched to Stephen King’s “the Dark Half.” On the other hand, somehow “The Elfstones of Shannara” by Terry Brooks got tied to Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy” 😛
Victoria Zumbrum
July 29, 2013 at 10:17 pmI Need You Now by Lady Antebellum and Amazed go well with romance novels. Thanks for the awesome giveaway.
Rachel
July 29, 2013 at 10:19 pmFor some reason, I associate the song ‘A Thousand Years’ by Cristina Perri with the relationship between Mordion and Vierran in Diana Wynne Jones’ ‘Hexwood’. It’s a very obscure connection.
erinf1
July 29, 2013 at 11:24 pmUmmm…. Nickelback goes well with some of the NA coming out now 😉
Maryam
July 30, 2013 at 4:28 amSafe and Sound by Taylor Swift reminds me of The Hunger Games.
Chetana Holla
July 30, 2013 at 7:17 amOne of my favorite books is Lord of the Rings and I really love the OST from the movie. The song Into the West just sums up the feelings the book evokes in me.
Mary Anne
July 30, 2013 at 9:14 amI won a copy of Into the Grey about a year ago, and I really enjoyed it. The brothers and their relationship with each other and with all of their family stuck with me. The atmosphere stuck with me. It was a pretty wonderful book.
Meghan
July 30, 2013 at 11:47 amIt’s a bit embarrassing, but I was on a bit of a Corrs kick when I was young, impressionable, and obsessed with the Emily of New Moon series by L. M. Montgomery. Every time I even see the spine of that book, I hear the Corrs’ “At Your Side” in my brain my DAYS. I also cannot help but hear a certain combination of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Shostakovich symphonies when I read Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls or Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising. I had that particular classical playlist on for my reading of A Monster Calls and The Dark Is Rising series and I will forever hear certain melodic swells in the songs at certain parts of those books.
Emma
July 30, 2013 at 1:45 pmMost of the songs I have associated with books are really strange, and just have to do with whatever music I was obsessed with at the time I was reading. One of the weirdest is this techno song, L’amour Toujours by Gigi D’agostino, which I had on repeat for days while I was reading the fourth Harry Potter.
Heather S
July 30, 2013 at 6:42 pmRadioactive makes me think of Gone Girl.
Kelley
July 30, 2013 at 9:01 pmGirl on Fire makes me think of The Hunger Games series everytime i hear it on the radio
Mary Preston
July 31, 2013 at 12:29 amWhat comes to mind immediately are all the Bond songs.
Katrina
July 31, 2013 at 10:43 pmWow, I’ve never had that kind of book-music connexion! I get too distracted when I listen to music to concentrate on reading…
Noor Unnahar
August 1, 2013 at 12:30 amOh I have a twin sister so I’m already feeling related 🙂 I wanna read it.
Noor Unnahar
August 1, 2013 at 12:31 amPS : I really get into tunes of The Last of Nicolas Sparkes by the song I hope you find it by Miley Cyrus .
Sue Gerth
August 2, 2013 at 8:14 amI have to say if I listen to music when I read it’s usually instrumental new agey stuff. Puts my brain in a good place.
Justine
August 2, 2013 at 6:28 pm“I’ll Be There” = I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan . . . for obvious reasons
Rachel G
August 2, 2013 at 10:18 pmI actually keep a list of these. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ by Florence and the Machine reminds me a lot of the Hunger Games. ‘If It Kills Me’ by Jason Mraz always makes me think of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy (some of my favourite books ever).
Nilda
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