Novels with soundtracks

Most movies have soundtracks, many of them quite good. Sometimes, as with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the soundtrack can be better than the movie. But novels? Can they have soundtracks, or at least playlists? The thought had never occurred to me until I read Jason Rekulak's The Impossible Fortress, set in the 1980s and with so many songs from that period mentioned that the author gives not one but two playlists at the end, for "historical record," he says. They include such songs as Heat of the Night by Bryan Adams, Walking Down Your Street by the Bangles and Let's Wait Awhile by Janet Jackson.

More recently I read The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce, which includes a playlist of songs mentioned in the novel, such as Satin Doll by Duke Ellington, Into the Mystic by Van Morrison and Handel's Hallelujah chorus. This is actually a better playlist because, in each case, the novel tells us something about each piece of music and why it is worth listening to.

Peter Robinson's mystery novel When the Music's Over doesn't have a playlist, but it should. As in other novels in the series, Inspector Banks, Robinson's hero, is an insatiable fan of music, all kinds of music. While reading this novel, I found myself making my own playlist. Here is part of it:

My Silver Lining, First Aid Kit
Tracking (the album), Mark Knopfler
Lament for Jersusalem, John Tavener
Stray Cat Blues, Rolling Stones
Rosalyn, David Bowie

If you are wondering what to listen to next on Spotify (or whatever), these novels offer plenty of suggestions. From Rachel Joyce, I was turned on to the gorgeous Icelandic choral piece Heyr Himna Smidu, which in turn led me to the Icelandic guitarist Sigurgeir Sigmundsson, whose instrumental version of that choral work knocked my socks off.