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Review: "Spiritually Uplifting"

This review is by Sandy Swan who is a morning personality on Piggy in Elmira, NY. Her thoughts, as you'll see, are thoughtful and honest:

. . . Page-turner is certainly an apt description, here, and you should be very proud to have created something that demands to be read without ceasing.  If I read until my eyes blur, you have received a huge compliment!  I found it to be intense, spiritually uplifting and, when it comes to conveying a sense of pop culture, right on the money!  (AM and PM - I love it!)  I also like that it stretched me intellectually.  I realized after reading The Perfect Song that I don't stretch myself enough intellectually, content to take the easy, more comfortable path far too often.  So I thank you for that.

Two things about the book I had trouble with:  1.  It was hard for me to imagine a nomad in today's world surviving starvation.  People have to eat every day, or nearly, and Mendel managed to do it in every climate and every situation he ever wandered into, without fail, as far as we know.  You didn't address this enough to satisfy my doubts, but for the sake of the story I was willing to suspend my own poisonous realism and just accept it.  2.  Along those same lines, I was skeptical of Poul finding every snip of paper that Mendel discarded days after he tossed them - even in a storm - even into the ocean?  Or for that matter, finding Mendel himself by picking up cold his trail again and again.  How possible is this, I asked myself.  Not very, but again, because the story was so good and went so much deeper than practicalities, I could let it go without too much angst.

 . . . .As for life-changing potential, the book is a definite winner.

Sandy Swan, WOKN

 

 

 

New Review

(Note: I've known Bob and Eileen Shelly for many years. They're outstanding performers and Bob is an excellent, certified hypnotist. They're wonderful people, and they're very honest.)

There is an inherent risk in our writing a review of Dennis Miller's book, The Perfect Song.  First, we like Dennis and consider him a loyal, witty and erudite friend.  And then there's the fact that one of us makes a living perennially playing a con man, albeit a caricature, on stage at Mansfield 's Fabulous 1890's Weekend and we're not sure anyone would believe anything Professor Marvel would say.  

  Fortunately, I serve as Professor Marvel's conscience on and off-stage and as my husband Bob will tell you, I'm not the least bit hesitant to call 'em as I see 'em. 

  So when Dennis sold us his book (we absolutely refused a free copy as we believe no true artist should work for free).   I read the book first on a show trip from Montreal to Buffalo and back, then without comment, I turned it over to Bob. 

So, how did we like the book?  We both agreed that The Perfect Song was a helluva good read...uplifting, even inspirational, thoroughly engrossing.  It is a fable for our time, and with all great fables, it rings true.  Dennis, the 25 years you put into this book shows up on every page.  We loved it!  Don't make us wait another 25 years for the next one!

 

 

"A New Star"

Author Damon is a new star with a provocative and fascinating tale. . . .The novel is an incredible insight into our modern society, how music can affect and change the world, and how expertise in marketing can create demand and spiritual satisfaction within our culture.

Dr. Kenneth Sarch, professor of music, Mansfield University. For full review click here.

 

 

New Review

(The following are excerpts from a review by Anthony Cardno. For the full review click here.


. . .The Perfect Song" is full of big ideas on the nature of art, the nature of ethics, the nature of humans, and the nature of nature. All of these big ideas are couched in three characters: Mendel, the artist; Poul, the interface between artist and real world; and Beasely, the publisher. And these characters are definitely real, not just skin sacks to fill with "big ideas." By the end of the book, you've largely forgotten you're reading about ideas because somewhere along the line, the characters have become more important. Which is what good fiction should do. . . .

. . . It's a game of cat-and-mouse that sweeps you along. This is the kind of book that you approach saying "okay, someone recommended it to me, I'll give it a try, a chapter a night," and before you know it, you're stretching that bed-time to get through "one more chapter."

. . . .Suffice to say, there are shades of Plato and other great philosophers here. There is a ton of political and sociological commentary mixed in. . . .

http://www.livejournal.com/users/talekyn/

Wow! If a dead man could read, that would be me below!

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The quest for creative perfection - and lesser pursuits

Martha Horton, Amazon.com – five stars

 

You could call it fantasy, or magic realism, or simply a fable for our time.

"The Perfect Song" concerns Mendel, a vagabond songwriter, on a quest for the perfect song; the frustrated Poul ("If someone spray-painted him green, he would resemble a praying mantis,"),
seeking wealth and the freedom that comes with it; and the smarmy Beasley, out to make it very big indeed in the music business. All are obsessed as they pursue their goals, but the pursuit itself changes them as this intriguing tale unfolds.

Damon gives us lyrical passages describing Mendel's translation of inspiration into song as he roams the country - and wrenching irony as the songs (unbeknownst to Mendel) win international
acclaim, hysterical adoration - and accusations of heresy.

While the milieu is the out-of-control world of contemporary mass entertainment, Damon's book is perhaps less about the music business than about the business of living. As the three main characters come to question the validity of their life-long pursuits, readers - while being immensely entertained - may be challenged to rethink their own.

"The Perfect Song" is wildly funny, poignant and profound. I hope some farsighted film maker discovers it and gives the it the "Polar Express" treatment.

 

 

A Review
by Cheryl Clarke
By the time I finished reading Dennis Miller’s new book, “The Perfect Song,” I was struck by the underlying similarities between the book’s main character, Mendel, and its other two secondary characters, Poul and J.W. Beasely.
All three were on a quest for something many believe to be unattainable. In his search for “the perfect song,” Mendel spends his entire life writing and discarding his music as he wanders the countryside, living like a vagrant.
Coming upon the discarded sheets of music, Poul takes them to a publisher, Beasely, who produces them and makes Mendel a household name, and the music changes the world, even though he doesn¹t know anything about his success.
Only by reading the book will you learn if he ever finds out.
Poul, in his quest to become rich, does so, but finds happiness continues to be an elusive thing for him. Does he ever find it? You’ll have to read the book.
Beasely makes his publishing empire the biggest in the world because of Mendel. Does he get the desire of his heart? Read the book to find out.
As I read this book, I thought of its author, a man who has been a musician, a writer and a public relations director, among other things, and considered how much he drew from his own life to create these characters.
Like them, Miller has spent a good part of his life in the writing of this book. Is the book the culmination of Miller¹s own quest?
Using a pen name, “Damon,” Miller weaves a story that captures the thoughts and emotions of three men on the roller coaster ride that is their life in a way that can only suggest he alone knows the answer, on a very personal
level. Interspersed are brief sections of levity, providing comic relief to the otherwise serious tone of the book.
”The Perfect Song” is a great read for anyone who is looking for something in life, no matter what it is.
The ending, though far from defining “the perfect song,” will leave you with more questions than answers about the search for perfection in your own life, sparking self examination, and to quote Martha Stewart, “that's
a good thing.” I¹m sure all who read it will come away with their own unique impressions.
(Courtesy Cheryl Clarke and The Wellsboro Gazette)

 

Amazon.com review—Five Stars!

Between the sacred and the profane, July 12, 2004

  Reviewer: Richard W. Jones

Mendel is the world's greatest and most famous song writer but he doesn't even know it. Poul is the financial beneficiary of Mendel's genius but oh how the "easy" money takes a toll on him.

And which camp, the author asks--though never directly--are you in?

I recommend this fantasy enthusiatically. Like all good writers, Damon (and why won't you give your full name?) makes important points in engaging ways.

This is a story about creativity and who profits from it. Mendel is an eccentric genius who wanders the United States searching in nature for the inspiration that will yield the perfect song. Unknown to Mendel, Poul follows him, collecting his "reject" songs and cashing in--an unknown "agent" with a commission of 100 percent! For Mendel, the quest for the perfect song is life itself. For Poul life is...well, that's part of the surprise.

Just like the question about whether there is a sound if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, "Damon" in this book asks if there can be recognized creativity without exploitation. Don't answer until you read "The Perfect Song."

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Copyright © 2004 by D.R. Miller. All Rights Reserved.