The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Mitch Albom’s 2015 novel, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, blends magical realism with historical fiction to create a genre-bending work that is accessible for a wide range of audiences; however, given the complex themes of love, loss, regret, and redemption, the novel is best suited for a young adult audience and older.

A personification of music, “Music,” narrates much of the novel. The novel starts at Frankie’s funeral and is interspersed with anecdotes from famous musicians who “knew” Frankie and Music’s narration of his history. Throughout the novel, Frankie’s magic guitar strings turn blue when he changes the course of a character’s life.

Plot Summary

Frankie is born at a church in Spain in 1936 during a fascist raid brought on by the Spanish Civil War. His mother, Carmencita, keeps him quiet by humming Francisco Tárrega’s “Lágrima,” a song that will be important to him all his life. His mother dies, and a nun begins caring for Frankie. When Frankie hears music for the first time, he cries ceaselessly, and the nun, Josefa, throws him into a river. He’s saved by a hairless dog and adopted by a man named Baffa.