Jay Northcote’s Imperfect Harmony turned out to fit this month’s “No Place Like Home” prompt in several different ways. Not only has one of the lead characters recently returned to his former home town, but also, it’s set in the UK (my home), the two leads are musicians (so am I) and one of them is a music teacher (ditto), so the setting felt very familiar to me on many levels.

John Fletcher lost his partner of over two decades a couple of years before the story begins, and he’s still struggling to come to terms with it. He’s just going through the motions day to day, existing rather than living, and has deliberately shied away from something he dearly loves – making music – because it reminds him too much of David and happier times. Around a year later, his mother became ill and John moved back to the family home in the small Cotswold town of Lambury to care for her, which he did until her death months earlier, so to say the last couple of years have been difficult for him is an understatement.

His neighbour, Maggie, is recovering from a having a hip replacement, so John offers to drive her to her weekly choir practice. Along the way, she asks him if singing in a choir is something he’s ever done – she’s known him for years and knows he’s musical – but John makes clear it’s not something he’s keen on. They arrive at the venue and John sees Maggie safely inside – and is immediately captivated by the sound of a beautiful tenor voice singing a familiar song. Maggie tells him it’s the choirmaster, Rhys, whom John is surprised to discover is much younger than he’d imagined – maybe early twenties – and much more unconventional, with his electric blue hair, tattoos and an eyebrow piercing. Rhys welcomes them both with a charming smile and John is surprised to find himself experiencing the first flicker of interest he’s felt for another man in years. Rhys hopefully asks if John is staying to sing – there are never enough men in amateur choirs! – and John finds his initial resistance to the idea waning in the face of the other man’s obvious enthusiasm.

As the rehearsal progresses, John realises he’s glad to be there; he’s enjoying the music and the activity of singing for the first time in years. Rhys is clearly a very talented musician and the members of the choir obviously adore him; he’s confident, vibrant, graceful and full of life (all the things John is not) – and John is smitten. At the end of the evening, he comes away feeling lighter than he has in a very long time.

Rhys Callington moved back to Lambury about eighteen months earlier following the tragic death of his boyfriend, and works as a freelance musician – he runs the choir, a few music clubs in local schools and does some specialist instrumental and vocal coaching. He’s pleased when, at the end of the evening, John says he enjoyed the session, and he really hopes John will come back. There’s something about the quiet, older man that makes Rhys want to get to know him better.

Imperfect Harmony is a gentle, romantic story about two men who have suffered terrible losses helping each other to emerge from the limbo they’ve both been existing in and start to really live again. As they share long walks and meaningful conversations, John and Rhys come to realise that they have more in common than their shared love of music; Rhys is also griveing the loss of someone close to him and can’t help lingering feelings of guilt, even though he knows that what happened wasn’t his fault. Their strong emotional connection and mutual attraction are really well written and there’s no doubt these two are meant for each other. I also really liked the way the author shows John slowly overcoming his reluctance to playing his violin or the piano. Meeting Rhys is undoubtedly the catalyst for his decision to try, but I liked the parallel between John’s move towards playing again and his realisation that maybe he’s finally ready to move past David’s death and start living the rest of his life. It doesn’t happen all in one go of course – it’s a gradual process, but it’s nicely done.

The conflict in the story arises principally from John’s inability to see past their nineteen year age gap (John is forty-two, Rhys twenty-three) and his fears that he’s too old and staid for someone as young and vibrant as Rhys. It’s clear that most of John’s concerns are the result of a sudden onset of panic at the way his life is changing, and he’s going to have to find it within himself to take a chance on life – and on love.

Given the heaviness of the subject matter, this isn’t a melodramatic or overly angsty story, and unlike many of the books I’ve read about music and musicians, where it’s clear author doesn’t actually know how to write about music, that’s not the case here. Jay Northcote’s descriptions of Rhys teaching the choir their parts, of the excitement at hearing them fit together, of the rush of pleasure as John rediscovers the joy of making music, speak to someone who knows their stuff. Imperfect Harmony is very much a ‘vibes over plot’ story about healing, finding new love and moving on, and I really enjoyed it.