Matt Monro Forum

Just to let you know I finished reading the beautiful and extraordinary book The Singers Singer - The Life and Music of Matt Monro today. It is hard to find the words to express my feelings after reading about the life and sad demise of my favourite singer the masterful and majestic Matt Monro. The story took me two to three months to complete, but by heck it was truly worth it. Matts ending came very quickly, which is hard to take, especially for the man himself, a man who was full of humility and kindness. But also I felt the complete heartache his ever faithful wife Mickie was going through at this terrible time, and also for yourself Michele, and Matt junior and Mitch too.

I have posted 54 crying emoticons with this email, to signify Matts age at the time of his death.
But they also signify to me how hard it was to read the final chapter in the book (Cry Me a River), as I found it so hard to keep my eyes dry when reading everyones heartbreaking comments at the beginning and during that emotional chapter..................all I kept thinking about after reading that chapter was poor Matt, poor poor Matt and the helplessness his family felt.

Hope you are well Michele.

Love from Robert McCloud, a heartbroken fan of the truly awesome singer and entertainer Mr Matt Monro, a man I have come to know and love while reading the best 632 pages I have ever read in my life.

God Bless Mr and Mrs Matt Monro , they were truly the very best.

Lovely statement Robert.

Thank you for that John

Robert, I know Michele will be moved by your comments. As was I.

Yes, I think she was, Marian

I have only just seen this Robert. Beautifully said.

I have already emailed Robert privately but suffice to know I was truly choked up over the effect the book had had on one reader. I will admit that the Forward was written 26 years ago as I watched my father die and I wrote my thoughts down as I so often do. When I decided to write the book I revisited the notes I had so carefully stored and found that the raw emotion and devastation was so evident that I decided to use the notes as they had been written. In fact the publishers wanted to take the Foreword out as they said the writing style might put some people off buying the book but as most of you have come to know by now I am very pig-headed and I wasn't about to be told what I could keep and what I couldn't.

Robert I have only just seen your email too Michele it was so beautiful I couldnt have put better myself,it was so moving.


Christine

Your review Robert on the book was very moving and a pleasure to read. We totally agree with everything you said.

Well said Robert and the book is the reason I am here as Michele sent me a very prompt and courtous reply when I emailed to say how much I had enjoyed it/

I have to admit as it's come up in the posts I did not like the foreward and can understand why the printers wanted to take it out, that was the only part I did not enjoy but I kept reading and found the book very difficult to put down, as I said to Michele I was sad when I got to the end, not everyone can hold a readers interest that way so the other MM also has a great talent!

I think the foreward was an essential part of the book and Michele's story of her father's life. It was written as it was experienced at the time, and the feeling of raw emotion really comes across to the reader. It is also so well written, it would have been a really great shame had it been left out of the book. It actually stands out as an honest and true picture of how the loss of a loved one feels.
I think it was extremely brave of Michele to live through it again by sharing these most personal feelings with her readers.

Marian wrote:I think the foreward was an essential part of the book and Michele's story of her father's life. It was written as it was experienced at the time, and the feeling of raw emotion really comes across to the reader. It is also so well written, it would have been a really great shame had it been left out of the book. It actually stands out as an honest and true picture of how the loss of a loved one feels.
I think it was extremely brave of Michele to live through it again by sharing these most personal feelings with her readers.

When I read the "forward" before reading the book, I could not really get the grasp of it................but after reading the the book fully, I then went back to read the "forward" again and everything in the forward then fell into place. So yes, the forward is an essential part of the book. It conveys Michele's raw emotions as such a sad time in her life, and gives the reader an insight into her emotions at that terrible time. It is raw but is an essential part of the full story.

ROBERT M. wrote:

Marian wrote:I think the foreward was an essential part of the book and Michele's story of her father's life. It was written as it was experienced at the time, and the feeling of raw emotion really comes across to the reader. It is also so well written, it would have been a really great shame had it been left out of the book. It actually stands out as an honest and true picture of how the loss of a loved one feels.
I think it was extremely brave of Michele to live through it again by sharing these most personal feelings with her readers.

When I read the "forward" before reading the book, I could not really get the grasp of it................but after reading the the book fully, I then went back to read the "forward" again and everything in the forward then fell into place. So yes, the forward is an essential part of the book. It conveys Michele's raw emotions as such a sad time in her life, and gives the reader an insight into her emotions at that terrible time. It is raw but is an essential part of the full story.

Robert I think you hit the nail on the head reading the foreward again after reading the complete book.

We have only just caught up with your review Robert.

A review written straight from the heart.So very moving.

Thankyou for putting your thoughts in print Robert