"A luminous meditation on music and living, heartbreak and healing, harmony and discord, Songs in the Key of My Life is not only the story of a music lover in full rapture, but also the coming of age tale of a young man learning to create and follow his own inevitable rhythms." --Edwidge Danticat

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
SONGS IN THE KEY OF MY LIFE
Ferentz Lafargue. Broadway/Harlem Moon, $12.95 paper (192p) ISBN 9780767924061

Recalling Nick Hornby's Songbook and Rob Sheffield's more recent Love is a Mix Tape, Lafargue's memoir chronicles life events major and minor through the prism of the music he loves and hates. Lafargue found the genesis for his book while struggling through the aftermath of a failed engagement, during which he discovered Stevie Wonder's breakthrough double album, Songs in the Key of Life. Beginning with the miraculous turnaround that album inspired, the professor and Brooklyn resident recounts, among other amusing anecdotes, his mother's mad crush on mid-1980s sensation Billy Ocean; his own impressions and imitations of Michael Jackson, "who danced like Fred Astaire, sang like Jackie Wilson, had the suave good looks of a young Sam Cooke, and dressed like Liberace"; and the link between Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket and 2 Live Crew's "obscene, misogynist, and offensive" album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. The book's biggest weakness may be Lafargue's lack of credentials; without rock critic Sheffield's reputation or Hornby's fan base, readers may wonder why they should care about one man's taste in music. Lafargue may not provide that reason, but he does have a sincere, honest voice and a story that any pop music fan is sure to nod along with. (May)    http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6441526.html

 
From SOHH.com Official 
From Marvin and Michael to Run DMC and Kanye, Songs In The Keys of My Life is a unique and passionate portrait of Ferentz Lafargue's life framed by sound.    SOHH.com Official May 15, 2007 

 
From AOL Black Voices
If you're like me and use music as a soundtrack to your life, you'll enjoy this melodic memoir.
AOL Black Voices 

 
Selfra Blog Review by Dan Tres Omi 
The book is thoroughly enjoyable. It will have one laughing and falling out of bed. Some moments are tragic yet Lafargue is tremendously honest. Like the artists in the songs he discusses, Lafargue lets loose. It is his honesty that drives the book. Some argue that such honesty from a brother is rare. LaFargue does not seem hesitant to express his innermost feelings. He discusses loss and betrayal as easily as he discusses joy and ecstasy.   Selfra 

 
From Inkwell Bookstore Blog
Lafargue's prose possesses the same pared down, easy-flowing quality that many of his favorite songwriters employ.   Inkwell Bookstore 

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