Deep Cuts: A Novel

AN INSTANT CANADIAN BESTSELLER

A love story about two people pulled apart by the same force that draws them together: music.

It’s a Friday night in a campus bar in Berkeley, fall of 2000, and Percy Marks is pontificating about music again. Hall and Oates is on the jukebox, and Percy—who has no talent for music, just lots of opinions about it—can’t stop herself from overanalyzing the song, indulging what she knows to be her most annoying habit. But something is different tonight. The guy beside her at the bar, fellow student Joe Morrow, is a songwriter. And he could listen to Percy talk all night.

Joe asks Percy for feedback on one of his songs—and the results kick off a partnership that will span years, ignite new passions in them both, and set Joe on a path to indie-rock stardom. But it also bruises Joe’s ego, and traps Percy in a role she resents. How long can Percy ignore the roars of her heart, and of her own unique talent, to protect their thrilling collaboration?

Moving from Brooklyn bars to San Francisco dancefloors, Deep Cuts examines the nature of talent, obsession, belonging, and above all, our need to be heard.

HOLLY BRICKLEY studied English at UC Berkeley and received an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Originally from Hope, British Columbia, she now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and their two daughters. Deep Cuts is her first novel.

ISBN: 9780385699907
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: February 25, 2025

AN INSTANT CANADIAN BESTSELLER

"This dazzling debut isn’t so much a 'will they/won’t they' story as it is a 'should they?' With an assured, conversational tone, appealing characters, and an emotionally resonant love story, this one is sure to win the hearts of many readers."—Booklist, starred review

"A promising debut notable for sharp characterizations and a vividly conveyed sense of time and place."—Kirkus Reviews

"A refreshing story of love and ambition. . . . Brickley’s sharp commentary on aughts indie rock will please music fans, but what makes this special is her portrayal of how Joe and Percy are bound by their creative drive even more than by romantic love. It’s a banger." —Publishers Weekly

"This is rich, immersive, and transportive storytelling, full of Walkmans and CD folders, love and yearnings (oh, is there yearning), and exceptional music writing. Songs and lyrics become charged with meaning as the characters use music to understand themselves and each other, and the result is breathtaking. Can you tell I’m obsessed? I really think this is going to be huge."—The Bookseller