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Deep Cuts

Deep Cuts

by Holly Brickley 2025 277 pages
3.74
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Plot Summary

Songs and First Encounters

Music sparks connection and vulnerability

Percy, a sharp, opinionated college student, meets Joe, a soulful, aspiring musician, in a bar in Berkeley in 2000. Their first conversation is a playful, passionate debate about what makes a song "perfect," revealing their shared obsession with music as emotional language and the emotional weight it carries. This initial spark is complicated by Joe's relationship with his girlfriend Zoe, and Percy's own insecurities about her musical "talent." The trio's dynamic is set: music is both a bridge and a barrier, and every encounter is charged with longing, wit, and the ache of wanting more from life and each other.

The Art of Critique

Percy's honesty shapes Joe's music

Percy's role as Joe's critic and collaborator emerges as she gives blunt, insightful feedback on his songs, pushing him to improve. Their creative partnership is electric but fraught—Percy's critiques are both a gift and a wound, fueling Joe's growth but also exposing his vulnerabilities. The process of songwriting becomes a metaphor for intimacy: each suggestion, each revision, is a negotiation of trust, ego, and desire. Their connection deepens, but so does the tension, as Percy's inability to create her own music leaves her both indispensable and envious.

Musical Soulmates and Triangles

Friendship, love, and rivalry intertwine

The trio of Percy, Joe, and Zoe forms a complex friendship triangle. Zoe, Joe's girlfriend and Percy's eventual confidante, is sharp, political, and searching for her own identity. The three bond over music as emotional language, late-night conversations, and shared outsider status, but under the surface, desire and jealousy simmer. Zoe's sexuality and her eventual coming out add layers of complexity, as does Percy's growing attraction to Joe. The triangle is a crucible for growth, heartbreak, and the search for belonging.

Finding Voice in Chaos

Percy seeks her own creative path

Percy's journey is marked by her struggle to find her own voice. She writes columns for Zoe's zine, Ring Finger, and later starts a music blog, Walgreens Songs, where she explores the intersection of music and personal experience. Her writing is raw, self-deprecating, and searching, as she tries to make sense of her place in the world and the meaning of her obsessions. The chaos of college, parties, and the early 2000s music scene becomes the backdrop for her self-discovery.

The Promise and Its Price

Boundaries and longing define relationships

After a near-romantic encounter, Percy and Joe make a promise not to cross the line into romance, fearing it would ruin their creative partnership. This promise becomes a source of both safety and pain, as it preserves their collaboration but stifles their desire. The unspoken tension shapes their interactions, fueling both their best work and their deepest regrets. The promise is a metaphor for all the boundaries—emotional, creative, sexual—that define and confine them.

Jealousy, Talent, and Gender

Ambition and insecurity collide

Percy's envy of Joe's musical talent and public recognition is a constant undercurrent. She grapples with imposter syndrome, the gendered dynamics of credit and authorship, and the pain of being "just" a critic or muse. Joe, in turn, is both inspired and threatened by Percy's intellect and honesty. Their relationship exposes the ways gender, class, and creative ambition intersect, and how women's contributions are often minimized or erased in male-dominated spaces.

Heartbreaks and New Beginnings

Love, loss, and the search for self

Percy's romantic life is a series of false starts and heartbreaks: a disastrous first sexual experience, a tender but ultimately doomed relationship with Raj, and the long, slow burn of her feelings for Joe. Each relationship teaches her something about herself—her needs, her fears, her capacity for forgiveness. The end of her friendship with Zoe, the collapse of her romance with Raj, and her eventual estrangement from Joe all force her to confront her own patterns and desires.

Cities, Scenes, and Selves

Place shapes identity and ambition

The novel moves from Berkeley to New York to San Francisco and beyond, each city reflecting a different stage in Percy's journey. The music scenes, subcultures, and social dynamics of each place shape her sense of self and her creative ambitions. The cities are both playgrounds and battlegrounds, offering opportunities for reinvention but also exposing the limits of escape. Percy's search for belonging is as much about finding the right place as the right people.

Collaboration and Competition

Creative partnerships are fraught with rivalry

Percy and Joe's collaboration is mirrored in other creative partnerships—Joe's band, Zoe's zine, Percy's work with other musicians. The line between collaboration and competition is thin, and the desire for credit, recognition, and control often leads to conflict. When Joe uses Percy's words in his hit song without proper credit, the betrayal is both personal and professional, forcing Percy to reckon with the costs of giving herself to someone else's art.

The Power of the Bridge

Bridges in music and life offer transformation

The "bridge as transformation" in a song—a section that departs from the verse and chorus—becomes a central metaphor. Percy's talent for writing bridges, both literal and figurative, is her unique gift: she helps others cross from one emotional state to another, to find release, climax, or resolution. But being "the girl in the bridge" also means being stuck between worlds, never fully the star or the audience, always the catalyst. The bridge is where transformation happens, but it's also a place of risk and exposure.

Fame, Ownership, and Betrayal

Success brings new wounds and reckonings

Joe's band, Caroline, achieves indie fame, propelled by songs Percy helped shape. When her contributions go uncredited, Percy is forced to confront the realities of authorship, ownership, and the gendered politics of the music industry. The betrayal is compounded by Joe's romantic entanglements and the shifting dynamics of their friendship. As Percy finds her own success as a writer and producer, she must decide what kind of recognition—and what kind of relationships—she truly wants.

Forgiveness and Self-Discovery

Letting go of shame and blame

The aftermath of betrayal, heartbreak, and creative disappointment is a long process of forgiveness—of others and of self. Percy's correspondence with Zoe, her reflections on her mother's choices, and her eventual reconciliation with Joe all point toward a hard-won acceptance. Forgiveness is not a single act but an ongoing practice, a way of making peace with imperfection, loss, and the messiness of love and art.

The Girl in the Bridge

Claiming authorship and agency

Percy finally claims her place as a creator, not just a critic or muse. She co-writes and produces songs, starts her own projects, and learns to value her unique perspective. The "girl in the bridge" becomes a symbol of agency: the one who connects, transforms, and endures. Percy's journey is about learning to inhabit that space with pride, to see her own story as worthy of being told.

Letting Go, Moving Forward

Growth means embracing uncertainty

As Percy and Joe reconnect, they acknowledge the impossibility of separating their creative and romantic lives. They decide to try again, this time as equals, aware of the risks but hopeful about the rewards. The future is uncertain, but Percy is no longer defined by longing or regret. She has learned to let go—of old wounds, old roles, and the need for perfection—and to move forward with courage and curiosity.

Music as Meaning

Songs as the language of life

Throughout the novel, music as emotional language is more than a backdrop—it is the language through which characters understand themselves and each other. Songs are memory, prophecy, confession, and comfort. The search for the "perfect song" is really a search for meaning, connection, and transcendence. Percy's story is a testament to the power of music to shape, heal, and define a life.

Deep Cuts, Deeper Healing

The deepest wounds become the deepest art

In the end, Percy realizes that the songs that cut deepest—the "deep cuts"—are the ones that stay with us, shape us, and help us heal. Her journey is about learning to honor those wounds, to turn pain into art, and to find joy in the messy, imperfect process of living and loving. The novel closes with Percy and Joe, older and wiser, ready to write new songs together—not in spite of their scars, but because of them.

Characters

Percy Marks

Sharp, self-critical music lover

Percy is the novel's narrator and emotional core—a fiercely intelligent, self-deprecating woman whose love for music as emotional language is both her salvation and her curse. She is a natural critic, quick-witted and unafraid to speak her mind, but haunted by insecurity about her own creative abilities. Percy's relationships—with Joe, Zoe, Raj, her mother—are shaped by her longing for connection and her fear of vulnerability. Over the course of the novel, she evolves from a passive observer and muse to an active creator, learning to claim her own voice and value.

Joe Morrow

Talented, sensitive, haunted musician

Joe is Percy's creative soulmate and romantic foil—a gifted songwriter and performer whose charm is matched by his emotional volatility. Marked by early loss (his mother's death) and a complicated relationship with his father, Joe seeks solace and meaning in music. His partnership with Percy is both a source of inspiration and a site of conflict, as he struggles with ego, ambition, and the need for validation. Joe's journey is about learning to accept help, share credit, and risk intimacy.

Zoe Gutierrez

Grounded, political, searching friend

Zoe is Joe's girlfriend and Percy's confidante, a sharp-tongued, principled woman navigating her own coming out and search for identity. She is the anchor of the trio, often mediating between Percy and Joe, but also wrestling with her own desires and insecurities. Zoe's journey is about claiming her sexuality, finding her voice, and learning to let go of relationships that no longer serve her. Her friendship with Percy is a model of chosen family—messy, loyal, and transformative.

Raj

Kind, steady, ultimately incompatible partner

Raj is Percy's boyfriend during her New York years—a thoughtful, gentle food writer who offers her stability and affection. Their relationship is marked by tenderness but also by a fundamental disconnect: Percy's unresolved feelings for Joe, her sexual hang-ups, and her restless ambition. Raj's eventual rejection of Percy is both a heartbreak and a liberation, forcing her to confront her own patterns and needs.

Percy's Mother

Talented, reserved, quietly influential

Percy's mother is a former musician who chose a "safer" life in Indiana, shaping Percy's understanding of art, ambition, and gender. Their relationship is marked by distance, mutual misunderstanding, and a deep, unspoken love. Her mother's ambivalence about music—its dangers and its joys—mirrors Percy's own struggles, and their eventual conversations offer a path toward forgiveness and acceptance.

Luke Skinner

Ambitious, competitive, ultimately limited

Luke is Joe's bandmate and later Percy's collaborator—a talented but insecure musician who represents both the possibilities and pitfalls of creative partnership. His rivalry with Joe and his reliance on Percy's input highlight the complexities of authorship, credit, and ego in the music world.

Nomi

Supportive, stylish, honest friend

Nomi is Percy's friend from her MFA program in New York—a former model turned writer whose confidence and candor challenge Percy to be bolder. Nomi's presence is a reminder of the importance of female friendship, solidarity, and the need to carve out one's own space in a competitive world.

Harrison

Charming, predatory, cautionary figure

Harrison is a fellow writer in New York whose sexual assault of Percy is a turning point in her journey. His presence exposes the dangers women face in creative and social spaces, and the ways trauma can shape identity and relationships.

Melissa

Loving, stabilizing partner for Zoe

Melissa is Zoe's girlfriend in San Francisco—a grounded, nurturing presence who helps Zoe build a new life. Her relationship with Zoe models healthy partnership and the possibility of happiness after heartbreak.

Alma

Distant, insightful online reader

Alma is a German commenter on Percy's blog, whose thoughtful responses offer validation and perspective. She represents the unseen audience, the power of art to connect across distance, and the importance of being witnessed.

Plot Devices

Music as Emotional Language

Songs express what words cannot

Music is the novel's primary metaphor and narrative engine. Songs are used to communicate longing, grief, joy, and connection—often more powerfully than dialogue. The structure of songs (verses, choruses, bridges) mirrors the structure of relationships, and specific tracks serve as emotional touchstones for the characters' journeys.

The Bridge as Transformation

Bridges mark moments of change

The musical "bridge" becomes a recurring motif, symbolizing moments of transition, risk, and revelation. Percy's talent for writing bridges is both literal (in songwriting) and figurative (in relationships), marking her as a catalyst for change but also as someone perpetually in-between.

First-Person, Retrospective Narration

Percy's voice shapes the story's intimacy

The novel is told in Percy's sharp, confessional first-person, blending present-tense immediacy with reflective hindsight. This structure allows for deep psychological insight, self-deprecating humor, and a sense of lived experience. The reader is drawn into Percy's mind, sharing her doubts, desires, and discoveries.

Foreshadowing and Recurring Motifs

Songs, phrases, and images echo throughout

Key lines, songs, and metaphors recur across the novel, creating a sense of resonance and inevitability. The "promise," the "girl in the bridge," and the search for the "perfect song" all foreshadow later developments, while callbacks to earlier scenes and conversations deepen the emotional impact.

Blending of Fiction and Criticism

Analysis and narrative intertwine

The novel blurs the line between fiction and music criticism, with Percy's essays, blog posts, and zine columns woven into the narrative. This device allows for meta-commentary on art, gender, and culture, and invites the reader to engage with the story both emotionally and intellectually.

Analysis

Deep Cuts is a coming-of-age novel for the music-obsessed, a sharp, funny, and deeply felt exploration of how art shapes identity, relationships, and self-worth. Holly Brickley uses the language and structure of pop music to tell a story about longing, ambition, and the messy work of growing up. At its heart, the book is about the search for voice—creative, romantic, and personal—and the ways we both wound and heal each other in the process. Through Percy's journey from critic to creator, muse to author, the novel interrogates the gendered dynamics of credit, the pain of being "almost" enough, and the redemptive power of collaboration. It's a love letter to the songs that cut deepest, and a reminder that the most meaningful art—and the most meaningful lives—are forged in the spaces between longing and letting go. For modern readers, Deep Cuts offers both a nostalgic portrait of the early 2000s indie scene and a timeless meditation on the costs and rewards of making art, loving bravely, and learning to forgive.

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FAQ

Synopsis & Basic Details

What is Deep Cuts about?

  • Music, connection, and identity: Deep Cuts follows Percy, a sharp, self-deprecating college student whose life revolves around her intense relationship with music as emotional language and the people she connects with through it, particularly the aspiring musician Joe Morrow and his girlfriend Zoe Gutierrez.
  • Coming-of-age through art: The novel chronicles Percy's journey from a critical observer to a creative participant, navigating complex friendships, romantic entanglements, and the challenges of finding her own voice and place in the world across different cities and years in the early 2000s.
  • Collaboration, ownership, and love: At its core, the story explores the messy intersection of creative partnership and personal relationships, delving into themes of jealousy, betrayal, forgiveness, and the struggle for recognition and self-worth in the male-dominated indie music scene.

Why should I read Deep Cuts?

  • Sharp wit and relatable voice: Percy's narration is funny, insightful, and deeply vulnerable, offering a compelling window into the anxieties and obsessions of a young woman trying to make sense of herself and the world through art.
  • Rich musical landscape: The novel is steeped in specific music references, using songs and genres not just as backdrop but as a language for emotional expression and cultural commentary, making it a must-read for music lovers.
  • Complex, evolving relationships: The dynamics between Percy, Joe, and Zoe, and later Percy's relationships with Raj and other collaborators, are nuanced and realistic, exploring the blurred lines between friendship, love, and creative rivalry.

What is the background of Deep Cuts?

  • Early 2000s cultural context: The story is set against the backdrop of the early aughts, referencing specific music scenes (indie rock, Britpop, neo-soul, hip-hop), technological shifts (IM, Napster, Myspace, texting), and historical events (9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, Prop 8 debate).
  • Geographical anchors: The narrative moves between distinct locations—Berkeley's college town vibe, the suburban Bay Area, the competitive literary and music scenes of New York City, and the evolving cultural landscape of San Francisco—each influencing the characters' experiences and growth.
  • Author's personal history: The acknowledgments reveal connections to the author's own life, including her father being a musician and songwriter, her mother's talents, her time at UC Berkeley and Columbia's MFA program, and specific people who influenced the story, grounding the fiction in lived experience.

What are the most memorable quotes in Deep Cuts?

  • "How deep does it cut? How close to the bone? How long do you feel it?": Percy's personal metric for judging a "deep cut" song, introduced in her column about Neutral Milk Hotel, encapsulates her emotional approach to music and becomes a recurring theme about vulnerability and lasting impact.
  • "Never is a promise.": A line from a Fiona Apple song that Percy uses as a negotiating tactic with Joe after his first show, it tragically backfires, becoming a defining boundary and a symbol of their missed timing and Joe's fear of commitment rooted in past trauma.
  • "You're the girl in the bridge!": A phrase shouted at Percy after Joe performs "Bay Window" live, it becomes the title of her song idea and symbolizes her unique role as a catalyst for transformation and emotional release in others' creative work and lives.

What writing style, narrative choices, and literary techniques does Holly Brickley use?

  • Sharp, witty first-person narration: The novel is told from Percy's perspective, characterized by her self-deprecating humor, keen observations, and often biting internal monologue, creating an intimate and engaging reading experience.
  • Interweaving of narrative and critical writing: The text seamlessly integrates Percy's zine columns, blog posts, and internal music analysis, blurring the lines between fiction, memoir, and criticism and allowing for meta-commentary on art and life.
  • Extensive use of music as metaphor and structure: Specific songs, genres, and musical concepts (like the "bridge") function as central metaphors for relationships, emotional states, and narrative turning points, giving the novel a unique rhythm and thematic depth.

Hidden Details & Subtle Connections

What are some minor details that add significant meaning?

  • The Amoeba Music encounter: Percy's brief, awkward run-in with her former pretentious coworkers at the bar foreshadows her later struggles with music scene snobbery and her feeling of being an outsider, even among fellow fans.
  • The discarded "Surf's Up" column: Percy's abandoned personal essay about the Beach Boys and her mother reveals her early attempts to connect music to her deepest vulnerabilities, a path she initially rejects as "too gooey" but eventually embraces in her successful blog writing.
  • Raj's Band-Aid and chili powder: These small, recurring details highlight Raj's grounded, sensory-focused nature ("I live in the realm of the senses"), contrasting with Percy's more intellectual and emotionally turbulent approach to life and relationships.

What are some subtle foreshadowing and callbacks?

  • Zoe's "perfect track" metaphor: Joe's early description of his relationship with Zoe as a "perfect track" needing context rather than strong "bones" subtly hints at the eventual dissolution of their relationship when that context (hometown, family) is removed.
  • Percy's "too important" reason for not writing songs: Her explanation to Joe ("It's too important to me") is later echoed by Joe himself when he uses the same phrase to explain why he's afraid to pursue a romantic relationship with her, highlighting their mirrored fears of ruining something precious.
  • The recurring image of Joe's hands: From his hand shooting into his hair while listening to music, to his fingerpicking on the guitar, to his hand on Percy's shoulder or hip, his hands are consistently linked to his musical talent and his physical presence, foreshadowing the eventual physical intimacy and creative collaboration.

What are some unexpected character connections?

  • Percy's mom and the violinist friend: The revelation that Percy's mother gave up a life as a professional musician in New York and misses her best friend, a fellow violinist, adds a layer of depth to her seemingly conventional life and subtly mirrors Percy's own later experience of losing creative partners and friends in different cities.
  • Joe's dad showing up at the SF show: Despite his struggles with alcoholism ("a real classic alcoholic"), Joe's dad makes an appearance at a major show, demonstrating a quiet, perhaps inconsistent, form of paternal pride ("he was very proud, which was sweet"), adding complexity to Joe's narrative of parental abandonment.
  • Luke Skinner's later collaboration request: The ambitious, somewhat annoying bandmate from Berkeley and Miami unexpectedly reaches out to Percy years later, seeking her help with his own music, highlighting the interconnectedness of the indie scene and offering Percy a chance to step into a producing role outside of Joe's orbit.

Who are the most significant supporting characters?

  • Zoe Gutierrez: More than just a girlfriend or friend, Zoe is Percy's emotional anchor and intellectual sparring partner, pushing her on issues of feminism, authenticity, and self-acceptance. Her journey of coming out and finding her own voice parallels and influences Percy's.
  • Percy's Mother: Though physically distant for much of the novel, her past as a musician and her opinions on talent, ambition, and "safe" choices profoundly shape Percy's internal landscape and provide a crucial point of reflection and eventual understanding.
  • Raj: Raj represents a different kind of connection for Percy – stable, kind, and focused on sensory experience rather than intellectual analysis. His relationship offers Percy a period of emotional safety and sexual exploration, and his eventual, harsh breakup email forces a critical moment of self-reckoning.

Psychological, Emotional, & Relational Analysis

What are some unspoken motivations of the characters?

  • Percy's need for validation: Beyond just loving music, Percy is deeply motivated by a desire for external validation of her taste and intellect, stemming from a childhood feeling of invisibility ("a persistent invisibility") compared to her athletic brother and her parents' focus on his talent.
  • Joe's search for a replacement family: Joe's intense attachment to Zoe and her family after his mother's death and his dad's spiraling ("become, effectively, a Gutierrez") reveals a deep-seated need for stability and belonging that drives many of his relationship choices, including his initial reluctance to leave Zoe.
  • Zoe's desire for control: Zoe's tendency to moderate conversations, give "assignments," and exert control in areas like the zine or Joe's open mic appearances ("probably to exert some control in an area where she had less to contribute") stems from her own search for agency and identity, particularly before she fully embraces her sexuality.

What psychological complexities do the characters exhibit?

  • Percy's imposter syndrome and self-sabotage: Despite her obvious talent for analysis and collaboration, Percy constantly doubts her own creative worth ("I have no talent, just opinions") and often sabotages potential connections, particularly with Joe, out of fear of not being "enough" or ruining something important.
  • Joe's fear of vulnerability and commitment: Joe's trauma from his mother's death and his dad's broken promise ("He's a bit weird about promises") manifests as a deep fear of emotional risk, leading him to pull away when intimacy becomes too real ("Sex is weird and embarrassing, and you're... you're my critic") and to seek validation through transient relationships.
  • Zoe's struggle with authenticity: Zoe grapples with performing different identities ("Joey and Zoe who both like Bowie," "a good student") and the pressure to conform, even within the "punk" scene ("Aren't we more, like, underground than No Doubt?"), highlighting the psychological toll of trying to reconcile internal desires with external expectations.

What are the major emotional turning points?

  • The night after Joe's first show: Percy's attempt to initiate physical intimacy and Joe's rejection ("Too soon?" / "So...never?") is a devastating emotional climax, forcing Percy to confront the depth of her feelings and the painful reality of their "promise."
  • Raj's breakup email: Raj's brutal honesty ("You don't love me. You don't even love yourself.") serves as a harsh but necessary emotional shock, forcing Percy to stop blaming others and begin the difficult process of self-forgiveness and introspection.
  • Hearing "Bay Window" performed live: Witnessing the audience's powerful emotional response to the song she co-wrote, and hearing Joe dedicate it to her ("Is Percy here?"), is a moment of profound validation and catharsis for Percy, allowing her to finally claim ownership of her contribution and talent.

How do relationship dynamics evolve?

  • Percy and Joe: From critique to collaboration to complicated love: Their relationship begins with intellectual sparring over music, evolves into a deep creative partnership fueled by mutual respect and unspoken attraction, is fractured by betrayal and missed timing, and eventually finds a path toward reconciliation and a more equal collaboration built on shared history and vulnerability.
  • Percy and Zoe: From roommate friendship to chosen family: Their bond deepens from a friendship of convenience ("an ugly diamond") to a vital emotional lifeline, characterized by honesty, mutual support, and shared experiences, becoming a form of chosen family that endures even distance and conflict.
  • Percy and Raj: A period of sensory connection and emotional safety: Their relationship provides Percy with a much-needed respite from her turbulent feelings for Joe and allows her to explore physical intimacy in a safe space, but it ultimately cannot withstand the weight of her unresolved issues and Raj's own need for a deeper connection.

Interpretation & Debate

Which parts of the story remain ambiguous or open-ended?

  • The future of Percy and Joe's relationship: While the ending suggests a hopeful new beginning ("Have we ever even really tried?"), the long-term success of their romantic and creative partnership remains uncertain, given their history of conflict, jealousy, and self-sabotage.
  • The full extent of Joe's past relationships: While Joe mentions "more than ten" Rebeccas and a recent older girlfriend with "a biological clock issue," the emotional impact and details of these relationships are left largely unexplored, leaving room for interpretation about how they shaped his capacity for intimacy.
  • The ultimate impact of Percy's writing: While her blog gains readership and leads to opportunities, the novel leaves open the question of whether Percy achieves the level of widespread recognition or financial stability she sometimes craves, focusing instead on the personal fulfillment of her creative work.

What are some debatable, controversial scenes or moments in Deep Cuts?

  • Harrison's actions at the Interpol show: The scene where Harrison physically restrains and dry-humps Percy in the crowd is presented through Percy's internal reaction ("a strange recognition," "felt nothing until later") and later downplayed by Harrison ("I wouldn't do that to you"), leaving readers to grapple with the severity of the assault and Percy's complex, delayed emotional processing.
  • Raj's breakup email: Raj's harsh and deeply critical email ("You don't love me. You don't even love yourself.") is a moment of intense emotional pain for Percy, and readers may debate whether his honesty is justified or unnecessarily cruel, particularly given Percy's vulnerability and history of self-doubt.
  • Joe's use of Percy's lyrics and lack of credit: Joe's incorporation of Percy's lines into his hit songs, initially without proper credit, raises questions about authorship, collaboration ethics, and the gendered dynamics of the music industry, prompting debate about whether his actions constitute plagiarism or a complex form of creative exchange.

Deep Cuts Ending Explained: How It Ends & What It Means

  • Reconciliation and a new beginning: The novel ends with Percy and Joe, years after their initial connection and subsequent estrangement, deciding to pursue both a romantic relationship and a creative partnership, symbolized by their plan to rent a house with a studio in Montana and work on Percy's song idea, "The Girl in the Bridge."
  • Shared vulnerability and mutual recognition: Their decision is based on a newfound honesty about their flaws ("You think you know everything." / "I do, actually.") and a mutual recognition of each other's creative worth and the unique spark they share ("Have we ever even really tried?"). The sex is no longer awkward or symbolic but a physical manifestation of their deep connection.
  • Embracing the messy reality of love and art: The ending signifies Percy's acceptance that love and creative collaboration are inherently messy and intertwined ("They will... But they'll be so good"), moving beyond her fear of ruining things and embracing the possibility of building something real and lasting, together, even with their complicated history.

Review Summary

3.74 out of 5
Average of 12.4K ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

Deep Cuts receives mostly positive reviews, with readers praising its nostalgic early 2000s setting, complex characters, and passionate exploration of music. Many compare it to works like Daisy Jones & The Six and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Critics appreciate the author's musical knowledge and the book's emotional depth. Some readers found the abundance of music references overwhelming or struggled to connect with the characters. Overall, it's described as a messy, realistic portrayal of love, friendship, and finding oneself in your twenties, with a strong focus on music analysis and creativity.

Your rating:
4.75
54 ratings

About the Author

Holly Brickley is a Canadian-born author now residing in Portland, Oregon. She shares her home with her husband and two daughters. Brickley's educational background includes studying English at the prestigious UC Berkeley and furthering her literary pursuits with an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Her debut novel, Deep Cuts, has garnered significant attention for its exploration of music, relationships, and coming-of-age themes set in the early 2000s. Brickley's work draws comparisons to popular contemporary fiction, suggesting a promising start to her literary career.

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