![]() Readers are taken back and forth between 1930s-1940s Berlin and later Paris, and Berlin in 1992, three years after the fall of the wall, where Griffiths attends a documentary screening highlighting Falk’s life. The tale opens as our narrator, Sid Griffiths, describes the arrest of fellow musician Hieronymous Falk, an up and comer in Paris. Half Blood Blues managed to bring something new to both settings, however, illustrating that there is more to explore from this period of history. Likewise, the suppression of jazz in Berlin in the 1930s and early 1940s is not an entirely new choice of subject. Plop your characters in Berlin or Paris in 1940 and have at it. Western Europe in 1940 is hardly untrod territory for fiction authors and readers keep returning to the Second World War and it’s starting to feel like a stale, cheap, easy way out for storytelling. Edugyan is clearly an author to watch, as her previous work, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, was equally stunning and quickly captured international attention after its release in 2004. A lyrical, complex, layered narrative of friendship, betrayal, and jazz, the book approaches well-worn narrative ground with a fresh perspective. ![]() Esi Edugyan’s Half Blood Blues (Serpent’s Tail, 2011) is one of the more outstanding entries on this year’s Booker Prize longlist. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |