Book review: Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues

I love jazz in all of its many forms and, after listening, I love reading about it. In the latter category the various histories, biographies and autobiographies have all given me a fascinating glimpse into the actual reality of many a jazz musician's day to day existence.

The squalid squats and hotel rooms were far from the opulent apartments that many of their classical, rock and pop equivalents  resided in. 

Needless to say, this multi-faceted world has also provided a host of material for novelists. Probably more so than many other forms of music.

However, the downside to this is that, as well-intended as the authors have been, few have got to the heart of it. Evan Hunter's Second Ending came as close as any and it's a novel I still re-read every year or two.

Today I was browsing in a recently opened charity shop and a title caught my eye: Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. Published in 2011 and reprinted in 2018 by Serpent's Tail (ISBN 978 1 78816 177 0) I retired to the nearest pub and began reading. It's one of those books you just can't put down. I'm only halfway through and each page has me looking eagerly to the next.

The timescale goes from 1939 to 1992 and back again via Baltimore, Berlin, Paris and Poland following the fortunes and relationships of the members of a pre-war swing band before, after and during World War II. There's love and betrayal and, to add authenticity, there's some name dropping - ranging from Armstrong to Marsalis.

I think this is probably the best piece of jazz fiction I've ever read and I'm only part of the way through! Lance

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