“Half Blood Blues”
September 14, 2011 at 4:04 pm | Posted in Fiction | 1 CommentHere is Esi Edugyan’s Half Blood Blues, the one book I didn’t correctly guess would make the Man Booker short list this year. Now that I’ve read it, I can understand why it was picked, but I still don’t think I would have chosen it over The Stranger’s Child if I had it to do over again.
Half Blood Blues gives us a look at Nazi Germany from a perspective we most likely haven’t seen it before – that of American blacks and mixed-race Germans. Added interest comes from Edugyan’s skilled evocation of pre-war jazz. Friendship, rivalry, failed romance, and an unconventional beauty make this an interesting, unpredictable story.
I confess, though, that I found the dialect tiring to read. While the plot was intriguing, it seemed like the most dramatic moments happened offstage.
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http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/past-winners/#year-2011
but you do know that, of course
Comment by Max Linski— November 30, 2011 #