"Half-Blood Blues" by Esi Edugyan

I credit this book with getting me out of my reading slump. I also partially blame it for getting me into my reading slump in the first place. 

I can't even tell you how long ago it was that I started reading this book, although it's entirely possible that it was almost two months ago. In fact, I am SURE it was almost two months ago, because this is the first book I picked up after our February trip. 

I already explained in my previous post that there were extenuating circumstances as I was attempting to read this book (in short, not enough time spent reading, and specifically not enough time per book) which definitely did not help my initial reading experience. I remember that I liked this book immediately, but I also remember that it took me a while to get into it. I think maybe it wasn't just my time that was too chopped up, but also the story itself. I don't think I'm atypical when I say I find a good stopping point (like the end of a chapter) between reading sessions. This book starts in Paris in 1940 (and then Part I ends, so I stopped reading for the day). The next time I picked up the book, it was Berlin in 1992 and it took me a minute to reorient myself. Then during my next session it was Berlin in 1939. Whiplash! Under normal circumstances I don't think this would have bothered me a bit--I like it when books jump around. But while I wouldn't necessarily describe recent circumstances as "abnormal," neither would I describe them as ideal. I probably would have done better with something shorter, lighter, and more straightforward. 

It's a good thing that I found my stride in Berlin in 1939. This is where the main character, Sid Griffiths, begins debating with the other members of the Hot-Time Swingers whether it's time to leave Germany and head to Paris--partly for their own safety, but mainly for the chance to record with Louis Armstrong, a possibility that opened up thanks to the band's young trumpet prodigy, Hieronymus Falk. The choice is complicated by escalating danger and shifting loyalties within the group, forcing them to weigh musical ambition against survival. 

Remember when I said I liked this book immediately? There was something else I also noted immediately (literally in the first paragraph): it is written in such a heavy vernacular, one that is so strong and so American-sounding, that I wondered how it could possibly be adapted for another country's language. It must have been very difficult to translate this book from English to the 9 other languages it has been published in.