- “A
- passionate,
- alive,
- and
- original
- novel
- about
- love,
- race,
- and
- jazz
- in
- 1920s
- Harlem
- and
- Paris—a
- moving
- story
- of
- traveling
- far
- to
- find
- oneself”
- (David
- Ebershoff,
- author
- of
- The
- Danish
- Girl
- and
- The
- 19th
- Wife).On
- a
- sweltering
- summer
- night
- in
- 1925,
- beauties
- in
- beaded
- dresses
- mingle
- with
- hepcats
- in
- dapper
- suits
- on
- the
- streets
- of
- Harlem.
- The
- air
- is
- thick
- with
- reefer
- smoke,
- and
- jazz
- pours
- out
- of
- speakeasy
- doorways.
- Ben
- Charles
- and
- his
- devoted
- wife
- are
- among
- the
- locals
- crammed
- into
- a
- basement
- club
- to
- hear
- music
- and
- drink
- bootleg
- liquor.
- For
- aspiring
- poet
- Ben,
- the
- heady
- rhythms
- are
- a
- revelation.
- So
- is
- Baby
- Back
- Johnston,
- an
- ambitious
- trumpet
- player
- who
- flashes
- a
- devilish
- grin
- and
- blasts
- dynamite
- from
- his
- horn.
- Ben
- finds
- himself
- drawn
- to
- the
- trumpeter—and
- to
- Paris,
- where
- Baby
- Back
- says
- everything
- is
- happening.In
- Paris,
- black
- people
- are
- welcomed
- as
- exotic
- celebrities,
- especially
- those
- from
- Harlem.
- It’s
- an
- easy
- life,
- but
- it
- quickly
- leaves
- Ben
- adrift
- and
- alone,
- craving
- solace
- through
- anonymous
- dalliances
- in
- the
- city’s
- decadent
- underground
- scene.
- From
- chic
- Parisian
- cafés
- to
- seedy
- opium
- dens,
- his
- odyssey
- will
- bring
- new
- love,
- trials,
- and
- heartache,
- even
- as
- echoes
- from
- the
- past
- urge
- him
- to
- decide
- where
- true
- fulfillment
- and
- inspiration
- lie.Jazz
- Moon
- is
- an
- evocative
- story
- of
- emotional
- and
- artistic
- awakening
- set
- against
- the
- backdrop
- of
- the
- Harlem
- Renaissance
- and
- Jazz
- Age–Paris—a
- winner
- of
- the
- Edmund
- White
- Award
- and
- a
- finalist
- for
- the
- Lambda
- Literary
- Award.“Jazz
- Moon
- mashes
- up
- essences
- of
- Hurston
- and
- Hughes
- and
- Fitzgerald
- into
- a
- heady
- mixtape
- of
- a
- romance:
- driving
- and
- rhythmic
- as
- an
- Armstrong
- Hot
- Five
- record,
- sensuous
- as
- the
- small
- of
- a
- Cotton
- Club
- chorus
- girl’s
- back.
- I
- enjoyed
- it
- immensely.”
- —Larry
- Duplechan,
- author
- of
- Blackbird
- and
- Got
- ’til
- It’s Gone
pro-mbooks3 : libris
