Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Date: September, 2011
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 336
Genre: Adult historical fiction, African-American
ISBN: 1250012708
Rating: 3/5

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. On on hand, I absolutely loved the writing and dialogue. On the other hand, the plot was unsatisfying.

As a book about half-Black/half-German jazz musicians, I was hoping to learn more about that perspective. I didn't feel I learned anything new, which was a bit disappointing. My family is part German, and my grandfather served in the war. He told me some tidbits of history that are left out of general knowledge*, and I was hoping to learn something like that from this book. Instead of having the characters be part Black, I imagined them to be Jewish at points and found it difficult to draw the line on how they would have been different. The jazz music was the exception and I loved that aspect of the novel. It made me want to listen to some olden times jazz, just so I could better imagine how these characters could have felt. I also felt like I did care enough about the characters to want to learn more, especially Hiero. He was so mysterious for so much of the novel and I was really intrigued by him. I felt like I was more interested in him than the main characters, Chip and Sid. But perhaps his mysterious intrigue is what Esi was going for and perhaps it says something about Hiero that otherwise couldn't have been stated. What that is, I haven't figured it out yet. 

Even with these faults, I loved the writing so much that it was still a great book to read. I was completely absorbed in the nuances of the dialogue and the overall slang used by the characters. There is history involved here, and I wish I knew a bit more about this period because I feel like I missed some very important references to historical places/situations. For that reason, I think this book would be a good one to re-read later, once I have learned more about Nazi Germany. It is also an amazing book to be heard read out-loud, which I had the privilege of listening to Esi read at an event. 

I think if you are interested in Nazi Germany but want a slightly different spin on it via half-Black/half-German jazz musicians, then give this one a try. It emphasizes friendship and the love of music - two things you often don't associate with Nazi Germany! Despite the few things I didn't like about the book, I am still very happy I read it and I look forward to reading Esi's other novel soon.




* One of the things he mentioned was how German soldiers took over towns. The soldiers didn't want to do it but they had to follow orders or they would be shot in the head by a higher up German general or whatever.

The Terror by Dan Simmons

Date: January, 2007

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Pages: 769

Genre: Historical fiction, horror

ISBN: 0316017442

Rating: 3.5/5

This book was a really enjoyable read, perfect for the winter. It is about the Franklin Expedition, where Europeans tried to establish a trade route by sea through the Northwest Passage (North of Canada). The actual history books tell us that this was an unfortunate and failed mission. This book re-imagines that historical event with a chilling edge of survival in the arctic.

The writing was extremely detailed and dense. I found I had to really take my time with this story in order to absorb all the little bits of information. I read the paperback version which is close to 1000 pages - no easy feat! But it was well worth the effort. I really felt like I was on the ships with the crew, battling the same gruesome weather and starvation. 

The characters were not as established as I would have hoped. Many of them blended together and didn't have too many distinctive details about them. The captains were obviously memorable, as was the mysterious native woman on board, but many others I have already forgotten about. Some characters were gay, which was both a surprise and delight to read. I feel there really should be more LGBT* characters in literature because we are a population that exists and should be represented in stories with large casts of characters. Of course, these gay characters were viewed in a historical context, but I was just happy to see they were there.

The plot moved quicker than I expected for such a brick of a book. There was an overall feeling of loss, hopelessness, and alienation but the crew were kept busy. One minute someone's dying, the next there's some freaky thing out on the ice, and it just kept going on and on. As soon as we are able to compose ourselves, something else is happening (good or bad). I was really afraid that parts would be a struggle to read, but that was far from the case. 

Then I got to about the 3/4 part of the book and it was difficult for me to finish. It had all the same elements as the beginning, but by then I wanted something different. It was just the same stuff happening, except it was all worse, but the magnitude of it didn't impact me the way it was suppose to. I was very curious about the natives, but they were not focused on as much as I expected. 

Overall, this is a very dense and well written story about survival. I really felt like I was on the ship and trying to survive with the crew. However, more distinctive features between crew members and more emphasis on the natives would have made the book more well rounded for me. If you are looking for a dense, historical novel that is amazing at setting, then this is your book. However, as a horror novel I felt it fell short despite some creepy moments.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, please consider using the link below.