Half Blood Blues

Half Blood Blues, Esi Edugyan's second novel, won the 2011 Giller Prize.

Half Blood Blues is the story of three members of a German jazz band, the Hot Time Swingers, who flee to Paris in 1940 to escape Nazi Germany. Two of the three band members are 'half-bloods', of mixed race. Hieronymous (Hiero) Falk is the youngest and the most talented member of the band. When word of his trumpet playing reaches Louis Armstrong in Paris, the group members find themselves with tickets out of Germany - just in the knick of time.

Hiero as a black German of mixed race (his mother is German and his father is African) is in the most danger from the increasingly powerful Nazis; the other two band members are American. Sidney (Sid) Griffith, the band's bassist and narrator of the story is 'high yella' which allows him to pass as white, putting him in the least amount of danger of the three band members. Sid is so jealous of Hiero, his action wind up causing Hiero his freedom and alter the course of their lives forever. Sid's childhood friend, Chip Jones, is the group's drummer.

I love reading about historical events from the perspective of the extreme other. I've read many stories about World War II from the perspective of the Jews and white Germans. Until picking up Half Blood Blues, I hadn't given much thought to blacks in Germany. I'm glad Half Blood Blues is the book to introduces me to these forgotten victims of World War II.

Esi Edugyan smoothly weaves shocking historical details into the story of these three friends trying to survive during the Nazi occupation of Europe. SHE does a great job of developing dialogue for her three central MALE characters.

I need a prequel! I want to learn more about the Hiero's childhood and his life after the war.

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