Not sure what to say about this book.
I bought it in 2002 at Square Books in Oxford Mississippi, and then it sat in the TBR pile until yesterday.
The book starts in Africa in the mid 1700’s
Jumps to New Orleans in the beginning of the 20th century, then London, New York, Chicago and New Orleans 1998. Then Africa 1998, then back and forth between these times.
It is part historical fiction but the writing is phenomenal!
I don’t want to explain much of the storyline but it is the birth of jazz, the plight of blacks first as slaves, then just trying to get by in New Orleans past and present, and oddly but refreshing the portions that take place in modern day Africa are unusually funny.
This is a great book. ( )

Although at first I thought this was going to be a five star book and it won the Whitbread Fiction Prize, it ended up being a four star read for me, but was still very good.

This story is structured like a 12 bar blues (twice) with a prelude and a coda. Although most of it is set in the early and late in twentieth century, some of it is much, much earlier. It's a true blues story; poignantly tragic with some beauty interspersed here and there, and a story involving fate, tragedy and sorrow. It is set in Africa, New Orleans with smatterings of things in England, New York and Chicago. It interweaves the history of the origins of jazz in much of the part of the story about Fortis (aka Lick) and even includes some fictional scenes with some real jazz legends. It involves witch doctors, chieftains, prostitutes, singers, pimps, and of course Lick with his cornet. But his nickname doesn’t necessarily arise from where you think it might.

Given that this was Patrick Neate's debut novel, I think it’s possible that he has written better novels following it. Whether or not I read them won’t depend on whether or not he can write; he certainly can. Rather, it will depend upon whether or not they are all as tragic as this one.

Recommended. ( )

Unfortunately all of the parts of this book that are set in Africa, both past and present, made me cringe. I cannot recommend it to anyone.
The only reason why I persevered and finished this book is because I am signed up to attend a discussion on it. ( )

A journey of identity and tracing roots takes us through Africa, New Orleans and New York amidst in an environment of music and cultural insights.

There were teasing references to some of the jazz greats and it was a nice musical journey from Africa to New Orleans. While the story starts with 2 best friends and a woman they both loved in 18th century Africa, the journeys their descendants take introduce us to the budding jazz movement and beyond. Unfolding the branches of the family trees through the generations and unraveling how they each descended from the 3 original Africans in the midst of all the music and tribal magic kept me turning the pages.

I would have liked more details rather than passing references to Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, King Oliver, and Fate Marable, but that would be my only criticism of this book.
4 stars ( )

This story centers on a jazz musician, Lick Holden, born and raised in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. A man who's history (and place therein) has largely been forgotten except by his close relatives who share his destitute fate. His station in life has been the result of a zukulu (African witch doctor) curse imposed on his grandfather, and an overarching theme in the book centers on redemption from this act.

I loved the writing, but felt like the author got half way into the book and couldn't figure out how to properly bring the moving pieces together. Or maybe I just wanted a different type of ending that the author didn't provide. There were moments early in the book that I felt like this was a five star read but subsequently I just wanted the book to end. Nonetheless, it did give me a greater appreciation for the origins of jazz and the musical and cultural influence of New Orleans. ( )