Twelve Bar Blues Author:Patrick Neate Winner of the prestigious Whitbread Novel Award, Twelve Bar Blues is an epic tale of fate and family, jazz and juju that spans three continents and two centuries to tell a story of enduring roots and indelible love. At its heart is Lick Holden, a talented but tormented young musician who sets the jazz scene of early-twentieth-century New Orleans... more » on fire with the hot tones of his coronet. But Lick's true passion is for his beautiful lost stepsister, for whom he searches among the streets, music halls, and bordellos of the South. Their story reverberates through the decades into the life of Sylvia Di Napoli, a black English former prostitute turned singer who travels from London to America in 1999 to find the answer to the mystery of her family's roots. Funny and poignant, Twelve Bar Blues is a dynamic novel with all the emotional energy and breakneck tempo of a red-hot Big Easy jazz band that will hook you -- like a favorite tune -- until the very last page. "A rollicking novel ... energetic, divinely plotted." -- The Times (London) "A hugely enjoyable offering." -- Independent on Sunday« less
At first I took awhile to get into it, but as the ball started to roll, I was always trying to figure how everything was going to come together. I enjoyed it very much after the slow start I coudl not put it down.