Perhaps it’s the less obvious choice, but it’s also the more interesting one, that which begs for explanations. It’s Sid, the one who never made it, who is at the heart of the narrative. Sweet like lemon in a wound.”Īnd, then there is Sid, the upright bass player, the least famous, the solid and dependable one. Chip is a great American drummer, who could beat the life out of his drums but nearly ruined himself.

Heiro is a German Louis Armstrong: every horn player to come acknowledges a debt to him. It’s a scenic introduction, but as the novel moves along, readers settle these characters into a bigger picture and gain a deeper understanding of each, individually and as a member of an ensemble.

‘You drink all the milk in France, you still not turn white.’ He laughed his strange, high, feathery laugh.’ He wandered on back with a glass of milk, his voice cracking against the silence like snooker balls hitting each other. “Going over to the icebox, the barkeep stare at me a second, then glance on up at the clock. The sensory detail is light-handed, but it works seamlessly with dialogue, cadence, and tone to draw readers into the story.

In the opening pages of Esi Edugyan’s second novel, readers meet Heiro, Chip, Delilah and Sid, and are immersed in 1940 Paris. I spent a ridiculous amount of time touching this cover (and wishing the hole in the centre was actually cut)

Half blood blues author