This book beautifully evokes the bittersweetness that comes from a combination of heady youth and soul consuming jazz. Sid and his bandmates clearly live and breathe music. They are young, they are talented, and they have the bravado to feel invincible, despite the risks associated with being young black men, playing a banned music style, in a racist and fearful society. While the Second World War is a constant backdrop to their lives, it seems far less terrifying than never quite laying the perfect track, or getting that one elusive girl, or, worst of all, realising that your musical talent simply isn't Good Enough.
Sid is a gentle character, and the story is told through his eyes, ebbing back and forth between present day America and Europe, and his regret-tinged memories of younger days in Paris and Berlin. We feel Sid's passion and compassion, and care about his connections to his bandmates, to his sometime-lover, to music itself. But as we oscillate between time periods, Sid's emotions seem less innocent; there are things he is hiding: from his friends; from the reader; perhaps even from himself. We can't help but wonder if this soft spoken man is really a protagonist in whom we should place our trust.
The present day sections opens a window into Sid's past, and suddenly the way he once seemed to tersely protect his emotional fragility appears more callous. Accusations are thrown from Sid's friends, from strangers, are even drawn from Sid's own secret heart of hearts. The past is often best kept buried, but this novel also teaches us that we must first make friends with it, rather than simply ignore it, as it has a way of catching up with us. A beautifully told story which will easily capture a musically inclined audience, and hook in many others as well.
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