The Helper by David
Jackson, set in New York,
Showing posts with label USA (New York). Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA (New York). Show all posts
Friday, 17 January 2014
NEW YORK - an exciting roller coaster of a read
Monday, 21 October 2013
NEW YORK: Lucy in the sky....
An Englishwoman in New York by Anne-Marie Casey set in New York (and briefly London)
Our review can now be found on the new TripFiction Website here
Saturday, 5 October 2013
OXFORD + NEW YORK: "The right cocktail of people, the perfect blend for calamity"
Black Chalk by Christopher J Yates set in Oxford and NYC
This post can now be found on the new TripFiction site here
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| Click on the cover to find out more |
Sunday, 18 August 2013
All that Jazz set around the world
Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan set in Germany and France
This book tells the story of three black jazz musicians who find themselves in Berlin at the beginning of the Second World War. They manage to escape to Paris where they make contact with Louis Armstrong, but their relief is short lived as France declares itself at war too. Our narrator Sid and his childhood friend Chip are American and manage to get visas to return, but the young genius among them ‘the kid’ Hieronymous Falk is a black half German and the friends can’t leave him.
The books jumps back and forward
in time between the 40’s and the 90’s, tantalisingly giving you bits of the
story, but never everything until the end. It has to be one of the most
powerful descriptions of the Paris Occupation I have ever read, as well as
being a story of the ups and downs of friendship, the good natured banter over
the years but also the darker side of jealousy and betrayal. It was very
different to my usual uplifting and lighthearted books set in France, but
certainly something that made me think. With lots of themes running through the
book, jazz music, war, race and friendship it is quite full and complex too.
I will admit that it took me a
while to become comfortable with the way this novel is written. Told through
the voice of Sid it is written in a black slang dialect that didn’t flow in my
head the way English does, but did make for a far more realistic read.
This book is published by
Serpent’s Tail and available in both paperback and ebook. The link to Amazon can
be found by clicking on the book cover.
A terrific thank you from all of us at TripFiction to our Guest Blogger Jacqui Brown who writes on her own blog about her life in France and also reviews novels set in the country.
And following on from the jazz theme we have brought together a few of our favourite novels - so many to choose from - that bring this wonderful musical world and era to life. Just click on the covers to find out more:
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje set in New Orleans
Based on the life of cornet player Buddy Bolden, one of the legendary jazz pioneers of turn-of-the-twentieth-century New Orleans, Coming Through Slaughter is an extraordinary recreation of a remarkable musical life and a tragic conclusion. Through a collage of memoirs, interviews, imaginary conversations and monologues, Ondaatje builds a picture of a man who would work by day at a barber shop and by night unleash his talent to wild audiences who had never experienced such playing. But Buddy was also playing the field with two women, and inside his head was a ticking time-bomb which he was unable to stop.
But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer set in USA
Having been absolutely transported to Venice and Varanasi in Geoff Dyer's book Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi we were pleased to find this wonderfully acclaimed novel that really brings the jazz era to life.Lester Young fading away in a hotel room; Charles Mingus storming down the streets of New York on a too-small bicycle; Thelonius Monk creating his own private language on the piano...In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skilfully evokes the embattled lives of the players who shaped modern jazz. He draws on photos and anecdotes, but music is the driving force of But Beautiful and Dyer brings it to life in luminescent and wildly metaphoric prose that mirrors the quirks, eccentricity, and brilliance of each musician's style.
The Jazz Flower by Vee Williams Garcia set in Washington DC, Paris, NYC
Rosa Johnson Stills grows and blooms into a beautiful mocha-hued jazz singer in 1930s and '40s Washington, D.C. During those years, Rosa challenges her light-skinned grandmother, Lilly, who low rates her dark skin color and her jazz dream. Rosa also fights her rival, socialite Iris Haywood, in an endless effort to possess her first love, Attorney Alan Covington. Because of a long-ago pact their families made, Alan is pledged to Iris. And Iris will never let him go. Eventually, Rosa relocates to New York City to take a singing job at The Blue Phoenix nightclub and to try to forget Alan. In New York, Rosa dates Jackson Parker, a racketeer. But Alan is in her arms whenever he's in New York on business ─ even after he and Iris are married. Parker threatens to kill Rosa if he catches her with another man. Set in the Swing and Bebop eras of jazz music, The Jazz Flower unfolds prejudice, obsession, and murder, as it transports readers from D.C. to New York, to Paris, France, on its way to a riveting conclusion.
Blood Count by Reggie Nadelson set in New York
In New York's Harlem, every street is steeped in history, and the music of jazz legends plays in the memories of its residents. Artie Cohen could feel at home here - if he wasn't on the trail of a killer intent on erasing the past...An elderly Russian woman is found dead in her apartment, and Cohen finds himself in the centre of a violent debate between city developers and an older generation of Harlem tenants. Not to mention the tensions between himself, his old girlfriend, and her new, younger lover. Meanwhile someone in these once-violent streets is intent on hauling Harlem into the twenty-first century, no matter what it takes...
Jazz by Toni Morrison set in Harlem, NYC
Joe Trace - in his fifties, door-to-door salesman of beauty products, erstwhile devoted husband - shoots to death his lover of three months, impetuous, eighteen-year-old Dorcas. At the funeral, his determined, hard-working wife, Violet - who is given to stumbling into dark mental cracks - tries with a knife to disfigure the corpse. Jazz is the story of a triangle of passion, jealousy, murder and redemption, of sex and spirituality, of slavery and liberation, country and city, of being male and female, African American, and above all being human.
Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle set in NYC and Chicago
It's 1924, and New York is the centre of the universe. Henry Smart, on the run from Dublin, falls on his feet. He is a handsome man with a sandwich board, behind which he stashes hooch for the speakeasies of the Lower East Side. He catches the attention of the mobsters who run the district and soon there are eyes on his back and men in the shadows. It is time to leave, for another America...Chicago is wild and new, and newest of all is the music. Furious, wild, happy music played by a man with a trumpet and bleeding lips called Louis Armstrong. His music is everywhere, coming from every open door, every phonograph. But Armstrong is a prisoner of his colour; there are places a black man cannot go, things he cannot do. Armstrong needs a man, a white man, and the man he chooses is Henry Smart.
Twelve Bar Blues by Patrick Neate set in NYC, Africa, New Orleans & Chicago
Spanning three continents and two centuries, Twelve Bar Blues is an epic tale of fate, family, friendship and jazz. At its heart is Lick Holden, a young jazz musician, who sets New Orleans on fire with his cornet at the beginning of the last century. But Lick's passion is to find his lost step-sister and that's a journey that leads him to a place he can call 'home'. Meanwhile, at the other end of the century, we find Sylvia, an English prostitute, and Jim, a young drifter. They're in search of Sylvia's past, lost somewhere in the mists of the Louisiana bayou. Patrick Neate has written a story that straddles time and space, love and friendship, roots and pilgrimage and everything between. Poignant and hilarious, it will hook you - like a favourite tune - till the end.
Czechmate: The Spy who Played Jazz by Bill Moody set in Prague
The year is 1968. The liberal reforms of Czechoslovakia's new leader, Alexander Dubcek, have outraged the Kremlin and now, 250,000 Warsaw Pact forces are amassed on the borders. For American intelligence, the situation is worsened when their prime source, Josef Blaha, threatens to cut them off unless one demand is met: a totally safe contact. For CIA veteran, Alan Curtis, jazz musician Gene Williams seems the ideal choice. His invitation to the Prague Jazz festival gives him perfect cover and access to Prague. But Williams is a musician, not a spy and has other ideas that force Curtis to resort to blackmail to get the young musician to accept what Curtis calls a simple pickup and delivery. It starts to go wrong when Williams finds Blaha murdered by the KGB and he's left to unravel the puzzle on his own. What he finds is even more than Curtis bargained for. With the help of Blaha's beautiful granddaughter Lena, Williams races against time to warn Dubcek of the impending invasion and uncover a traitor in the US Embassy.
And All That Madness by Joan Merrill set in NYC
When the New York Jazz Society acquires a fifty-year old letter from Georgia Valentine, questions arise over the legendary vocalist's death. Did she give herself a fatal dose of heroin, as the original investigators ruled, or did someone kill her? And if it was murder, what was the motive? Casey moves her operation from San Francisco to New York to investigate the cold case, questioning Georgia's musician friends, her widower, a drug dealer, a Broadway actress, a mafia boss and the authorities who declared the death a suicide. This quest takes Casey to New York's most venerable jazz clubs, a Harlem nursing home, a mob-owned Italian restaurant, a lesbian bar and One Police Plaza, home of the NYPD. She joins forces with an attractive detective from the Organized Crime unit, and, as the case progresses, so does their relationship. With no shortage of suspects, Casey ultimately uncovers evidence revealing a surprising killer.
A terrific thank you from all of us at TripFiction to our Guest Blogger Jacqui Brown who writes on her own blog about her life in France and also reviews novels set in the country.
And following on from the jazz theme we have brought together a few of our favourite novels - so many to choose from - that bring this wonderful musical world and era to life. Just click on the covers to find out more:
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje set in New Orleans
Based on the life of cornet player Buddy Bolden, one of the legendary jazz pioneers of turn-of-the-twentieth-century New Orleans, Coming Through Slaughter is an extraordinary recreation of a remarkable musical life and a tragic conclusion. Through a collage of memoirs, interviews, imaginary conversations and monologues, Ondaatje builds a picture of a man who would work by day at a barber shop and by night unleash his talent to wild audiences who had never experienced such playing. But Buddy was also playing the field with two women, and inside his head was a ticking time-bomb which he was unable to stop.
But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer set in USA
Having been absolutely transported to Venice and Varanasi in Geoff Dyer's book Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi we were pleased to find this wonderfully acclaimed novel that really brings the jazz era to life.Lester Young fading away in a hotel room; Charles Mingus storming down the streets of New York on a too-small bicycle; Thelonius Monk creating his own private language on the piano...In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skilfully evokes the embattled lives of the players who shaped modern jazz. He draws on photos and anecdotes, but music is the driving force of But Beautiful and Dyer brings it to life in luminescent and wildly metaphoric prose that mirrors the quirks, eccentricity, and brilliance of each musician's style.The Jazz Flower by Vee Williams Garcia set in Washington DC, Paris, NYC
Rosa Johnson Stills grows and blooms into a beautiful mocha-hued jazz singer in 1930s and '40s Washington, D.C. During those years, Rosa challenges her light-skinned grandmother, Lilly, who low rates her dark skin color and her jazz dream. Rosa also fights her rival, socialite Iris Haywood, in an endless effort to possess her first love, Attorney Alan Covington. Because of a long-ago pact their families made, Alan is pledged to Iris. And Iris will never let him go. Eventually, Rosa relocates to New York City to take a singing job at The Blue Phoenix nightclub and to try to forget Alan. In New York, Rosa dates Jackson Parker, a racketeer. But Alan is in her arms whenever he's in New York on business ─ even after he and Iris are married. Parker threatens to kill Rosa if he catches her with another man. Set in the Swing and Bebop eras of jazz music, The Jazz Flower unfolds prejudice, obsession, and murder, as it transports readers from D.C. to New York, to Paris, France, on its way to a riveting conclusion.
Blood Count by Reggie Nadelson set in New YorkIn New York's Harlem, every street is steeped in history, and the music of jazz legends plays in the memories of its residents. Artie Cohen could feel at home here - if he wasn't on the trail of a killer intent on erasing the past...An elderly Russian woman is found dead in her apartment, and Cohen finds himself in the centre of a violent debate between city developers and an older generation of Harlem tenants. Not to mention the tensions between himself, his old girlfriend, and her new, younger lover. Meanwhile someone in these once-violent streets is intent on hauling Harlem into the twenty-first century, no matter what it takes...
Jazz by Toni Morrison set in Harlem, NYC
Joe Trace - in his fifties, door-to-door salesman of beauty products, erstwhile devoted husband - shoots to death his lover of three months, impetuous, eighteen-year-old Dorcas. At the funeral, his determined, hard-working wife, Violet - who is given to stumbling into dark mental cracks - tries with a knife to disfigure the corpse. Jazz is the story of a triangle of passion, jealousy, murder and redemption, of sex and spirituality, of slavery and liberation, country and city, of being male and female, African American, and above all being human.
Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle set in NYC and Chicago
It's 1924, and New York is the centre of the universe. Henry Smart, on the run from Dublin, falls on his feet. He is a handsome man with a sandwich board, behind which he stashes hooch for the speakeasies of the Lower East Side. He catches the attention of the mobsters who run the district and soon there are eyes on his back and men in the shadows. It is time to leave, for another America...Chicago is wild and new, and newest of all is the music. Furious, wild, happy music played by a man with a trumpet and bleeding lips called Louis Armstrong. His music is everywhere, coming from every open door, every phonograph. But Armstrong is a prisoner of his colour; there are places a black man cannot go, things he cannot do. Armstrong needs a man, a white man, and the man he chooses is Henry Smart.
Twelve Bar Blues by Patrick Neate set in NYC, Africa, New Orleans & Chicago
Spanning three continents and two centuries, Twelve Bar Blues is an epic tale of fate, family, friendship and jazz. At its heart is Lick Holden, a young jazz musician, who sets New Orleans on fire with his cornet at the beginning of the last century. But Lick's passion is to find his lost step-sister and that's a journey that leads him to a place he can call 'home'. Meanwhile, at the other end of the century, we find Sylvia, an English prostitute, and Jim, a young drifter. They're in search of Sylvia's past, lost somewhere in the mists of the Louisiana bayou. Patrick Neate has written a story that straddles time and space, love and friendship, roots and pilgrimage and everything between. Poignant and hilarious, it will hook you - like a favourite tune - till the end.
Czechmate: The Spy who Played Jazz by Bill Moody set in Prague
The year is 1968. The liberal reforms of Czechoslovakia's new leader, Alexander Dubcek, have outraged the Kremlin and now, 250,000 Warsaw Pact forces are amassed on the borders. For American intelligence, the situation is worsened when their prime source, Josef Blaha, threatens to cut them off unless one demand is met: a totally safe contact. For CIA veteran, Alan Curtis, jazz musician Gene Williams seems the ideal choice. His invitation to the Prague Jazz festival gives him perfect cover and access to Prague. But Williams is a musician, not a spy and has other ideas that force Curtis to resort to blackmail to get the young musician to accept what Curtis calls a simple pickup and delivery. It starts to go wrong when Williams finds Blaha murdered by the KGB and he's left to unravel the puzzle on his own. What he finds is even more than Curtis bargained for. With the help of Blaha's beautiful granddaughter Lena, Williams races against time to warn Dubcek of the impending invasion and uncover a traitor in the US Embassy.And All That Madness by Joan Merrill set in NYC
When the New York Jazz Society acquires a fifty-year old letter from Georgia Valentine, questions arise over the legendary vocalist's death. Did she give herself a fatal dose of heroin, as the original investigators ruled, or did someone kill her? And if it was murder, what was the motive? Casey moves her operation from San Francisco to New York to investigate the cold case, questioning Georgia's musician friends, her widower, a drug dealer, a Broadway actress, a mafia boss and the authorities who declared the death a suicide. This quest takes Casey to New York's most venerable jazz clubs, a Harlem nursing home, a mob-owned Italian restaurant, a lesbian bar and One Police Plaza, home of the NYPD. She joins forces with an attractive detective from the Organized Crime unit, and, as the case progresses, so does their relationship. With no shortage of suspects, Casey ultimately uncovers evidence revealing a surprising killer.
Not a definitive list by any means! Share your favourite novels with a jazz theme in our Comments Box
Friday, 2 August 2013
Bibliophile code-breakers in San Francisco and NYC
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan set in San Francisco and NYC
Our review is on the TripFiction site here
Our review is on the TripFiction site here
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Sunday, 24 February 2013
County Mayo to New York City
"The sky was blue-grey, with pencils of peach light framing the tall buildings"
Welcome to New York City
This post now appears here
Sunday, 21 October 2012
For the love of cricket. Kabul. New York. Sri Lanka.
We have brought together a couple of novels with a cricket theme. Perfect for all those out there who just love the game! The sport is right at the heart of these books. (Great presents perhaps for the cricket lover in your family???). Enough said, here are the books and just click on the links to find out more (and buy a copy if you wish!!)
Set in war-torn Kabul, a harrowing yet tender novel - Bend it Like Beckham in a burqua - about one woman's courage and guile in the face of tyranny. Enter Rukhsana. A cricket tournament is announced, with the winning team to travel to Pakistan for training and then represent Afghanistan at an international level. In reality, the idea is surreal. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness and equality. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play cricket, except Rukhsana. The tournament offers hope - a means of escape for her brother and young cousins. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2245
"A soaring novel of resilience, strength, hope and tenderness, The Taliban Cricket Club reveals how love can overcome, and outwit, the power of tyrants"
In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, and left alone after his English wife and son return to London, Hans van den Broek stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. As the two men share their vastly different experiences of contemporary immigrant life in America, an unforgettable portrait emerges of an "other" New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.
http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/828
Book details "Hats off to any author who can have me on the edge of my seat over a game of cricket!" Summer, 1965. In the fictional town of Corrigan, WA.
Ambitious, playful and strikingly original, Chinaman is a novel about cricket and Sri Lanka - and the story of modern day Sri Lanka through its most cherished sport. Hailed by the Gratiaen Prize judges as 'one of the most imaginative works of contemporary Sri Lankan fiction', it is an astounding book. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/1224
Can you help us build up a database of cricket themed fiction?
Kabul - New York - Sri Lanka - Western Australia
Set in war-torn Kabul, a harrowing yet tender novel - Bend it Like Beckham in a burqua - about one woman's courage and guile in the face of tyranny. Enter Rukhsana. A cricket tournament is announced, with the winning team to travel to Pakistan for training and then represent Afghanistan at an international level. In reality, the idea is surreal. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness and equality. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play cricket, except Rukhsana. The tournament offers hope - a means of escape for her brother and young cousins. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2245 "A soaring novel of resilience, strength, hope and tenderness, The Taliban Cricket Club reveals how love can overcome, and outwit, the power of tyrants"
In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, and left alone after his English wife and son return to London, Hans van den Broek stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. As the two men share their vastly different experiences of contemporary immigrant life in America, an unforgettable portrait emerges of an "other" New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/828
Book details "Hats off to any author who can have me on the edge of my seat over a game of cricket!" Summer, 1965. In the fictional town of Corrigan, WA.
Late one night, thirteen-year-old Charlie Bucktin is startled by a knock on his window. His visitor is Jasper Jones. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is intriguing. And he needs Charlie's help. In the dead of night, the boys steal through town, and Charlie learns of Jasper's horrible discovery. Burdened by a terrible secret and the weight of a town's suspicion, Charlie feels his world closing in.
After this summer nothing will ever be the same again.
Ambitious, playful and strikingly original, Chinaman is a novel about cricket and Sri Lanka - and the story of modern day Sri Lanka through its most cherished sport. Hailed by the Gratiaen Prize judges as 'one of the most imaginative works of contemporary Sri Lankan fiction', it is an astounding book. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/1224
Can you help us build up a database of cricket themed fiction?
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
The era of Mad Men via novels, set in New York
Mad Men is back on TV and to celebrate we have chosen some fiction to match! It's Season 6, and it's a very literary season! As it moves through the 1960s everything gets a lot more hairy, too, whether bodywise or plotwise! Click on the covers to find out more and purchase.
One of Don's first bed companions in Series 1 of Mad Men is not another woman, but The Best of Everything, this 1958 novel by Rona Jaffe ...It is a world of typing pools and tie-wearing at all times; of whiskey drinking and womanising; a world in which secretaries grope their way towards feminism with difficulty, and bosses grope their secretaries with with ease...As Draper himself might say: fascinating (The Times )
"The author really seems to capture the atmosphere of 1950's New York and I was totally transported there via these pages"
Lucia Sartori, now in her seventies, single, tells the story of her life to the only other single woman who lives in the same apartment block as her Kit who is mid twenties. It is the story of New York in the 1950s, of an Italian American family and their values.
And finally from New York magazine:
And if you know of any other 1950/1960s New York set great reads that we could feature, let us know in the Comments Box below.
One of Don's first bed companions in Series 1 of Mad Men is not another woman, but The Best of Everything, this 1958 novel by Rona Jaffe ...It is a world of typing pools and tie-wearing at all times; of whiskey drinking and womanising; a world in which secretaries grope their way towards feminism with difficulty, and bosses grope their secretaries with with ease...As Draper himself might say: fascinating (The Times )"The author really seems to capture the atmosphere of 1950's New York and I was totally transported there via these pages"
Lucia Sartori, now in her seventies, single, tells the story of her life to the only other single woman who lives in the same apartment block as her Kit who is mid twenties. It is the story of New York in the 1950s, of an Italian American family and their values.And finally from New York magazine:
And if you know of any other 1950/1960s New York set great reads that we could feature, let us know in the Comments Box below.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Knitting Novels set in MANHATTAN and ENGLAND
Hmmmm.... interesting! Both these book covers are similar, a pair of gorgeous pins (and of course fabulous shoes!) and some wool: hello publishers, is there a spot of social stereotyping going on?????
Anyway, we are pleased to introduce you to two lovely books that bring knitting, gentleness and Manhattan and England (plus a quick side trip to Venice) under one umbrella.......
Put your feet up, get the needles out and enjoy The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs which has the plus of recipes and patterns, all set in wonderful Manhattan. Walker and Daughter yarn shop is the venue for the Friday Night Knitting Club. This is the gentle story of single Mum Georgia and her daughter Dakota. Dad left early in Dakota's life and returns to re-build his relationship. And if you like this book then pick up Knit 2, the sequel!
And for more knitting and yarns in fiction we chose this book Divas don't knit by Gil McNeil. Jo is looking for a new life after the death of her philandering husband, so she decides to up sticks and relocate to the English coast and take over her Grandmother's yarn shop. She wants it to become the vibrant hub of the community, she teaches a local celebrity to knit and survives a trip to Venice with her Mother. Reader beware, this book is the same as the Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club.
Let us know your favourite knitting themed books in the Comments Box below! Always happy to hear from you.
Anyway, we are pleased to introduce you to two lovely books that bring knitting, gentleness and Manhattan and England (plus a quick side trip to Venice) under one umbrella.......
Put your feet up, get the needles out and enjoy The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs which has the plus of recipes and patterns, all set in wonderful Manhattan. Walker and Daughter yarn shop is the venue for the Friday Night Knitting Club. This is the gentle story of single Mum Georgia and her daughter Dakota. Dad left early in Dakota's life and returns to re-build his relationship. And if you like this book then pick up Knit 2, the sequel!And for more knitting and yarns in fiction we chose this book Divas don't knit by Gil McNeil. Jo is looking for a new life after the death of her philandering husband, so she decides to up sticks and relocate to the English coast and take over her Grandmother's yarn shop. She wants it to become the vibrant hub of the community, she teaches a local celebrity to knit and survives a trip to Venice with her Mother. Reader beware, this book is the same as the Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club.Let us know your favourite knitting themed books in the Comments Box below! Always happy to hear from you.
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