Reviews

• Mary Morris’s brilliant and irresistible new novel

  Three books kept coming to mind as I read The Jazz Palace, Mary Morris’s brilliant and irresistible new novel: Ragtime, by E. L. Doctorow, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, by Oscar Hijuelos, and Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like all of these, The Jazz Palace employs beautifully observed and perfectly chosen detail to render a world that feels entirely real, yet magical at the same time. And, perhaps more to the point, like her predecessors, Morris has important things to tell us about love, obsession and sorrow—although the love and obsession in this novel primarily focus on the music and culture of jazz. The story follows the interwoven fates for four characters: Pearl and Opal, two of the three “Gem sisters” (the third is Ruby) who own the Chicago jazz club that lends the novel its title, and two musicians, Benny Lehrman, who, like the sisters, is Jewish, and Napoleon Hill, who is black and from New Orleans—though the novel also contains vivid cameo appearances by such real life figures as Louis Armstrong and, most memorably, Al Capone. Benny is a piano prodigy, and while Napoleon initially sees him as just another white man out to “steal” black music, he soon understands the depth of Benny’s talent and of his love for jazz. The two men become bandmates and friends, and they both become sexually involved with Opal—though Benny’s relationship with her is far more serious. Meanwhile, Pearl nourishes her love for Benny, but is too much of a realist to do anything but watch him and her younger sister from afar. One of the many pleasures of The Jazz Palace is the factual information that Morris scatters with consummate grace throughout its pages. The word “jazz,” she tells us, was originally pronounced “jass” and may have derived from the passion-inspiring jasmine oil used by prostitutes in New Orleans; while the word “hipster” came from the hip flasks sported by stylish young men during Prohibition. And a powerful subplot concerns the fact that, more than half a century after the end of slavery, black musicians were “owned” by Chicago’s mostly mobster club owners, and could be killed or maimed for playing at rival clubs. But in the end, this novel is primarily about the dialectic of joy and pain that love—or obsession—brings into the hearts of men and women. And in her wise and beautiful conclusion, Morris shows that while suffering can destroy some loves, it is also the forge by which others are made durable and real. The Jazz Age is the very best sort of novel, one that moves and fascinates, amazes us, makes us laugh, keeps us on the edge of our seats, and helps us understand what matters most in life.

• Amazing story telling

  Amazing story telling. Love this book. The first chapters are unforgettable!!! The characters are so human and real. Couldn't put it down

• Good read

  I was not left amazed but I enjoyed the story and the atmosphere it creates very much. It’s not a book that just HAS to be on someone’s reading list but if you enjoy the theme or the epoque than it’s nice. The musical elements were the ones I appreciated most!

• Great verbal jazz sounds

  A great jazz story. A sequel would be very interesting dealing w the next phase of their lives.

• It is full of tragedy with some light moments here and there

  The Jazz Palace is a saloon opened by the jewish Chimbrova family in Chicago in the 20's and is run by 4 siblings. This is the place where white man gather to drink and to listen to music. And this is the place, where Napoleon, a black jazz musician comes to play every monday against all rules. He also brings with himself Benny Lehrmann, son of a jewish business owner, who has no interest in taking over from his dad and spends most of his time wandering the south side of the city, where black people live and entertain everyone who comes over. Benny has a good ear for music and picks up jazz pretty quickly and starts jamming. Together with Napoleon they mesmerize the audience. Benny enjoys life as a famous musician and charms the Chimbrova girls. But life is not all about rainbows and unicorns so Benny and the others faces tragedies, death, poverty, the rise of the gangsters and learn the hard way how unfair the world can be. Morris' writing is OK, nothing exceptional, but not so bad either, and she had some nice lines I highlighted (look at the line above for example). She was able to give it back the atmosphere of the pretty wide period of time this story is set in: the end of WWI, the ban of alcohol, the rise of the gangsters (Al Capone above all), the beginning of the Great Depression. The story focuses on the lifes of the main characters and actual historical events are only mentioned marginally. Al Capone himself appears twice, but his appearance doesn't add anything to the story. Sure, he has a great influence on one of the characters, but that's all. What this book missing is some depth, I wanted to about the era, to better understand the characters, what drove them, how it really affected their life. Instead we get a lot of brooding, and miserabe characters with whom the reader couldn't really connect. Sure, their pain and suffering and all that are understandable, they all led a hard life. But it's hard to really feel sorry for them. And then there were passages totally irrelevant to the story. Felt like they were just thrown in without any purpose so the pages would be filled. They didn't really add to the atmosphere either. If she really wanted to create a rich, vivid, full of life kind of book, she should have written more about the gangsters, how the saloons and clubs really worked, what they had to do to stay alive. Some more added general history would have made The Jazz Palace a much more interesting book. I have to hand it to Morris though that she gives a good description of how life were for black people at the time and what it meant for white and black people to make friendships or any kind of relationship really. Benny and Napoleon set a new standard and showed to Chicago what they can accomplish on their own and together, stereotypes be damned. This book is recommended for those who'd like to get a glimpse into the history of Chicago, into the birth of jazz and what effect it has on a handful of lives and don't mind getting thrown off balance with the sudden change of POV or timeline ocassionally. The Jazz Palace while an easy read in terms of style and writing, it is full of tragedy with some light moments here and there. Overall, if not an exactly enjoyable read, but one which will make you wonder about life and music and the choices we make in our lifes. And in the end, that can count as an accomplishment in itself.

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