Dangerous Day Job

A story of love, hate, crisis, and the infectious energy of the city life in ‘Jazz’ is a page turner if nothing else. Illicit romping in the city, quiet talks between friendly enemies, a young man torn between two identities and patricidal urges, the love that drives a man to kill, and drives a woman to desperate rage, youth and age and secrets, it’s really all here. I can’t wrap my head completely around this novel because there’s just so much to grasp at once.

I’ve already talked about the plot in my previous post about Jazz, so I won’t spoil anything here again. The events of the story take a back seat to the pull of the world itself anyway, in my opinion. Character after character has their story told, always eventually or obviously tying in to the awful deed that Joe Trace committed in killing his young lover Dorcas. Morrison forms a web people stretching back in time, across the city and into the wild depths of Virginia, from hairdresser, to hunter, to wealthy elite. Whereas ‘Beloved’ felt like a journey, ‘Jazz’ feels more like an exploration. The destination is less important than the getting there.

This was a great read from page one, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley