Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

What do readers think of Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan? Write your own review.

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Half-Blood Blues

A Novel

by Esi Edugyan

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Feb 2012, 336 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Reviews

Page 2 of 2
There are currently 13 reader reviews for Half-Blood Blues
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Janice C. (Hayward, CA)

HalfBlood Blues
I found myself really drawn to this book in the first few chapters. It was a little slow at times. Edugyan is a passionate writer. It was very interesting reading about musicians during this era. I was drawn more to the music aspect than the characters. The ending was a little disappointing. Would I recommend it to my Book Club? I never gave much thought to Afro-Germans during the Nazi takeover of Paris, this book prompted me to do a little research. I liked the jive kind of language, it made me feel more connected to the characters.
Carolyn L. (Cincinnati, OH)

Jazz, Germans and Being Black
Imagine being in Berlin and then Paris in 1939. Then imagine being a black man who is German and several black Americans all trying to play jazz in these two cities as the war nears. All the Hot Time Swingers (a German American band) wanted to do was play music.

This novel weaves a tale between survival in 1939 and a documentary that was being unveiled in 1992. This novel unwraps the story how a group of jazz musicians had to consider their own lives, the lives of their fellow musicians and surviving an ever growing presence of Nazi's in 1939.

This novel is a peek into a side of pre-WWII that most of us have not considered.
Cathy R. (Scottsdale, AZ)

You gotta like jazz
I had a hard time with this book. Maybe it's because I have read so much on this period or maybe because I'm not a strong jazz lover. It ebbed and flowed but definitely worth reading.
Mary S. (Bow, NH)

I love the blues - this book...meh
The dialogue in Half-Blood Blues is what makes the book worth reading. The story had ebbs and flows, making the book a bit tedious a some points, but slogging through those low points was rewarded by the high points. Throughout it is the dialogue and the capture of the times, reflected through the eyes of African-American jazz players, that provides the most enjoyment.

For people who enjoy historical fiction, this will give you a new look at Germany and France at the beginning of WWII.
Kathy M. (Neptune Beach, Florida)

Half-Blood Blues
I have read many wonderful reviews of this book but unfortunately I can't agree. The plot developed very slowly and the slang they used was very unfamilar. I normally enjoy this type of novel immensely but this one just wasn't for me.
  • Page
  • 1
  • 2

Read-Alikes

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd rather have been talking

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.