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A review by laurieb755
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
4.0
This was an unusual story, to say the least. The NY Times reviewer gives a non-too favorable review of Spufford's efforts, though I would guess she just didn't appreciate having to suspend belief to enter the world as Spufford imagines it.
Most good mysteries and alternate worlds require one to suspend belief and allow the story to be "true" for the duration of the read. If you are that type of reader, willing to go along with the author's setup, then you, too, may find this an unusual story and permit yourself to be slowly pulled in and eventually captivated.
I was curious to know about Francis Spufford's background and what might have drawn him to write this particular story, which is the first of his writing I've read. The Wikipedia entry didn't provide much other than cursory background info on Spufford; a few answers were provided in this brief Guardian interview.
Additional insight came from reading first the Author's dedication at the start of his book, In respectful memory of Professor Kroebers daughter, and then reading his Notes and Acknowledgments at the end of the book. Suffice it to say, Ursula K. Le Guin's writing had an influence on Francis Spufford. Finally, as it easy to go down the rabbit hole, this Guardian article provides a bit more light on Spufford as an author.
Now back to the book! It grew on me and I didn't want to put it down. On the other hand, I found it suspenseful and didn't want to read it before bed. Joe Barrow, one of two detectives, became a fast favorite; I liked 'hearing' what he was thinking. On the other hand, I quickly came to dislike and mistrust Barrow's partner, Phineas Drummond. The mystery revolves around a grisly murder staged as an Aztec offering, but it's not the only mystery.
As Barrow and Drummond progress with their investigation further mysteries present themselves - what is behind Drummond's approach, who are the people making the decisions, what are the 'rules' governing this place, what do all the other players know, what are they hiding and why, who is responsible for a second killing, will there be yet another killing…depending upon what you label as mystery the list could go on.
There are also questions about what is fact and what is fiction, which drove me to do a bit of research after reading the end pages of Notes etc. This story opens all sorts of thought paths to what other possibilities could there have been if we hadn't systematically wiped out the indigenous people living here.
Being quite honest, one other reason I gave this book 4 stars is it took my mind off of the pending election in the U.S. Any book that can successfully do that is a winner in my opinion!
Most good mysteries and alternate worlds require one to suspend belief and allow the story to be "true" for the duration of the read. If you are that type of reader, willing to go along with the author's setup, then you, too, may find this an unusual story and permit yourself to be slowly pulled in and eventually captivated.
I was curious to know about Francis Spufford's background and what might have drawn him to write this particular story, which is the first of his writing I've read. The Wikipedia entry didn't provide much other than cursory background info on Spufford; a few answers were provided in this brief Guardian interview.
Additional insight came from reading first the Author's dedication at the start of his book, In respectful memory of Professor Kroebers daughter, and then reading his Notes and Acknowledgments at the end of the book. Suffice it to say, Ursula K. Le Guin's writing had an influence on Francis Spufford. Finally, as it easy to go down the rabbit hole, this Guardian article provides a bit more light on Spufford as an author.
Now back to the book! It grew on me and I didn't want to put it down. On the other hand, I found it suspenseful and didn't want to read it before bed. Joe Barrow, one of two detectives, became a fast favorite; I liked 'hearing' what he was thinking. On the other hand, I quickly came to dislike and mistrust Barrow's partner, Phineas Drummond. The mystery revolves around a grisly murder staged as an Aztec offering, but it's not the only mystery.
As Barrow and Drummond progress with their investigation further mysteries present themselves - what is behind Drummond's approach, who are the people making the decisions, what are the 'rules' governing this place, what do all the other players know, what are they hiding and why, who is responsible for a second killing, will there be yet another killing…depending upon what you label as mystery the list could go on.
There are also questions about what is fact and what is fiction, which drove me to do a bit of research after reading the end pages of Notes etc. This story opens all sorts of thought paths to what other possibilities could there have been if we hadn't systematically wiped out the indigenous people living here.
Being quite honest, one other reason I gave this book 4 stars is it took my mind off of the pending election in the U.S. Any book that can successfully do that is a winner in my opinion!