Half-Blood Blues

Paris, 1940.  A brilliant jazz musician, Hiero, is arrested by the Nazis and never heard from again.  He is twenty years old.  He is a German citizen.  And he is black.

Fifty years later, his friend and fellow musician, Sid, must relive that unforgettable time, revealing the friendships, love affairs and treacheries that sealed Hiero's fate. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris -- where the legendary Louis Armstrong makes an appearance -- Sid, with his distinctive and rhythmic German-American slang, leads the reader through a fascinating world alive with passion, music and the spirit of the resistance.

Half-Blood Blues, the second novel by an exceptionally talented young writer, is an entrancing, electric story about jazz, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others, in the name of art.

“...a stunning, powerful read, a compelling story

brilliantly told.”

“... brilliantly conceived, gorgeously executed novel.”

“With Half-Blood Blues, Esi Edugyan has written a truly

beautiful novel.”

“Half-Blood Blues is an engrossing and unforgettable

story.”

“Half-Blood Blues itself represents a kind of flowering—

that of a gifted storyteller."