Madam: A Novel of New Orleans

By Kari Lynn & Kelli Martin

Genre: Jazz (fiction)

In the 1890s and 1900s the city of New Orleans instituted boundaries for a place where there would be legalized prostitution and all the vices that go with it. Nicknamed Storyville, a reference to the man who proposed the idea, it became a notorious few blocks serving both Blacks and Whites as a prurient playground for lust. Its most remembered contribution to history was as a musical incubator where ragtime pianists and early jazz innovators like Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong set the beginnings of Jazz. Contrary to the popular myth that Jazz began in Storyville, its real importance was how the musicians of Storyville spread the music throughout the country due to the large amount of sailors and other travelers who heard it in the whorehouses.

Madam is a fictional account loosely based on Mary Deubler who later became one of the leading madams under the name of Josie Arlington. It starts with Mary's low stature as a prostitute in a "crib", one of the lower settings of her trade, to the emergence of Storyville and her rapid ride to the role of Madam. In between we are given a few feuds and murders, a look at New Orleans style voodoo and other corrupt and decadent events. Authors Kari Lynn and Kellie Martin employ a number of historical characters in this novel including pianist Morton, photographer E. J. Bellocq and others. The authors attempt to evoke a feel for the era while telling a personal story of a woman at the bottom working her way up in the only way she was allowed.

But does it work? This is where I had some problems. The style of writing seems rather light and melodramatic for such a often bleak historical tale. I never really got a good grasp on who Mary was except that we should have sympathy for her plight and admire her gumption. None of the other characters really stood out and the historical "cameos" didn't really add much. Storyville never came alive for me partly because the novel ended at the first days of the district. The first task of a historical novel is make the era sound authentic and this never happened. Instead we get a soap operatic telling of a often told story that felt like the treatment for a TV mini-series.

Overall, despite my enthusiasm for that period of history and the important role it played in American music, the novel fell flat. It is a mildly entertaining novel that fails to give us anything new and inspiring. This book will appeal to those who like hard luck tales and "poor girl fight to the top" stories. But as an historical novel that gives you insight on the times and human nature, I just can't recommend it.

The Human Chord

By Algernon Blackwood

 Genre: General (fiction)

Back when I was a music major in college, I took a class in chamber music. We formed a woodwind quartet and our professor was a stickler for tone. We would practice one note for an hour and a half every week, tuning and playing, tuning and playing. We were about to mutiny when all of a sudden as we played that one C note, another tone in perfect harmony (the third interval E for you musicians) resounded in our ears as clear at if it was being played externally. We knew we all heard it from the shocked looks on our faces. The professor jubilantly exclaims "Now that's what I was listening for!". We continued to play that one note for the rest of the session marveling in the harmonic sound. The realization that our ears could generate perfect harmony from the playing of one perfect pitch was like a spiritual revelation...one of those mysterious yet enlightening experiences we rarely get.

So you must forgive me if I do not find Algernon Blackwood's assertion that sound is the key to the mysteries of the universe in The Human Chord all that far fetched. Chanting certainly has been used throughout history to find enlightenment and to become one with nature. Also, that one's true name is all-powering or that the true name of the gods hold vast powers if you know it and can harness it is another hypothesis resonating since ancient times. Blackwood uses these ideas in this enchantingly dark novel that pits the main protagonist in the choice between being like the gods or fulfilling more humble joys in the world as he knows it. Of the early 20th century writers of horror fantasy, I find Blackwood to be the most original because his horror is based on the secrets of the universe being awe inspiring and world-changing rather than the "Unspeakable horrors" of Lovecraft's ancient ones or Machen's ideas of nature as evil and decadent. Blackwood's own fascination with the occult plays heavily here but so does his love of nature and his interest in Zen and Cabalist thought. This is the first novel I've read of Blackwood's but I have read many of his short stories. As always, Blackwood relies on atmosphere rather than pure scare to disorient the reader's perceptions. The author's characterizations are also central to his tale. The three main characters embody different parts of our humanity. Spinrobin is the everyman who is dissatisfied with his reality but doesn't know why, Miriam is the embodiment of innocence, and the Rev. Skale (Scales?? I'm sure the pun is intentional) is a version of Captain Ahab, an obsessive seeker of a goal that can easily destroy him as well as make him equal to the gods. The Human Chord can work on many levels beside just being a good fantasy tale which is the very definitive of a classic in horror or fantasy.

Background music: Gregorian chants

Voice

 By Joseph Garraty

Genre: Rock (fiction)

Rock and roll and horror should be a natural combination. Yet I can think of only a few authors who have the ability to blend the two worlds together; Skipp and Spector, David Schow and to a lesser extent, George R.R. Martin, S. P. Somtow, and Joe Hill. Less serious efforts has been made by schlockmaster musicians like Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper whose shows are more of a kiddie spectacular with little real terror.

Enter new author Joseph Garraty. His debut novel Voice is a realistic blend of both rock and horror. Garraty is a musician and writer and his description of seedy venues and one night stands reveals an intimacy with the musician life. His novel is also a riveting horror tale that combines two overdone sub-genres; ordinary kid becomes rock star with disastrous results and that old war horse, the deal-with-the-devil tale. But the author finds something new in both and gives us a story that puts us on notice that he is biting at the heels of those authors I mentioned above.

But there are a few issues that often accompanies new writers. He slows at the middle and loses the pace. However it quickly picks up when main protagonist Johnny Tango and his band goes on the road. Also I was sometimes disengaged by the change in perspective of the band members and felt it may have been better to stick to the two main characters, Johnny and Case.

However, the strengths far exceed the weaknesses. Both Case and Johnny are strong character who the reader can care for even when they aren't on the best behavior. The rock performance scenes are exquisite and superbly catches the sense of excitement from the performers' perspective. Also, Garraty's ability to evoke dread and horror is quite good. Look for a "crossroads" scene that is loyal to the classic definition but also subtly hints that something else is going on.

The bottom line is that the author wrote a very above average debut novel that manages to blend the realistic travails of the rock music life with a scary and haunting horror story. If you are looking for new horror writers eager to creep you out, try Joseph Garraty. Personally, I am hoping eagerly for another creep-you-out rock and roller novel from this promising writer.

Background CD: The Cramps - Bad Music for Bad People