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Jazz Baby
While all of Mississippi bakes in the scorching summer of 1925, sudden orphanhood wraps its icy embrace around Emily Ann "Baby" Teegarten, a pretty young teen.Taken in by an aunt bent on ridding herself of this unexpected burden, Baby Teegarten plots her escape using the only means at her a voice that brings church ladies to righteous tears, and makes both angels and devils take notice. "I'm going to New York City to sing jazz," she brags to anybody who'll listen. But the Big Apple--well, it's an awful long way from that dry patch of earth she'd always called home.So when the smoky stages of New Orleans speakeasies give a whistle, offering all sorts of shortcuts, Emily Ann soon learns it's the whorehouses and opium dens that can sidetrack a girl and dim a spotlight...and knowing the wrong people can snuff it out.Jazz Baby just wants to sing--not fight to stay alive.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2012
6 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Beem Weeks
16 books150 followersBeem Weeks is an author of novels, short stories, and essays. He is also an editor, audio/video producer, and audiobook producer.
Blog: https://beemweeks.wordpress.com/
Blog: https://beemweeks.wordpress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
July 19, 2013
I recently so effusively praised Beem Weeks’s Jazz Baby historical novel to a group of already-appreciating fans that several challenged me to list five simple reasons I keep it handy for occasional reference and reread. Okay, sure:
5) SETTING: The authenticity and vividness of Prohibition-era south from rural Mississippi to the Storyville underbelly of New Orleans is so true and fascinating that I’m grateful for the chance to experience so personally. The world of gangsters and speakeasies and flappers and hooch-mongers feels Disney-depicted in movies; it’s scary and dangerous and wondrous in Jazz Baby.
4) STORY: Coming of age? Check—but nowadays when burgeoning teens revel in declaring their most intimate personas through social media, Emily can’t help but step back and wonder, then dare venture into real situations that challenge her to overcome obstacles even as thriving yields to surviving.
3) THEME: Thirteen is too young to face losing everything and everybody, especially in an era with no societal support. It’s easy to armchair advise her—until the choices aren’t so easy, and we must admit she’ll need to figure out who she is before anything can make sense. Especially notable is the unflinching exploration of her budding sensuality, a daring exploration that nowadays might be celebrated, but which then and there might well get her killed. Emily’s story deftly pinpoints that elusive intersection between creative ambition and intimate indulgence, an algorithm that few of us so keenly observe, let alone understand.
2) CHARACTER: Weeks has created one of those rare characters who is elusive yet indelible. The more we understand her, the deeper we explore her complexities, the more we wonder and marvel. That her transition is accelerated by the whims of circumstance and fate makes it all the more exhilarating to ride with her. Several astute readers have cited comparisons, nearly all agreeing she is another Holden Caulfield or Huck Finn navigating an adult world where the youngster increasingly fails to fit.
1) VOICE: Ah, the narrative voice, the element that pushes Jazz Baby into my skybox list of best-bests: Emily narrates her own story in the first person, and we can hear her, a faceted-but-simple Mississippi girl who lets us intrude on her thoughts, not just speaking the way a girl of her station would, but showing us how she thinks. Her quirky diction and syntax, the wry observations, those heartfelt expressions of emotion—these render Emily so alive that she lingers in our thoughts well beyond the last page of her story. Not since the first-person narratives of Barbara Kingsolver have I so admired a writer finessing the voice of a youngster brave enough to speak her mind.
With only one novel so far, but lots of short stories at http://www.freshinkgroup.com, http://www.readwave.com/beem.weeks/, and other sites, Weeks is an emerging writer who with Jazz Baby has already arrived. Five quick points don’t do this novel justice. I envy any readers who get to experience it for the first time, while I eagerly look forward to Weeks’s next.
5) SETTING: The authenticity and vividness of Prohibition-era south from rural Mississippi to the Storyville underbelly of New Orleans is so true and fascinating that I’m grateful for the chance to experience so personally. The world of gangsters and speakeasies and flappers and hooch-mongers feels Disney-depicted in movies; it’s scary and dangerous and wondrous in Jazz Baby.
4) STORY: Coming of age? Check—but nowadays when burgeoning teens revel in declaring their most intimate personas through social media, Emily can’t help but step back and wonder, then dare venture into real situations that challenge her to overcome obstacles even as thriving yields to surviving.
3) THEME: Thirteen is too young to face losing everything and everybody, especially in an era with no societal support. It’s easy to armchair advise her—until the choices aren’t so easy, and we must admit she’ll need to figure out who she is before anything can make sense. Especially notable is the unflinching exploration of her budding sensuality, a daring exploration that nowadays might be celebrated, but which then and there might well get her killed. Emily’s story deftly pinpoints that elusive intersection between creative ambition and intimate indulgence, an algorithm that few of us so keenly observe, let alone understand.
2) CHARACTER: Weeks has created one of those rare characters who is elusive yet indelible. The more we understand her, the deeper we explore her complexities, the more we wonder and marvel. That her transition is accelerated by the whims of circumstance and fate makes it all the more exhilarating to ride with her. Several astute readers have cited comparisons, nearly all agreeing she is another Holden Caulfield or Huck Finn navigating an adult world where the youngster increasingly fails to fit.
1) VOICE: Ah, the narrative voice, the element that pushes Jazz Baby into my skybox list of best-bests: Emily narrates her own story in the first person, and we can hear her, a faceted-but-simple Mississippi girl who lets us intrude on her thoughts, not just speaking the way a girl of her station would, but showing us how she thinks. Her quirky diction and syntax, the wry observations, those heartfelt expressions of emotion—these render Emily so alive that she lingers in our thoughts well beyond the last page of her story. Not since the first-person narratives of Barbara Kingsolver have I so admired a writer finessing the voice of a youngster brave enough to speak her mind.
With only one novel so far, but lots of short stories at http://www.freshinkgroup.com, http://www.readwave.com/beem.weeks/, and other sites, Weeks is an emerging writer who with Jazz Baby has already arrived. Five quick points don’t do this novel justice. I envy any readers who get to experience it for the first time, while I eagerly look forward to Weeks’s next.
July 11, 2013
Lord a-mercy! Shove my head in an ice-box and pour me a cool co-cola because Jazz Baby is hotter and steamier than a Mississippi swamp.
I could SMELL the sweat, the booze, the smoke and heat in the sleazy New Orleans speakeasies. I could FEEL those crumbling sidewalks beneath my feet. And the all pervading sense of danger this girl was in sneaked off the page and under my skin.
Lock up your sons (and your daughters, too) because Emily Ann Teegarten is running loose and wild with no Mama or Papa to set her straight.
How I felt for this naïve, orphan girl, cut loose and cast adrift in a world she was way to young for. I wanted to take her by the hand and take her home, rescue her from the inevitable she hadn't the wisdom to imagine for herself.
Emily Ann has a talent for singing jazz and that talent leads her into a dangerous world of speakeasies, gangsters, bootleggers, and sexual predators. Those not out to exploit her singing talent are more than ready to exploit her body.
This is a world where the price of a life is cheap. Out of her depth and out of control, her search for fame and a good time leads her astray into murky waters where people die at the end of a needle and getting on the wrong side of those controlling things gets you a bullet in the head. And even those who she should be able to trust don't care what happens to her.
If you like a cosy, comfy read go somewhere else. This girl's voice is raw, authentic and she may tell more than is comfortable to hear but there's nothing gratuitous.
It takes more than courage to write a story like this. Beem Weeks didn't just get to know his history and characters very well. He lived and breathed these people and places. And he dug deep, as deep as it takes to give Jazz Baby a voice like this. I'm so grateful he did. He has earned Emily Ann Teegarten, Jazz Baby, a place in the accolades of great fictional characters.
I'd never heard of Beem Weeks until a couple of weeks ago. I bought this on Kindle but I'm going to buy the paperback too; because I want it there on my bookshelves alongside my all time favourites; and because I'm proud to own it.
I don't take this much time to write a review unless I think a book merits it. If people aren't talking ABOUT this book, talking UP this book then they darned well should be. This kind of talent is rare and deserves to be recognised. Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it. Beem Weeks is the one EVERYONE should be talking about.
And I'll be madder than one of them swamp 'gators if his book don't sell faster than bootlegged gin in a low-down, sleazy speakeasy. Go buy!
I could SMELL the sweat, the booze, the smoke and heat in the sleazy New Orleans speakeasies. I could FEEL those crumbling sidewalks beneath my feet. And the all pervading sense of danger this girl was in sneaked off the page and under my skin.
Lock up your sons (and your daughters, too) because Emily Ann Teegarten is running loose and wild with no Mama or Papa to set her straight.
How I felt for this naïve, orphan girl, cut loose and cast adrift in a world she was way to young for. I wanted to take her by the hand and take her home, rescue her from the inevitable she hadn't the wisdom to imagine for herself.
Emily Ann has a talent for singing jazz and that talent leads her into a dangerous world of speakeasies, gangsters, bootleggers, and sexual predators. Those not out to exploit her singing talent are more than ready to exploit her body.
This is a world where the price of a life is cheap. Out of her depth and out of control, her search for fame and a good time leads her astray into murky waters where people die at the end of a needle and getting on the wrong side of those controlling things gets you a bullet in the head. And even those who she should be able to trust don't care what happens to her.
If you like a cosy, comfy read go somewhere else. This girl's voice is raw, authentic and she may tell more than is comfortable to hear but there's nothing gratuitous.
It takes more than courage to write a story like this. Beem Weeks didn't just get to know his history and characters very well. He lived and breathed these people and places. And he dug deep, as deep as it takes to give Jazz Baby a voice like this. I'm so grateful he did. He has earned Emily Ann Teegarten, Jazz Baby, a place in the accolades of great fictional characters.
I'd never heard of Beem Weeks until a couple of weeks ago. I bought this on Kindle but I'm going to buy the paperback too; because I want it there on my bookshelves alongside my all time favourites; and because I'm proud to own it.
I don't take this much time to write a review unless I think a book merits it. If people aren't talking ABOUT this book, talking UP this book then they darned well should be. This kind of talent is rare and deserves to be recognised. Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it. Beem Weeks is the one EVERYONE should be talking about.
And I'll be madder than one of them swamp 'gators if his book don't sell faster than bootlegged gin in a low-down, sleazy speakeasy. Go buy!
April 25, 2014
This is one of the most original, atmospheric and best written novels I have read in a long time. It is the story of a poor white teenager who wants to be a Jazz singer and is set in Mississippi during the time now known as the roaring twenties.
The characters are brought beautifully to life, especially Baby as the teenager discovering her sexuality and the ability it gives her to control men, both young and old. She is determined to escape poverty and become a Jazz singer but a mix of characters around her keep getting in the way of her dreams.
The narrative style is unusual, as if written by someone from Mississipi in the twenties, which added wonderfully to the realism and helped establish a vivid picture of those times and life in an inherently racist deep south of America.
I strongly recommend this book and encourage you to get a copy!
The characters are brought beautifully to life, especially Baby as the teenager discovering her sexuality and the ability it gives her to control men, both young and old. She is determined to escape poverty and become a Jazz singer but a mix of characters around her keep getting in the way of her dreams.
The narrative style is unusual, as if written by someone from Mississipi in the twenties, which added wonderfully to the realism and helped establish a vivid picture of those times and life in an inherently racist deep south of America.
I strongly recommend this book and encourage you to get a copy!
October 18, 2014
I don’t know why I let this gem of a book sit on my TBR list for so long.
We follow the story of Emily Ann Teegarten, an innocent 13-year old whose dreams of becoming a jazz singer is marred by the ugliness that defined the era.
The narrative style is splendid, peppered with rich language and fascinating characters. It’s cinematic in execution and captures the excitement, fear, and the heartbreak while being thrown into the sleazy underbelly of the city.
It’s not an easy read because it can be uncomfortably dark and disturbing, but that’s what makes the story so compelling.
We follow the story of Emily Ann Teegarten, an innocent 13-year old whose dreams of becoming a jazz singer is marred by the ugliness that defined the era.
The narrative style is splendid, peppered with rich language and fascinating characters. It’s cinematic in execution and captures the excitement, fear, and the heartbreak while being thrown into the sleazy underbelly of the city.
It’s not an easy read because it can be uncomfortably dark and disturbing, but that’s what makes the story so compelling.
July 31, 2012
Imagine a coming-of-age protagonist who is a mix of Scout Finch (a few years older) and Holden Caulfield (a few years younger), navigating an adult world of Blue Velvet type characters. Reading Jazz Baby, a distinctly Southern novel by Beem Weeks, one can’t help associate other literary works and films; yet this remarkable novel manages to etch out its own identity.
Pubescent and pretty, precocious and impetuous, Emily Ann (Baby) Teegarten is growing up fast in Rayford, Mississippi in the Jazz Age. There she harbours grand aspirations to sing jazz in New York. Her parents are encouraging but too poor to help on their own. A rich couple offers to take Emily Ann to a church in Jackson to audition for a scholarship. She sings beautifully but sounds, “a bit too Negro for a white child,” according to the pastor. When the pastor adds that they can, “train that heathen tone from your voice,” Emily Ann`s reaction, while saving her integrity, ruins any chance at a scholarship.
A family friend, Tanyon Thibbedeaux, plucks her away. At least he appreciates her talent for what it is and envisions her singing at speakeasies across the river, in New Orleans. He also breaks the news to Emily Ann that, during her absence, her father died. Furthermore, the death was at the hands of Emily Ann’s mother.
The orphaned girl is taken in by her righteous, but loving and stable, Aunt Frannie. This complicates Tanyon’s and Emily Ann’s plans. But she’s a clever girl despite her age. She discovers how to use her sexuality—which carries more value than real money in Rayford—to get friends to help distract her aunt so she can get away on her excursions with Tanyon to the Big Easy.
New Orleans speeds up Emily Ann’s growth as she encounters people for whom money is more important than sex, particularly big time gangster, Frank Rydekker. She’s there to sing but many people eye her for another profitable vocation. With the help of Tanyon, her de facto guardian now, Emily Ann manages to steer clear of real trouble for a while. But when Tanyon betrays her to save his own hide, she’s forced to fend for herself in a volatile world of prostitution, booze, drug use, and some hardcore men and women ready to use and abuse her.
It’s a hard story. But what comes through so wonderfully in all this is the first-person voice of Emily Ann. Nothing’s held back; no self-consciousness. While her unbridled and indiscriminate sexual thoughts might give pause to some readers, they shouldn’t, because there is no hint of gratuitousness. Emily Ann’s immaturity keeps her perspective so natural, ironic, and even humorous. Sad too, such as how she struggles with her feelings for her mother when Emily Ann visits her in jail:
Raising a child had never occupied a foremost spot on whatever agenda guided Mama’s life. I reckon in her eyes motherhood appeared as one of those strange abstract paintings that mostly confuse folks as to the artist’s intentions. All those whispers of “She’ll grow into it” faded like worthless cobwebs by my tenth year, when the woman still showed no interest in helping me along. And I ain’t even mad at her, neither. Some women just ain’t meant for mothering.
I only wish she hadn’t taken Papa away.
The mix of characters is another terrific aspect of this novel. Many would be unlikeable in real life but their self-serving actions are understandable in the context of their situations. We pull for Emily Ann but we kind of get those who intend her harm, or at least we can’t hate them. They are what they are, very much in the Flannery O’Connor sense.
But not everyone is out to do harm to our heroine. She develops good connections with various people—some of whom meet with tragic results—who provide some redemption of humanity for her.
But it’s Emily Ann who truly comes into her own. Only a tough and honestly portrayed character such as this could survive all she encounters. In The Virgin Suicides (book and film), Cecilia declares to the physician who stitches up her wrists after her attempted suicide: “Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.” The author of this novel, Beem Weeks, obviously is not a 13-year-old girl either, but he sure narrates convincingly as one.
Jazz Baby is intense, raw, erotic, violent, and often uncomfortably sensuous, which makes it so different from To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye . But like those classics, the protagonist is fresh and compelling, her story brilliantly conveyed. One of the most accomplished self-published works I’ve read.
Pubescent and pretty, precocious and impetuous, Emily Ann (Baby) Teegarten is growing up fast in Rayford, Mississippi in the Jazz Age. There she harbours grand aspirations to sing jazz in New York. Her parents are encouraging but too poor to help on their own. A rich couple offers to take Emily Ann to a church in Jackson to audition for a scholarship. She sings beautifully but sounds, “a bit too Negro for a white child,” according to the pastor. When the pastor adds that they can, “train that heathen tone from your voice,” Emily Ann`s reaction, while saving her integrity, ruins any chance at a scholarship.
A family friend, Tanyon Thibbedeaux, plucks her away. At least he appreciates her talent for what it is and envisions her singing at speakeasies across the river, in New Orleans. He also breaks the news to Emily Ann that, during her absence, her father died. Furthermore, the death was at the hands of Emily Ann’s mother.
The orphaned girl is taken in by her righteous, but loving and stable, Aunt Frannie. This complicates Tanyon’s and Emily Ann’s plans. But she’s a clever girl despite her age. She discovers how to use her sexuality—which carries more value than real money in Rayford—to get friends to help distract her aunt so she can get away on her excursions with Tanyon to the Big Easy.
New Orleans speeds up Emily Ann’s growth as she encounters people for whom money is more important than sex, particularly big time gangster, Frank Rydekker. She’s there to sing but many people eye her for another profitable vocation. With the help of Tanyon, her de facto guardian now, Emily Ann manages to steer clear of real trouble for a while. But when Tanyon betrays her to save his own hide, she’s forced to fend for herself in a volatile world of prostitution, booze, drug use, and some hardcore men and women ready to use and abuse her.
It’s a hard story. But what comes through so wonderfully in all this is the first-person voice of Emily Ann. Nothing’s held back; no self-consciousness. While her unbridled and indiscriminate sexual thoughts might give pause to some readers, they shouldn’t, because there is no hint of gratuitousness. Emily Ann’s immaturity keeps her perspective so natural, ironic, and even humorous. Sad too, such as how she struggles with her feelings for her mother when Emily Ann visits her in jail:
Raising a child had never occupied a foremost spot on whatever agenda guided Mama’s life. I reckon in her eyes motherhood appeared as one of those strange abstract paintings that mostly confuse folks as to the artist’s intentions. All those whispers of “She’ll grow into it” faded like worthless cobwebs by my tenth year, when the woman still showed no interest in helping me along. And I ain’t even mad at her, neither. Some women just ain’t meant for mothering.
I only wish she hadn’t taken Papa away.
The mix of characters is another terrific aspect of this novel. Many would be unlikeable in real life but their self-serving actions are understandable in the context of their situations. We pull for Emily Ann but we kind of get those who intend her harm, or at least we can’t hate them. They are what they are, very much in the Flannery O’Connor sense.
But not everyone is out to do harm to our heroine. She develops good connections with various people—some of whom meet with tragic results—who provide some redemption of humanity for her.
But it’s Emily Ann who truly comes into her own. Only a tough and honestly portrayed character such as this could survive all she encounters. In The Virgin Suicides (book and film), Cecilia declares to the physician who stitches up her wrists after her attempted suicide: “Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.” The author of this novel, Beem Weeks, obviously is not a 13-year-old girl either, but he sure narrates convincingly as one.
Jazz Baby is intense, raw, erotic, violent, and often uncomfortably sensuous, which makes it so different from To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye . But like those classics, the protagonist is fresh and compelling, her story brilliantly conveyed. One of the most accomplished self-published works I’ve read.
March 19, 2013
Jazz Baby reminds me of the time when I, as a small child, peeled open my very first pomegranate. Hidden beneath the unassuming skin I discovered a treasure of sparkling, edible ruby-red jewels that felt smooth to the tongue and when bitten, burst into a luscious sweetness with a tart, sassy edge. So too with Jazz Baby!
In the interest of disclosure I offered to review the novel for author, Beem Weeks, and was forthwith gifted a paperback copy (since I’m an old fogy who hasn’t broken down and bought a Kindle or other reading devise). I hefted the small book-only 205 pages-in my hand, admired the cover and commenced to reading. From the first pages, the voice of protagonist/narrator, Emily Ann A.K.A. Baby Teegarten demands your attention with the raw power one would expect of a character who is a natural born vocal artist. It is easy to imagine her belting out soulful tunes to the accompaniment of various rag-tag “colored” jazz musicians, who more than make up in spirit for what they lack in musical training.
The novel is set in the deep South during prohibition, in a backwater place called Rayford, Mississippi, with forays over the river to New Orleans where drinkin’, druggin’, whorin’ and the occasional murder are inextricably entwined with the jazz scene of the speak-easies. The language is so southern that as I read, I could almost feel the heat and humidity rise, and swear I smelled a hint of swamp water wafting in. Perhaps it’s due to the languid climate, or maybe it was something in the water, but for Emily Ann, just about everyone she encounters (‘cept maybe Aunt Frannie) – from the Choctaw Indian boy who works in the garden to the colored help, a girl about her own age— whips up a lust in her loins. I declare, belts come a-loose and panties flutter to the floor like magnolia blossoms in a stiff breeze.
There are moments when Mr. Week’s writing danced with its back to an erotica cliff, one foot over the edge and the other on an oil slick; truth be told, I think he fell off more than once, but that’s for you to decide. (If you have curious children about the house, you might want to stash the paperback in your sock drawer and read it after they go to bed.) In any case, I can just about guarantee that you will not be bored. The tempo is steady and throbbing as a hot jazz tune; the characters and their adventures are as wild and dangerous as a swamp full of alligators (oh yes, there is a scene with a gator!) I couldn’t stop turning the pages and finished it the second day.
In the final analysis, Apples are good for leaving on the schoolmarm’s desk, but pomegranates, well…they’re for something else altogether, so go ahead and drink in the sumptuous juice of Jazz Baby.
In the interest of disclosure I offered to review the novel for author, Beem Weeks, and was forthwith gifted a paperback copy (since I’m an old fogy who hasn’t broken down and bought a Kindle or other reading devise). I hefted the small book-only 205 pages-in my hand, admired the cover and commenced to reading. From the first pages, the voice of protagonist/narrator, Emily Ann A.K.A. Baby Teegarten demands your attention with the raw power one would expect of a character who is a natural born vocal artist. It is easy to imagine her belting out soulful tunes to the accompaniment of various rag-tag “colored” jazz musicians, who more than make up in spirit for what they lack in musical training.
The novel is set in the deep South during prohibition, in a backwater place called Rayford, Mississippi, with forays over the river to New Orleans where drinkin’, druggin’, whorin’ and the occasional murder are inextricably entwined with the jazz scene of the speak-easies. The language is so southern that as I read, I could almost feel the heat and humidity rise, and swear I smelled a hint of swamp water wafting in. Perhaps it’s due to the languid climate, or maybe it was something in the water, but for Emily Ann, just about everyone she encounters (‘cept maybe Aunt Frannie) – from the Choctaw Indian boy who works in the garden to the colored help, a girl about her own age— whips up a lust in her loins. I declare, belts come a-loose and panties flutter to the floor like magnolia blossoms in a stiff breeze.
There are moments when Mr. Week’s writing danced with its back to an erotica cliff, one foot over the edge and the other on an oil slick; truth be told, I think he fell off more than once, but that’s for you to decide. (If you have curious children about the house, you might want to stash the paperback in your sock drawer and read it after they go to bed.) In any case, I can just about guarantee that you will not be bored. The tempo is steady and throbbing as a hot jazz tune; the characters and their adventures are as wild and dangerous as a swamp full of alligators (oh yes, there is a scene with a gator!) I couldn’t stop turning the pages and finished it the second day.
In the final analysis, Apples are good for leaving on the schoolmarm’s desk, but pomegranates, well…they’re for something else altogether, so go ahead and drink in the sumptuous juice of Jazz Baby.
August 21, 2013
From the first line the character of Emily Ann jumped to life. I was instantly taken into a time and place that I knew little about (excluding what I'd learned in text books), and by the time I turned to the last page I felt as though I'd gone on a one of a kind journey with Emily Ann "Baby" Teengaten leading the way.
It amazed me how I could clearly hear that "Southern Miss'ippi twang" leap off of the pages and ring clear in my ears, bright and true.
Baby, was in heart and mind the definition of a rebel, only being a rebel was something that her life thrust her into. A girl with a dream--she wanted nothing more than to sing Jazz in New York City--who had become an orphan in the most heinous of ways, forced to live with her adamantly religious aunt consequently making her real voyage begin.
A curious, by no means shy, take the bull by the horns type, Emily Ann isn't afraid to explore anything, including her sexuality!
She's strong willed: yes. She talks to fast: yes, that too. She has an almost reckless personality: indeed. But, her heart is always in the right place, caring for the people in her life regardless of race and color. She could see past that.
The people that eventually came into her life where the catalysts that changed her life completely. Jobie a preachers son, Nessie a young black wash girl, Billy Blood a bold Native American boy, DeShay a young black Jazz musician, Pig a drug dealer, Rydekker a King Pin. So many powerful characters that mold and shape Baby's life and open the door, leading the way to womanhood.
I was flabbergasted at the realization that one of my favorite characters (Tanyon, Baby's father's best friend) was not what he seemed.
The culmination was also not necessarily what I'd expected but that's not exactly a bad thing. This story did not have a Cinderella ending, but the ending it had rang true to the time and gave the idea of the characters having much more to come.
Warning: This is NOT a story for the faint of heart!
I do assure you however, "Jazz Baby" is a story that you are sure to enjoy if you are looking for something out of the norm.
I was very impressed with the authors execution of the story, the progression of the story, and the writing was refreshing and creative. An excellent read! I highly recommend "Jazz Baby" for those who are looking to take a trip back in time.
It amazed me how I could clearly hear that "Southern Miss'ippi twang" leap off of the pages and ring clear in my ears, bright and true.
Baby, was in heart and mind the definition of a rebel, only being a rebel was something that her life thrust her into. A girl with a dream--she wanted nothing more than to sing Jazz in New York City--who had become an orphan in the most heinous of ways, forced to live with her adamantly religious aunt consequently making her real voyage begin.
A curious, by no means shy, take the bull by the horns type, Emily Ann isn't afraid to explore anything, including her sexuality!
She's strong willed: yes. She talks to fast: yes, that too. She has an almost reckless personality: indeed. But, her heart is always in the right place, caring for the people in her life regardless of race and color. She could see past that.
The people that eventually came into her life where the catalysts that changed her life completely. Jobie a preachers son, Nessie a young black wash girl, Billy Blood a bold Native American boy, DeShay a young black Jazz musician, Pig a drug dealer, Rydekker a King Pin. So many powerful characters that mold and shape Baby's life and open the door, leading the way to womanhood.
I was flabbergasted at the realization that one of my favorite characters (Tanyon, Baby's father's best friend) was not what he seemed.
The culmination was also not necessarily what I'd expected but that's not exactly a bad thing. This story did not have a Cinderella ending, but the ending it had rang true to the time and gave the idea of the characters having much more to come.
Warning: This is NOT a story for the faint of heart!
I do assure you however, "Jazz Baby" is a story that you are sure to enjoy if you are looking for something out of the norm.
I was very impressed with the authors execution of the story, the progression of the story, and the writing was refreshing and creative. An excellent read! I highly recommend "Jazz Baby" for those who are looking to take a trip back in time.
August 22, 2013
This is a truly memorable read with a rich and evocative narrative reminiscent of Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. It is a story of a very strong-willed 13 year-old girl desperate to become a Jazz singer. Emily Ann Teergaten smokes opium, canoodles with boys and girls alike, and somehow manages to survive the threat and menace that surrounds her, as she attempts to make her dream come true and sing in New York City.
Tragedy follows Emily at every turn as she spirals towards drug addiction and prostitution on her way to fulfil her passion. She encounters many people who help and hinder her as she develops into womanhood. There is Nessie, the wash girl in her aunt’s house with whom she forms a strong bond, and Jobie the preachers son, who becomes her protector-of sorts. Then there are those that want to abuse her talent and lead her astray; Pig a fat drug dealer, is nearly her undoing, but Emily Ann is made of sterner stuff. It does appear that her strong willed attitude and eagerness to be grown up, causes a lot of her troubles. When she steals money from a notorious gangster, Emily must become resourceful and cunning if she is to survive.
The writing is vibrant and sensuous, evoking a real sense of what living in Mississippi in 1925 was like. All the characters and locations are utterly believable due to the wonderful descriptions throughout the narrative.
If I have one criticism, it is the ending. It seemed too abrupt and open ended after all that had gone on before. Because of this, I almost gave the book a 4*. But on reflection, the ending does seem fitting. Maybe there is going to be a sequel. I hope so.
Tragedy follows Emily at every turn as she spirals towards drug addiction and prostitution on her way to fulfil her passion. She encounters many people who help and hinder her as she develops into womanhood. There is Nessie, the wash girl in her aunt’s house with whom she forms a strong bond, and Jobie the preachers son, who becomes her protector-of sorts. Then there are those that want to abuse her talent and lead her astray; Pig a fat drug dealer, is nearly her undoing, but Emily Ann is made of sterner stuff. It does appear that her strong willed attitude and eagerness to be grown up, causes a lot of her troubles. When she steals money from a notorious gangster, Emily must become resourceful and cunning if she is to survive.
The writing is vibrant and sensuous, evoking a real sense of what living in Mississippi in 1925 was like. All the characters and locations are utterly believable due to the wonderful descriptions throughout the narrative.
If I have one criticism, it is the ending. It seemed too abrupt and open ended after all that had gone on before. Because of this, I almost gave the book a 4*. But on reflection, the ending does seem fitting. Maybe there is going to be a sequel. I hope so.
March 25, 2013
"Jazz Baby" by Beem Weeks is a very authentic feeling and atmospheric novel set in 1925 New Orleans. The dreams of a young white, talented Jazz singer, are slightly shattered by family tragedies and other obstacles in her way to fame. Story telling from a young voice often has the quality of honesty and rawness that befits the at times bleek or sad character of the book.
Weeks captures the colourful and varied aspects of the place and time wonderfully, just as we would imagine it: A young girl's naive dreams of fame in New York and the famous Jazz clubs, the ongoing prohibition, latent or obvious racism, the Southern accent and the harsh, rough and seedy sides of the city and of those circles aspiring to become famous artists.
There is quite a lot of sex in the book - Jazz baby also has ties to a brothel and mixes with some drug users while growing up and pursuing her dream.
I enjoyed reading the book and got through it very quickly. There were times when the authentic use of the accent felt maybe a bit too much for my European ears and I wanted the story to go on for a little longer.
Technically and stylistically however the book is of high quality, well paced, plotted and told and with carefully and lovingly constructed characters that stayed with me long after I had finished the book. This is great novel from an author to watch. 4 1/2 stars
Weeks captures the colourful and varied aspects of the place and time wonderfully, just as we would imagine it: A young girl's naive dreams of fame in New York and the famous Jazz clubs, the ongoing prohibition, latent or obvious racism, the Southern accent and the harsh, rough and seedy sides of the city and of those circles aspiring to become famous artists.
There is quite a lot of sex in the book - Jazz baby also has ties to a brothel and mixes with some drug users while growing up and pursuing her dream.
I enjoyed reading the book and got through it very quickly. There were times when the authentic use of the accent felt maybe a bit too much for my European ears and I wanted the story to go on for a little longer.
Technically and stylistically however the book is of high quality, well paced, plotted and told and with carefully and lovingly constructed characters that stayed with me long after I had finished the book. This is great novel from an author to watch. 4 1/2 stars
September 27, 2014
This book was so descriptive; I really felt the south through and through. The main character, Emily, goes through so much. At times it was difficult to read, the descriptions were so real. I felt it all and that’s what makes this book so good. The attention to detail and history are truly amazing.
Emily has talent and tenacity, however she has to grow up way too fast. I felt appalled at times that such things were going on in this poor little girl’s life, but couldn’t put the book down. It is a page-turner for sure and I recommend it, probably for adults only as the material is very adult and graphic.
I am happy to say I went outside my comfort zone, I usually would not have read something like this but am so glad that I did. The story has twists that you don’t see coming and I was very anxious to follow the narrative as seen through Emily, aka ‘baby’.
Fabulous read, I highly recommend this book.
Emily has talent and tenacity, however she has to grow up way too fast. I felt appalled at times that such things were going on in this poor little girl’s life, but couldn’t put the book down. It is a page-turner for sure and I recommend it, probably for adults only as the material is very adult and graphic.
I am happy to say I went outside my comfort zone, I usually would not have read something like this but am so glad that I did. The story has twists that you don’t see coming and I was very anxious to follow the narrative as seen through Emily, aka ‘baby’.
Fabulous read, I highly recommend this book.
October 10, 2014
I would bet it’s impossible to read this book without your mind-voice at some point slipping into a Southern accent. The language/tone/regional flavor of this book was my favorite thing about it. The writing is very unique and clever, and the author does an excellent job of using the writing to draw you into this world of the 1920’s Deep South.
The story itself is paced well, the plot moves along logically for the most part, and there’s a nice balance of Emily Ann’s internal thoughts and external action. The range of characters is interesting, and at every stop there’s something or someone new to keep you interested as a reader. This is a very dark story, full of death, drugs, murder, rape, and other tragedies. The basic premise of a young girl wanting to use her talent to break free from home and travel to New York City seems simple enough, but of course things go wrong that make the story far more complicated.
I will say that I found Emily Ann’s reactions a bit unrealistic, and I had a hard time rooting for her as a character. No one else is any more likeable as they screw up her life in one way or another, but a lot of what happens is on her. The fact that she reacts to almost every single situation with sex is also a little overdone. There was a lot of “warm and slippery where it matters most to a girl,” to the point where I started expecting that to be her reaction. When her beloved father dies, she gets over it fairly quickly. All the psychological baggage that her mother leaves her with becomes a minor detail and she moves on. It almost feels like she bounces from short story to short story, leaving behind whatever happened in the preview portion of the book. And really, for all her talk of wanting to be a jazz singer, there’s very little focus on singing or music at all in the story. I get that things fall apart and this ends up being a tragedy, but I was never clear on what this girl really cares about.
Still, the writing is wonderful in flavor. The story is entertaining and gives an interesting glimpse into this time and place. If you’re looking for a light and fluffy read, this certainly isn’t it. But it’s worth a read if you know what to expect.
The story itself is paced well, the plot moves along logically for the most part, and there’s a nice balance of Emily Ann’s internal thoughts and external action. The range of characters is interesting, and at every stop there’s something or someone new to keep you interested as a reader. This is a very dark story, full of death, drugs, murder, rape, and other tragedies. The basic premise of a young girl wanting to use her talent to break free from home and travel to New York City seems simple enough, but of course things go wrong that make the story far more complicated.
I will say that I found Emily Ann’s reactions a bit unrealistic, and I had a hard time rooting for her as a character. No one else is any more likeable as they screw up her life in one way or another, but a lot of what happens is on her. The fact that she reacts to almost every single situation with sex is also a little overdone. There was a lot of “warm and slippery where it matters most to a girl,” to the point where I started expecting that to be her reaction. When her beloved father dies, she gets over it fairly quickly. All the psychological baggage that her mother leaves her with becomes a minor detail and she moves on. It almost feels like she bounces from short story to short story, leaving behind whatever happened in the preview portion of the book. And really, for all her talk of wanting to be a jazz singer, there’s very little focus on singing or music at all in the story. I get that things fall apart and this ends up being a tragedy, but I was never clear on what this girl really cares about.
Still, the writing is wonderful in flavor. The story is entertaining and gives an interesting glimpse into this time and place. If you’re looking for a light and fluffy read, this certainly isn’t it. But it’s worth a read if you know what to expect.
May 19, 2014
This was my first download from the Rave Reviews Book Club selection and I must say that it is a spellbinding piece of writing.
Set in Mississippi in the 1920s there is masterful detail of lives led on either side of the river, and Emily Ann Teegarten is the daring young protagonist whose dream of making it as a jazz singer finds her taking risks a young girl cannot hope to get away with all the time. I was immediately bewitched by her outspoken ideas and tenacity, her naivety and her curiously promiscuous nature. She is no shrinking violet when it comes to sex, but her animal instincts are beautifully tempered by the gift she has of seeing the good in everyone. Of course her trust is often misplaced and as the story progresses, 'Baby' is the victim of the all too familiar greed and desire of people who have their own harsh agendas.
Quite apart from a plot that is as action-packed as any gangster blockbuster, and a heroine who scatters chaos and hope wherever she lands, the language is what makes this book exceptional. When I read, I expect to find new metaphors, striking collocations, similes to make me see more clearly what the author is trying to show me, but Jazz Baby knocked me down on every page with breathtaking imagery. And I don't mean verbose, tangled, literary descriptions that leave the reader impressed but unmoved; I mean crisp, succinct phraseology that cuts right to the quick and gets to the bottom of a shared genetic knowledge of what it is to be human.
Beem Weeks has written a magical, masterful book that shouts 'this is what life was really like'.
Beautiful, tragic, optimistic and unmissable.
August 21, 2013
For the extended review, please stop by this link on The Review Board: http://wp.me/p30Uww-7o
“Baby” Teegarten has a dream: a dream to sing Jazz in New York City. However, in her quest to achieve that dream, she runs into many pitfalls causing her to grow up way too soon. This is set up in Mississippi in the summer of 1925, and this sparked my interest greatly, due to the fact that Mississippi is my place of origin.
The first thing I noticed was the tone of this work. Jazz Baby is a mix of comedic sprinkles, bold dreams, slaps of reality, long suffering, and lingering hope, yet conveyed in a way of it being “just another day” in a Mississippi town.
I could feel all the emotions the main character experienced. From the apprehension of her first shot at escaping her circumstances (singing for church folks); to her conflicting inner battles with her attraction to different characters; to her longing for something beyond her Mississippi existence.
The Southern dialect was amazingly on point. I found myself smiling each time the author used “fixin’” because it’s one of those terms where if I was talking to my neighbor at home, he would know exactly what I meant.
The spelling and grammar (not related to dialect) was flawless. The resolution has a lingering effect, leaving the reader to come up with his own conclusion. Does “Baby” still have the Jazz in her or did all of the troubles sap it out of her?
Mr. Weeks, you’ve done the South proud! I highly recommend this work.
“Baby” Teegarten has a dream: a dream to sing Jazz in New York City. However, in her quest to achieve that dream, she runs into many pitfalls causing her to grow up way too soon. This is set up in Mississippi in the summer of 1925, and this sparked my interest greatly, due to the fact that Mississippi is my place of origin.
The first thing I noticed was the tone of this work. Jazz Baby is a mix of comedic sprinkles, bold dreams, slaps of reality, long suffering, and lingering hope, yet conveyed in a way of it being “just another day” in a Mississippi town.
I could feel all the emotions the main character experienced. From the apprehension of her first shot at escaping her circumstances (singing for church folks); to her conflicting inner battles with her attraction to different characters; to her longing for something beyond her Mississippi existence.
The Southern dialect was amazingly on point. I found myself smiling each time the author used “fixin’” because it’s one of those terms where if I was talking to my neighbor at home, he would know exactly what I meant.
The spelling and grammar (not related to dialect) was flawless. The resolution has a lingering effect, leaving the reader to come up with his own conclusion. Does “Baby” still have the Jazz in her or did all of the troubles sap it out of her?
Mr. Weeks, you’ve done the South proud! I highly recommend this work.
August 5, 2014
I purchased this book after finding the author on Rave Reviews Book Club.
Wow. What can I say?
Well, I'll start by giving an outline of what the book is about:
This fast paced, realistic novel is set in 1925 Mississippi. All "Baby" Teegarten wants to do is sing Jazz. It seems that fate has other plans, however. In the end she has a fight on her hands just stayin' alive.
The story contains some gritty scenes, some of which may be distressing to some readers. It explores sexuality and drug taking, as well as looking at some of the more violent aspects of society. However, none of this is gratuitous or there 'just for the sake of'.
The novel is written in First Person Point of View, and is presented in a chatty and informal tone, much as you would expect from a young teen growing up in 1925 Mississippi. I feel this lends authenticity to both the characters and the setting. I read this book in one sitting, as I just could not put it down. Which made for a very late night!
The plot, pacing, character development, editing, and proofreading are all done to an excellent standard. I can't praise this book highly enough, and I shall definitely be reading more from this author. I'll stop now, lest I be accused of overly cheesy gushing. As you've no doubt guessed, I award a resounding Five out of Five stars for this Action packed Fiction novel.
Wow. What can I say?
Well, I'll start by giving an outline of what the book is about:
This fast paced, realistic novel is set in 1925 Mississippi. All "Baby" Teegarten wants to do is sing Jazz. It seems that fate has other plans, however. In the end she has a fight on her hands just stayin' alive.
The story contains some gritty scenes, some of which may be distressing to some readers. It explores sexuality and drug taking, as well as looking at some of the more violent aspects of society. However, none of this is gratuitous or there 'just for the sake of'.
The novel is written in First Person Point of View, and is presented in a chatty and informal tone, much as you would expect from a young teen growing up in 1925 Mississippi. I feel this lends authenticity to both the characters and the setting. I read this book in one sitting, as I just could not put it down. Which made for a very late night!
The plot, pacing, character development, editing, and proofreading are all done to an excellent standard. I can't praise this book highly enough, and I shall definitely be reading more from this author. I'll stop now, lest I be accused of overly cheesy gushing. As you've no doubt guessed, I award a resounding Five out of Five stars for this Action packed Fiction novel.
February 25, 2017
Jazz Baby is the story of 13-year-old Emily Ann, a girl who loses both parents early in the novel. She possess a singing voice that's able to make saints cry in church and sinners dance in the speakeasies of 1925 New Orleans. This voice will take her far away from the dirty little Mississippi town of her birth. But while Emily thinks she's a grown woman, ready to get on with life as an independent person, she's woefully underprepared for the real world. There are musicians, club owners, revenue agents, and gangsters, each having their own ideas for using this girl.
Beem Weeks is seriously impressive in his writing style; maybe even brilliant. He obviously put a great deal of effort into researching the era, taking great pains to present an accurate depiction of the Roaring Twenties. The only caution here is that the story isn't for the youngsters. Issues of sexuality and violence give it an R rating; but this shouldn't scare away anybody who enjoys a seriously great story--besides, the scenes in question are kept at a minimum. The first person POV narration by young Emily Ann is such a wonderfully refreshing work of art, it would be an absolute shame for any serious reader miss out on it.
Beem Weeks is seriously impressive in his writing style; maybe even brilliant. He obviously put a great deal of effort into researching the era, taking great pains to present an accurate depiction of the Roaring Twenties. The only caution here is that the story isn't for the youngsters. Issues of sexuality and violence give it an R rating; but this shouldn't scare away anybody who enjoys a seriously great story--besides, the scenes in question are kept at a minimum. The first person POV narration by young Emily Ann is such a wonderfully refreshing work of art, it would be an absolute shame for any serious reader miss out on it.
June 11, 2016
All Baby wants to do is sing. ‘Cept life, well, she got plans of her own. As do the men in Baby’s life, each wanting to use her. Each, claiming parts of her as his own.
Reading Jazz Baby, one realizes two things. First, Baby can sing. And second, Beem Weeks can write. His voice is one of the strongest I’ve ever read. The rich, colorful writing spilling from the pages leaves the reader gasping for more, while his characters’ moral ambiguity make this a post-modern "Of Mice and Men."
Even though it’s listed as historical fiction, to me it read as women’s fiction, narrating the story of a young girl forced to grow up before she’s quite ready for it. Mississippi in the Twenties is a tough place for an orphan, and Baby, well, she has a knack for making a bad situation even worse.
I noticed some reviewers complained they didn’t care much about the heroine, and I can see why: Baby seems to stumble from one bad decision to the next. However, this only made her more authentic to me, and I came to care for her, warts and all. I hope that Weeks is already working on the sequel.
Well worth reading.
Reading Jazz Baby, one realizes two things. First, Baby can sing. And second, Beem Weeks can write. His voice is one of the strongest I’ve ever read. The rich, colorful writing spilling from the pages leaves the reader gasping for more, while his characters’ moral ambiguity make this a post-modern "Of Mice and Men."
Even though it’s listed as historical fiction, to me it read as women’s fiction, narrating the story of a young girl forced to grow up before she’s quite ready for it. Mississippi in the Twenties is a tough place for an orphan, and Baby, well, she has a knack for making a bad situation even worse.
I noticed some reviewers complained they didn’t care much about the heroine, and I can see why: Baby seems to stumble from one bad decision to the next. However, this only made her more authentic to me, and I came to care for her, warts and all. I hope that Weeks is already working on the sequel.
Well worth reading.
May 23, 2014
I love reading great prose and to know that JAZZ BABY was Beem Weeks‘ debut novel, was really impressive to me . Emily Ann was a young girl growing up in 1920′s New Orleans and her voice, as strong as any teenager/young adult female’s voice, was carefully crafted by a MAN…this is what signifies true "talent" in a writer and this is the main reason that I’m giving this read 5 stars! Weeks had to have done his research and the proof is in the writing.
I will have to admit, though, that amid the great writing, I did get lost on some of the terminology from that time and place. I am from Louisiana, but I would suppose certain parts breed certain kinds of speech. Words like "klaxon" and "Choctaw" and sounds like "Ah-ooo-gah", had me scrambling for my dictionary, although of course, that last one I didn’t even attempt to find a definition for. :)
I enjoyed the read but I would ask only one thing of the author … next time, don’t make me work so hard to enjoy it (hence, leaning on Webster a little too much ). Good job! This is clearly WRITING WORTH READING!
I will have to admit, though, that amid the great writing, I did get lost on some of the terminology from that time and place. I am from Louisiana, but I would suppose certain parts breed certain kinds of speech. Words like "klaxon" and "Choctaw" and sounds like "Ah-ooo-gah", had me scrambling for my dictionary, although of course, that last one I didn’t even attempt to find a definition for. :)
I enjoyed the read but I would ask only one thing of the author … next time, don’t make me work so hard to enjoy it (hence, leaning on Webster a little too much ). Good job! This is clearly WRITING WORTH READING!
November 24, 2014
I loved this book so much that I reread it, skimming through and trying to read the highlights I had made on my Kindle. I procrastinated on writing this for so long because I didn't feel my review could do justice to the book. I was charmed and enthralled by the story, but how to explain why I was so charmed... and with so many great reviews already written, giving a fresh viewpoint was a challenge.
In essence, the book appeals to me most because Week’s every turn of a phrase clicks with me. His powers of description are boundless, the choice of words laugh-out-loud funny, and his characters larger than life. I've never read a story quite like it and I must say for a debut novel it is astonishingly well written. I promise that if you read it you will not forget it for an exceptionally long, long time. This book could win literary prizes!
In essence, the book appeals to me most because Week’s every turn of a phrase clicks with me. His powers of description are boundless, the choice of words laugh-out-loud funny, and his characters larger than life. I've never read a story quite like it and I must say for a debut novel it is astonishingly well written. I promise that if you read it you will not forget it for an exceptionally long, long time. This book could win literary prizes!
September 3, 2015
I really was looking forward to reading this book, but I was tentative to start it based on the cover. It just isn't all that appealing to me, but I'm glad I didn't let that hold me back.
Weeks did a phenomenal job with the mood and dialogue of this story. Dramatic scenes were skillfully written, and at times poetic. The whole time reading, I felt as if I'd traveled back in time and was dropped deep in the heart of the south during 1920s prohibition era.
Jazz Baby, aka Emily Ann Teegarten, was an interesting character to say the least. I was a little confused as to what age she was, because at the beginning of the story, she has her first period. That could put her anywhere's between 10 and 15 years of age. I'm thinking (and hoping) she was at the higher end of that gap as she was quite a bold and licentious young teen. Damn, that girl was up for anything. And I mean anything! I didn't expect the story to be erotic, but it is - only it's done in a fashion that is more suggestive than explicit. This element made reading it all the more entertaining for me.
Weeks canvases quite a lot of territory with Emily Ann, taking her through a gamut of dangerous and lewd situations as well as a few sweet, tender moments, all of them unique experiences for the young protagonist who seems to learn on the fly.
Because of what feels like authentic Mississippian dialogue of that era, speech and thoughts are in no rush, and were often lengthy and expressive. The book strolls along, at a slow pace. Despite this, the verbosity gives invaluable tone and color to the setting and its characters, and I wouldn't change any of it.
As much as I loved the book, I have a few complaints. One is the length of the chapters. There are only 18 of them, but they were long which is not particularly reader-friendly. At times, I was intimidated by this, and when I didn't have a long stretch of time to read, this prevented me from picking it up until I did. My one other complaint is a few instances of redundancy, where the characters are talking about something, which is clear to the reader, but Weeks still has Emily Ann spell it out for us, too. For instance:
As Pig is the only fat man depicted in the story, adding a narrative statment like Pig, he meant is unwarranted.
Despite these minor criticisms, Jazz Baby was a well-told, rich and colorful adventure—Definitely a 5-star read—and I am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
Weeks did a phenomenal job with the mood and dialogue of this story. Dramatic scenes were skillfully written, and at times poetic. The whole time reading, I felt as if I'd traveled back in time and was dropped deep in the heart of the south during 1920s prohibition era.
Jazz Baby, aka Emily Ann Teegarten, was an interesting character to say the least. I was a little confused as to what age she was, because at the beginning of the story, she has her first period. That could put her anywhere's between 10 and 15 years of age. I'm thinking (and hoping) she was at the higher end of that gap as she was quite a bold and licentious young teen. Damn, that girl was up for anything. And I mean anything! I didn't expect the story to be erotic, but it is - only it's done in a fashion that is more suggestive than explicit. This element made reading it all the more entertaining for me.
Weeks canvases quite a lot of territory with Emily Ann, taking her through a gamut of dangerous and lewd situations as well as a few sweet, tender moments, all of them unique experiences for the young protagonist who seems to learn on the fly.
Because of what feels like authentic Mississippian dialogue of that era, speech and thoughts are in no rush, and were often lengthy and expressive. The book strolls along, at a slow pace. Despite this, the verbosity gives invaluable tone and color to the setting and its characters, and I wouldn't change any of it.
As much as I loved the book, I have a few complaints. One is the length of the chapters. There are only 18 of them, but they were long which is not particularly reader-friendly. At times, I was intimidated by this, and when I didn't have a long stretch of time to read, this prevented me from picking it up until I did. My one other complaint is a few instances of redundancy, where the characters are talking about something, which is clear to the reader, but Weeks still has Emily Ann spell it out for us, too. For instance:
Jobie's voice came real low and soft, a thing I ain't too awful sure I really even heard. "That fat man did it, didn't he?"
Pig, he meant.
As Pig is the only fat man depicted in the story, adding a narrative statment like Pig, he meant is unwarranted.
Despite these minor criticisms, Jazz Baby was a well-told, rich and colorful adventure—Definitely a 5-star read—and I am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
December 30, 2013
Emily Ann (AKA “Baby”) Teegarten is a teen with a dream: she wants to go to New York to sing jazz, but first she needs to get out of Mississippi and her little one-horse town. The only way to do that is to trust her papa’s best friend, Tanyon Thibbedeaux, who can get her into New Orleans to get her start. But her start is rocky as her first attempt at singing in Frank Rydekker’s jazz club ends in a riot and a rape and then a family tragedy: Emily Ann’s mother killed her father and is now sitting in prison. Baby wants to have fun and make her dreams come true. She doesn’t want to live with her cranky old aunt in Mississippi, surrounded by temptations (her aunt’s young African-American maid Neesie, Emily Ann’s secret desire; the preacher’s son Jobie Pritchett, who wants to marry her but yet claims she isn’t his “type”; Audie, the girl everyone thinks is the town lesbian; Billy Blood, the Native American young man who is a daily temptation to nearly every young girl in town, including her beloved Neesie). How can she when life keeps taking turns for the worse every day? This is a coming-of-age story showing the trials and tribulations of being a small-town white girl who wants to play what was then the music of the African-American community. The novel deals with race, sexual promiscuity, confusion about sexual orientation, rape and murder, not to mention the drug and alcohol problem of the 1920′s. It is written in the dialect of the era, which was new to me, but made the whole story seem more genuine. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I opened this book on my ereader. I enjoy stories from the late 19th to the early 20th century but rarely can you find anything written in this decade about those times that really strikes as original and accurate.
Jazz Baby is both.
Beem Weeks may have taken a decade to write this novel, but it was worth it. He created an emotional roller coaster of a novel with characters you will love, hate and relate to in a time when being bad felt so good and music could be heard on every corner, luring in even the most innocent and pious of souls. Like jazz, this novel also lures you in, making you love Emily Ann as a friend or daughter and want to know if she ever is able to achieve her dreams. I never give away endings (though I admit to using spoilers every so often), but I will say that, when you finish this novel, you will want a sequel, as Emily Ann’s story is one you will want to know until the end!
Really excellent first novel, with social commentary on drugs, sex and the human conscience. I give it a 4/5.
Jazz Baby is both.
Beem Weeks may have taken a decade to write this novel, but it was worth it. He created an emotional roller coaster of a novel with characters you will love, hate and relate to in a time when being bad felt so good and music could be heard on every corner, luring in even the most innocent and pious of souls. Like jazz, this novel also lures you in, making you love Emily Ann as a friend or daughter and want to know if she ever is able to achieve her dreams. I never give away endings (though I admit to using spoilers every so often), but I will say that, when you finish this novel, you will want a sequel, as Emily Ann’s story is one you will want to know until the end!
Really excellent first novel, with social commentary on drugs, sex and the human conscience. I give it a 4/5.
September 24, 2014
This book really deserves the 5 stars even though 'coming of age' stories rarely come up with anything too new in the scheme of things. I'll come clean and say right off that I used to work in the courts that deal with the aftermath of 'saving' abused children, so there's little in here that actually shocked me too much, but few writers who tackle this subject 'authentically' rarely avoid piling on the social conscience reactions and simply concentrate on what makes their teenage hero tick. And boy does this Baby tick!
Other reviewers have mentioned the content and how Baby/Emily Ann seems to shrug off all the terrible things that happen around, and to her, so I won't go in that direction. What really convinced me to give 5 stars was that all the characters in Jazz Baby were so well drawn, because Mr Weeks never let the pathos factor get the better of him and got the balance between gaining our sympathy and having his characters EARN our respect and affection, just right. Baby is carried through her various ordeals by her sheer drive and charisma for chasing her jazz dreams, despite the odds, or maybe because of them. The dysfunctional relationship with her parents, particularly her cold, resentful mother, cheated out of her own ambitions as a ballet dancer by falling pregnant, actually spurs Baby on and, as we find out more about the past sins of the daddy and mommy, and the slog of poverty and prejudice she's trying to leave behind, we find out WHY she loves to sing and pour all the agony and passion into the blues, as the 'men done those gals wrong' lyrics soar away and loses her in the fantasy of a white trash girl who can belt out the notes as good as a black one.
So I can believe in her focus on the New York jazz dreams and why she ignores or blanks out the rest, with the music becoming her true lover and consolation. The rest of the writing is simply sublime in taking you back in time to sultry, sleazy N'Orleans, with the mud, murk and mayhem of the riverlands forming a mesmerising backdrop and the twangy, tangy language of the Big Easy and environs working the final magic of a writer at the peak of his powers, by putting you right there in the bayou with the cavalcade of memorable characters.
I rarely give 5 stars unless I really love the book - there's nothing you can't love in this one because Baby sings the blues so well
Other reviewers have mentioned the content and how Baby/Emily Ann seems to shrug off all the terrible things that happen around, and to her, so I won't go in that direction. What really convinced me to give 5 stars was that all the characters in Jazz Baby were so well drawn, because Mr Weeks never let the pathos factor get the better of him and got the balance between gaining our sympathy and having his characters EARN our respect and affection, just right. Baby is carried through her various ordeals by her sheer drive and charisma for chasing her jazz dreams, despite the odds, or maybe because of them. The dysfunctional relationship with her parents, particularly her cold, resentful mother, cheated out of her own ambitions as a ballet dancer by falling pregnant, actually spurs Baby on and, as we find out more about the past sins of the daddy and mommy, and the slog of poverty and prejudice she's trying to leave behind, we find out WHY she loves to sing and pour all the agony and passion into the blues, as the 'men done those gals wrong' lyrics soar away and loses her in the fantasy of a white trash girl who can belt out the notes as good as a black one.
So I can believe in her focus on the New York jazz dreams and why she ignores or blanks out the rest, with the music becoming her true lover and consolation. The rest of the writing is simply sublime in taking you back in time to sultry, sleazy N'Orleans, with the mud, murk and mayhem of the riverlands forming a mesmerising backdrop and the twangy, tangy language of the Big Easy and environs working the final magic of a writer at the peak of his powers, by putting you right there in the bayou with the cavalcade of memorable characters.
I rarely give 5 stars unless I really love the book - there's nothing you can't love in this one because Baby sings the blues so well
March 15, 2014
Imagine running through 1925 Storyville, Nawlins with gasoline drawers on and the devil running fast behind your tail. Sound dangerous? It isn't only because it's good fiction.
This is what I love (not like-love) about this book. It's original. Tired of reading the same storyline told the same way with different character names? This book will cure you of that. Another aspect I loved about this book is, you don't see what's coming. This along with the dialect used and the female character's point of view made this book close to flawless. What makes this book special to me? The characters were written well enough so that you CARED about what was going on and you hoped beyond hoped that all would end right for Emily Ann Teegarten. Weeks truly delivered with Jazz Baby.
As a reader, I found no loose threads, no questions that I thought unanswered. In its place, I found a loveable book that made me laugh on several occasions, tear up on one scene, made me frightened on another, and flat out hooked me from page one. What more can you ask for one book?
I read this book in two sittings. My intentions on the second sitting was to read a chunk more, then go to bed, but I couldn't stop reading. The rollercoaster ride of the plot was just too strong. Even now I should be sleeping, but I was too anxious to leave my review. I bought this book, because it was a story about New Orleans where my family is from, and I'm glad I did. Nonstop action, interesting characters (that even now are fresh in my mind), it's a book that I wouldn't mind reading again.
I gave this book 5 stars, because it deserves it! I dare you to read it, too, and not agree.
This is what I love (not like-love) about this book. It's original. Tired of reading the same storyline told the same way with different character names? This book will cure you of that. Another aspect I loved about this book is, you don't see what's coming. This along with the dialect used and the female character's point of view made this book close to flawless. What makes this book special to me? The characters were written well enough so that you CARED about what was going on and you hoped beyond hoped that all would end right for Emily Ann Teegarten. Weeks truly delivered with Jazz Baby.
As a reader, I found no loose threads, no questions that I thought unanswered. In its place, I found a loveable book that made me laugh on several occasions, tear up on one scene, made me frightened on another, and flat out hooked me from page one. What more can you ask for one book?
I read this book in two sittings. My intentions on the second sitting was to read a chunk more, then go to bed, but I couldn't stop reading. The rollercoaster ride of the plot was just too strong. Even now I should be sleeping, but I was too anxious to leave my review. I bought this book, because it was a story about New Orleans where my family is from, and I'm glad I did. Nonstop action, interesting characters (that even now are fresh in my mind), it's a book that I wouldn't mind reading again.
I gave this book 5 stars, because it deserves it! I dare you to read it, too, and not agree.
May 19, 2014
This was my first download from the Rave Reviews Book Club selection and I must say that it is a spellbinding piece of writing.
Set in Mississippi in the 1920s there is masterful detail of lives led on either side of the river, and Emily Ann Teegarten is the daring young protagonist whose dream of making it as a jazz singer finds her taking risks a young girl cannot hope to get away with all the time. I was immediately bewitched by her outspoken ideas and tenacity, her naivety and her curiously promiscuous nature. She is no shrinking violet when it comes to sex, but her animal instincts are beautifully tempered by the gift she has of seeing the good in everyone. Of course her trust is often misplaced and as the story progresses, 'Baby' is the victim of the all too familiar greed and desire of people who have their own harsh agendas.
Quite apart from a plot that is as action-packed as any gangster blockbuster, and a heroine who scatters chaos and hope wherever she lands, the language is what makes this book exceptional. When I read, I expect to find new metaphors, striking collocations, similes to make me see more clearly what the author is trying to show me, but Jazz Baby knocked me down on every page with breathtaking imagery. And I don't mean verbose, tangled, literary descriptions that leave the reader impressed but unmoved; I mean crisp, succinct phraseology that cuts right to the quick and gets to the bottom of a shared genetic knowledge of what it is to be human.
Beem Weeks has written a magical, masterful book that shouts 'this is what life was really like'.
Beautiful, tragic, optimistic and unmissable.
February 2, 2016
Beautifully written. Haunting authentic portrayal of the corruption and poverty in the deep- south in the 1020’s
This is not your typical coming of age story. Emily Ann, a young teen, was raised in rural Rayford, Mississippi is the early 1920’s in extreme poverty and by parents who were financially and emotionally ill-equipped to provide her with any structure or moral compass to guide her. Her survival was mainly due to her own wit, determination, and talent, a beautiful voice. Her dream was to escape her life there by singing jazz in New York City. Due to the tragic loss of her parents, she was taken in by her pious and judgmental Aunt Frannie. Although she was provided a stable home, it’s too little too late to cause anything but resentment and renewed resolve to sing jazz, thought to be the devil’s song, at all cost. Unfortunately, she realizes her dreams are not as easy to achieve as she anticipated as she meets obstacles of corruption, prejudice, abuse, and betrayal. Everybody wants something from Emily Ann.
This story is so beautifully written in Emily Ann’s authentically lyrical voice. We feel her pain and disappointment, but root for her to over-come the obstacles thrown at her at every turn. From the rickety shack she called home to the speakeasies and cathouses of New Orleans, the descriptions of each scene are realistic to the location and the time. Every character comes to life and rings true. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this novel.
This is not your typical coming of age story. Emily Ann, a young teen, was raised in rural Rayford, Mississippi is the early 1920’s in extreme poverty and by parents who were financially and emotionally ill-equipped to provide her with any structure or moral compass to guide her. Her survival was mainly due to her own wit, determination, and talent, a beautiful voice. Her dream was to escape her life there by singing jazz in New York City. Due to the tragic loss of her parents, she was taken in by her pious and judgmental Aunt Frannie. Although she was provided a stable home, it’s too little too late to cause anything but resentment and renewed resolve to sing jazz, thought to be the devil’s song, at all cost. Unfortunately, she realizes her dreams are not as easy to achieve as she anticipated as she meets obstacles of corruption, prejudice, abuse, and betrayal. Everybody wants something from Emily Ann.
This story is so beautifully written in Emily Ann’s authentically lyrical voice. We feel her pain and disappointment, but root for her to over-come the obstacles thrown at her at every turn. From the rickety shack she called home to the speakeasies and cathouses of New Orleans, the descriptions of each scene are realistic to the location and the time. Every character comes to life and rings true. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this novel.
March 1, 2014
This story transports the reader to 1925 Mississippi, and the harrowing story of a young white girl who dreams of becoming a jazz singer. After losing both of her parents, teenager, Emily Ann "Baby" Teegarten is reluctantly taken in by her aunt. All sorts of sexual stirrings begin when she encounters a young girl her age working for her aunt, and the unbridled sexuality of the Indian boy who also comes to work around the house.
Her real desire, though, is to cross the river and sing in the speakeasies of New Orleans. When her "uncle", an old family friend, helps her sneak across the river to perform, it is much more than what she expected. She gets caught up in the world of drugs, whorehouses, and worse, but all she wants to do is sing. She knows she's good enough to make it as a jazz singer, if she can just stay alive long enough to make it to New York.
This story, told from Emily's perspective, is highly emotional. This poor girl goes through so much on the road to achieving her dream, but in spite of it all, she never gives up. A strong story of perseverance and keeping faith in oneself, overcoming obstacles, and reaching for your dreams.
It's beautifully written and draws you immediately in to this young girl's life and the whole 1920s southern experience. I've never read anything like it, and I highly recommend it.
Her real desire, though, is to cross the river and sing in the speakeasies of New Orleans. When her "uncle", an old family friend, helps her sneak across the river to perform, it is much more than what she expected. She gets caught up in the world of drugs, whorehouses, and worse, but all she wants to do is sing. She knows she's good enough to make it as a jazz singer, if she can just stay alive long enough to make it to New York.
This story, told from Emily's perspective, is highly emotional. This poor girl goes through so much on the road to achieving her dream, but in spite of it all, she never gives up. A strong story of perseverance and keeping faith in oneself, overcoming obstacles, and reaching for your dreams.
It's beautifully written and draws you immediately in to this young girl's life and the whole 1920s southern experience. I've never read anything like it, and I highly recommend it.
April 21, 2014
JAZZ BABY is set back in the summer of 1925 in Mississippi. We read about Emily Ann Teegarten and her life as it is flipped upside down with one horrific incident after another. Forced to live with her aunt, Emily begins plotting her escape, with nothing but a dream to sing jazz in New York City. She hopes that the speakeasies of New Orleans are short stepping stones to her dream in the Big Apple. BUT Emily is introduced to more than she could’ve imagined.
We read from the eyes of young Emily Ann and you can’t help but feel like you’re walking beside her. Emily experiences things that will completely shock you, but her reaction and maturity will often make you forget she is barely a teenager. These shocking moments may even anger you because they seem so realistic. This is true for the entire book. Emily’s journey, the characters, the dialogue…everything seems real, as if the story were unfolding right before you. The characters we are introduced to are colorful and unique, making the book that much better.
JAZZ BABY is filled with suspense, action, drama and even humor. The author’s writing skills truly shine in this debut novel, making it very worthy of 5 STARS. You are hooked from page one and on the edge of your seat through each little suspenseful twist.
We read from the eyes of young Emily Ann and you can’t help but feel like you’re walking beside her. Emily experiences things that will completely shock you, but her reaction and maturity will often make you forget she is barely a teenager. These shocking moments may even anger you because they seem so realistic. This is true for the entire book. Emily’s journey, the characters, the dialogue…everything seems real, as if the story were unfolding right before you. The characters we are introduced to are colorful and unique, making the book that much better.
JAZZ BABY is filled with suspense, action, drama and even humor. The author’s writing skills truly shine in this debut novel, making it very worthy of 5 STARS. You are hooked from page one and on the edge of your seat through each little suspenseful twist.
August 12, 2014
A surprisingly good first novel as you can see from my star rating. You will not find a synopsis or ending spoiler.
First, the story takes place in the South during the Roaring Twenties. I applaud the author for telling the sociological dark side of the Roaring Twenties.
Mr. Weeks delivered good characterization, yet, written in first person, a difficult concept to carry through to the end. The dialogue was good, with use of colloquialisms, yet, for me, far too much in the narrative causing this reader confusion and it became difficult to follow at times. I will state that I could identify with the conflict of "Baby," and her choices, yet there were times I disliked her passionately. Writing in the third person would have given a broader perspective to the POV (Point Of View) of the other characters.
Some of the chapters were too long with scenes dragging. Shorter chapters might have helped the movement and flow to keep this reader engaged better. Yet, Mr. Weeks did an excellent job of scenic description and use of sensory phrasing. He also did a nice job on the dramatic and emotional action.
I found the open ending dissatisfying and left me desiring a sequel. Yet, I can recommend this read for other historical, character driven readers.
First, the story takes place in the South during the Roaring Twenties. I applaud the author for telling the sociological dark side of the Roaring Twenties.
Mr. Weeks delivered good characterization, yet, written in first person, a difficult concept to carry through to the end. The dialogue was good, with use of colloquialisms, yet, for me, far too much in the narrative causing this reader confusion and it became difficult to follow at times. I will state that I could identify with the conflict of "Baby," and her choices, yet there were times I disliked her passionately. Writing in the third person would have given a broader perspective to the POV (Point Of View) of the other characters.
Some of the chapters were too long with scenes dragging. Shorter chapters might have helped the movement and flow to keep this reader engaged better. Yet, Mr. Weeks did an excellent job of scenic description and use of sensory phrasing. He also did a nice job on the dramatic and emotional action.
I found the open ending dissatisfying and left me desiring a sequel. Yet, I can recommend this read for other historical, character driven readers.
October 8, 2014
Jazz Baby by Beem Weeks is a tale of a young girl, just becoming a woman, and her dream to sing jazz music in 1925.
Emily Ann Teegarten, or Baby, is a teenage singing sensation. All she wants to do is make a living singing jazz music. But in the time of prohibition, speakeasies aren't the best place for young girls just becoming women. After suddenly being orphaned and shipped off to an aunt that things jazz music is from the devil, Emily finds ways to sneak over the river to New Orleans to get her start.
But things are never that simple, are they? Awash with whorehouses, gangs, and drugs, New Orleans offers Emily more problems than it solves. And soon, she's embroiled in a mess that leaves her fighting to stay alive.
Jazz Baby is written from Emily's point of view, and is an excellent first person narrative complete with the lingo of the time. Real problems and dirty solutions surround a girl who doesn't always make the smart decisions, as she's trying to live of dream of singing in New York. You really feel like you're there, in Emily's shoes, and just trying to figure out how to be an adult in a messy world.
PS: for picky readers, this book does touch on topics like rape, girl-on-girl touching, murder, and drug use. Nothing too explicit, but its there.
Emily Ann Teegarten, or Baby, is a teenage singing sensation. All she wants to do is make a living singing jazz music. But in the time of prohibition, speakeasies aren't the best place for young girls just becoming women. After suddenly being orphaned and shipped off to an aunt that things jazz music is from the devil, Emily finds ways to sneak over the river to New Orleans to get her start.
But things are never that simple, are they? Awash with whorehouses, gangs, and drugs, New Orleans offers Emily more problems than it solves. And soon, she's embroiled in a mess that leaves her fighting to stay alive.
Jazz Baby is written from Emily's point of view, and is an excellent first person narrative complete with the lingo of the time. Real problems and dirty solutions surround a girl who doesn't always make the smart decisions, as she's trying to live of dream of singing in New York. You really feel like you're there, in Emily's shoes, and just trying to figure out how to be an adult in a messy world.
PS: for picky readers, this book does touch on topics like rape, girl-on-girl touching, murder, and drug use. Nothing too explicit, but its there.
November 10, 2013
This thrilling page-turner had me hooked from beginning to end! It is an engrossing tale of crime and speakeasies in 1925 Mississippi & New Orleans, told in the unique voice of Emily Ann Teegarten - aka 'Baby'. Full of deep southern charm, rich details and authentic vernacular.
At the tender age of 13, Emily Ann finds herself orphaned. Blessed with a beautiful voice, her one desire is to sing jazz in New York City. As a pretty young teen, a budding bisexual and talented chanteuse, Emily Ann stands in vulnerablity of all the adults who are ready to exploit her. While attempting to sing in a New Orleans jazz club, she inadvertently becomes involved with the criminal underworld. Murder and mayhem result, but this is not your daddy's gangster story. Think Lolita, rape, prostitution, pimping on all sides, fetishes, kinks, drugs, blurred lines of morality... mixed with sweet and innocent sexual discovery. This book is juicy and disturbing -- so be warned.
I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction and fans of southern literature -- also anyone who just loves a great story! Dont' miss it.
At the tender age of 13, Emily Ann finds herself orphaned. Blessed with a beautiful voice, her one desire is to sing jazz in New York City. As a pretty young teen, a budding bisexual and talented chanteuse, Emily Ann stands in vulnerablity of all the adults who are ready to exploit her. While attempting to sing in a New Orleans jazz club, she inadvertently becomes involved with the criminal underworld. Murder and mayhem result, but this is not your daddy's gangster story. Think Lolita, rape, prostitution, pimping on all sides, fetishes, kinks, drugs, blurred lines of morality... mixed with sweet and innocent sexual discovery. This book is juicy and disturbing -- so be warned.
I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction and fans of southern literature -- also anyone who just loves a great story! Dont' miss it.
March 20, 2014
“Jazz Baby” is like reading an autobiography because at no time in the narrative does Emily Ann Teegarten ring false. Not only did I forget that Beem Weeks is the author—instead of Emily—but I also forgot that the author is a man, not a coming-of-age young female teen. The voice of Emily is so alluring in print, that it doesn't take much imagination to understand that she has an incredible jazz voice, one that can make even judgmental church ladies cry. But only a New York speakeasy will prove that she is successful, at least during the Roaring Twenties. Coming-of-age involves sex, of course, and females certainly share those hormones with their male counterparts. There are quite a lot of explicit sex scenes and at first I felt that this would be an excellent book for young people if those scenes were not part of the story. But reading on, I could see that this story is not meant for the young, it is meant for us adults who once were young; who understand Emily's longing to “be someone” as Tracy Chapman sings; and who have experienced the joys, mistakes and sadness of adolescence. An excellent regional and period piece worth reading!
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