NetGalley and Hell or Highwater Books provided a free copy of The Devil Take the Blues in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Me at the Crossroads
The Devil Take the Blues by Ariel Slick is a Southern Gothic Song of Love and Infernal Bargains
Circa 1920. The fly spot of a town called Azoma, Louisiana.
Beatrice runs and owns the store she inherited from her profligate father only because she refuses to contemplate marriage, at which point the store would become her husband’s property—cuz we girls couldn’t own stuff outright back in the day, and Beatrice isn’t about to give up anything for something as silly as love. Her beloved sister Agnes is married to an up-and-coming fellow named Tim, who is running for mayor and aspires to more, relying on the help of the friendly sheet-wearers in the local KKK. When he isn’t pounding respect into Agnes, he’s recruiting more racists into the Klan.
Things change for Beatrice when two strangers come to town. One is a black musician—a genius, actually, who plays the Blues like a man possessed. The other stranger, a tall, handsome man, happens to be white and is well-dressed and erudite. He wears a dark suit and a bowler hat. Could it be…Satan?
Oh, yes. It could. And the Devil finds Beatrice enchanting. But Beatrice is enchanted by the musician and vice versa, which, as you can probably predict, does not sit well with the conservative white folks in Azuma. In addition, the Devil is frustrated to no end by Beatrice’s failure to succumb immediately to his charms. Things get complicated when an old woman—maybe a seer, maybe just crazy—tells Beatrice that Agnes will be murdered in seven weeks.
Beatrice asks the Devil, for she is aware of his true identity, and he confirms the situation. And thereby hangs a Faustian tale.
Another reviewer described the writing as lyrical, and it is indeed that. Take your time and enjoy the music. The author has woven tunes and chords, song and refrain throughout the story. The Blues, you’ll find, truly is the Devil’s music.
Speaking of whom, Frank Charbonneau, which is the Devil’s name in the book for the purposes of contracts and financial deals, turns out to be charming, of course. Wait a minute—does charbonneau sort of mean ‘a good fire?’ My handy computer tells me the origin is more like “charcoal maker.” Either way, it makes me smile, as do so many other devilish little plays on words and fables in this book.
Not only are there plenty of amusements for the word nerd in me, but the Devil’s character is drawn to absolute perfection. Or so I am told. Not that I would know. Anyway, moving on.
The Devil Take the Blues propels readers on a unique journey—you may figure out parts of it, but you’ll be surprised and you’ll be amused and you’ll be entertained. Beyond those things, you will find truth and wisdom and cause for hope. Solid writing, wonderfully built plot, distinct and interesting characters.
An enthusiastic 5 stars for Devil Take the Blues by Ariel Slick.
Fair warning. Racism in all its ugliness is on full display in The Devil Take the Blues. Intimidation, prejudice, brutality, and mindless cult followers. The part that disturbs me the most is that in the century between the time setting of this book and now, racism has continued to exist and even thrive in a political climate of hate and fear. I live in a small xenophobic community in southern Missouri where some of the sentiments expressed by the folks in this book are still heard, still seen. But that’s a blog post for another day.
Devil Take the Blues will be available at the bookstore of your choice on October 14.
Preorder at Amazon Here.
Something a little new! New Book–New Tarot card. What do you think?
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