Halfblood Blues

1939: Mischlings Music

Half -Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan is a surprisingly yet familiar, eye-opening, but

relatable tale of World War II terrors told through the eyes of young Black jazz musicians in Germany. The era of this story is known for being dark and cruel against humanity, a time period which gave birth to the Nazi regime. The novel manages to go back and forth from 1939 to 1992 to induce suspense into the storyline. The novel itself creates the understanding of how far the musicians were willing to proceed for their musical careers.

In shedding new light on the narrative of Africans in Germany, the novel deepens the discussion of race and mixed race issues. A story of the human desire for belonging, the artistic urge to create, even in the face of terror, and the lengths of jealousy can drive one to. As well as the documented stories of Nazi terror in World War II is known, Hiero, Sid, and Chip's story sheds new light on those horrors, and on the concepts of race and nationality. Half -Blood Blues is a great novel that perceives and articulates the twisted sequences of emotions that is the black experience. No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior, all racial judgments are wrong, only racists make them. Everyone human being is equal, no matter race, culture or skin colour, no one deserves to be judged.