"Trumpet" by Jackie Kay.
A strange story of jazz and gender that created a lively book club discussion.
The story is based on the real-life Billy Lee Tipton trio, Tipton being Trans-gender, as early as 1933.
This was Rosie’s choice, having read the book some time ago, on a re-read she found the musical descriptions to be evocative was intrigued to try to understand the male dominance of the Jazz scene.
The character descriptions in the book left a number of members disappointed, maximum disgust being shared between the adopted son, Colman, and the journalist.
Whilst the son, Colman, was a disappointing character, the chapter where he is shown that his father was actually a woman, showed deplorable disrespect for feelings.
For one club member, the Undertaker’s actions destroyed the whole credibility of the book.
The significant factor arising from the discussion was a realisation of how far attitudes towards identity including gender and race alignment had changed in our lifetime
Club discussion revealed that early editions of the book had a cover note that destroyed the surprise factor of the story, this was also noted in the Guardian review.
One blooper noted: putting fake genitals into boxer shorts.
Doorly score: 3.8
PC. 20 Octover 2024
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