Rebecca Rotert

Set in Chicago in the 1960s, this novel tells the story of jazz singer Naomi and her ten-year-old daughter, Sophia. It is told in alternating perspectives of mother and daughter. We learn Naomi’s turbulent backstory, and how she arrived in Chicago. Performing at the Blue Angel, Naomi is looking for her big break. The author provides details and descriptions that place the reader back into the time period and jazz scene. The dramatic tension is provided by the differences in what Sophia wants (home, friends, and a family environment) and what her mother wants (success in her career).

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed Sophia’s story. It is tenderly told. She is attached to one of her mother’s boyfriends and wants him for a father, but her mother’s actions put her into contact with her birth father. He means well but she just does not feel what her mother wants her to feel. I did not care as much for the mother’s story. Even though we are supposed to feel her pain, I found it difficult to warm up to her. Topics include identity, sexual freedoms, religion, racial issues, and mother-daughter relationships.… (altro)

This moving debut novel is about the the many ways we love, the many forms that family can take, and the powerful effects that loss has on our lives. Naomi, a talented undiscovered jazz singer, and her ten year old daughter Sophia, live in Chicago in the 1960s, but Naomi's story is revealed in flashbacks that she narrates. Naomi struggles with society's limitations, as does Sophia in her turn. Issues of race, the war in Vietnam, gender and sexual identity are all explored.
The characters are unforgettable, the writing excellent, the story moving. This would be an excellent book club choice.… (altro)