Windy City Blues
Fiction
Berkley books
February 28, 2017
Advanced Reader Copy ebook
448
Publisher via Penguin First to Read
In the middle of the twentieth century, the music of the Mississippi Delta arrived in Chicago, drawing the attention of entrepreneurs like the Chess brothers. Their label, Chess Records, helped shape that music into the Chicago Blues, the soundtrack for a transformative era in American History.
But, for Leeba Groski, Chess Records was just where she worked...
Leeba doesn't exactly fit in, but her passion for music and her talented piano playing captures the attention of her neighbor, Leonard Chess, who offers her a job at his new record company. What begins as answering phones and filing becomes much more as Leeba comes into her own as a songwriter and befriends performers like Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Etta James. But she also finds love with a black blues guitarist named Red Dupree.
With their relationship unwelcome in segregated Chicago and shunned by Leeba's Orthodox Jewish family, she and Red soon find themselves in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and they discover that, in times of struggle, music can bring people together.
My review:
Ms. Rosen has done it again! I really enjoyed her previous work White Collar Girl, about a young woman in the newspaper business. With Windy City Blues, the reader gets to experience the music business in Chicago from right after WWII up through the civil rights movement. I loved the main protagonist Leeba, who works for one of the record labels, and is also a songwriter trying hard to make it after work hours. The other story with Leeba is that she is also in love with a black man. This sets up a great side plot regarding race tolerance, particularly with her family and the sentiments of the time. The struggle for all the blues musicians of this time was made so very real, and I thought the integration of the fictional characters and real history making singers (such as Chuck Berry and Elvis) was seamlessly written. The surrounding characters were all well drawn, and I felt the emotions springing off the page. I learned a lot about this time during music history, but because it's a work of fiction, it was entertaining as well as factual.
They always say the music biz is a tough one, but this book drives home that point so very well. Great characters, a well formed plot, good pacing, and good writing make this a must read, particularly if you are interested in the music business during this time period. I can't wait to see what Rosen comes up with next!
I was given access to this book via Penguin's First to Read program. As always, my opinions are my own.
I loved White Collar Girl, too. I really think I'll like this one because of the setting and topic, not to mention I love her writing style. I missed this one on First to Read; I guess I didn't look that closely, but my order came in! I just hope I get to start it soon.
I really liked her writing style in White Collar Girl. If you liked that one, I think you will like this one as well. Informative, yet a great fictional story.