Francis Spufford Is The One Author Who Can Get Away With Being......Dystopian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         If there is one word I hate, it is "dystopian," and as soon as I hear a novel being described as such, I turn away from it.  But not if the author is Francis Spufford.

                                          Spufford goes dystopian, but never lets up on character or narrative.  What he gives the reader here is a sort of Cormac McCarthy noir.   Set in a Mississippi town that resembles Harlem in the 20's, the world he creates is as believable as one can expect of plopping a section of Manhattan down into the heart of Mississippi.  Both a social critique and a murder mystery that had me stumped, "Cahokia Jazz" adds another notch to the author's gallery of quality fiction.

                                              And yet...it did not blow me away.  I kept going, but always wanted something more.  Maybe Spufford was reaching too high, for bars set by McCarthy and Colson Whitehead.

                                                 I want to see what he does next.  As good as his current novel was, it could have been better.

                                                  Tea at four, darlings???????????????