When the love of your life dies, the problem is not that some part of you dies too, which it does, but that some part of you is still alive.
Rating: 4/5
Trigger Warnings: racism, transphobia, homophobia
Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read the book, this review will contain spoilers so it’s up to you if you continue…
Trumpet is the story of Joss Moody, famous Jazz trumpeter, told post-mortem through his son, widow, and a couple of guest narrators. His death has caused a sensation with the media - but not because it means the death of a major star…Joss was born with a female body, and nobody but his wife knew this.
This book is an excellent exploration of race, nationality, gender, and the power of the press. Trumpet raises big questions about what makes someone who they are, how the past influences us, and what really is gender?
Maybe these are the questions it raised for me because of the angle I’m studying it from but either way it was a damn good book. I think I could write this whole review on the subject of questions; it asks so many, inspires others without directly asking, and provides answers to very few. Discussing this with my housemate I told her it was frustrating when the book ends not on a cliffhanger but without fully resolving things; she pointed out that it’s realistic, and the questions we are left with don’t necessarily need to be answered. It’s just natural human curiosity that makes me want the answers I can never have.
The narration in Trumpet is particularly interesting. It’s never hard to keep track of, each character having a distinct personality, but it is interesting to watch out for third person/first person changes - both between chapters and within them. I especially enjoyed the ‘People’ chapters. They’re like little character studies of minor, background characters. It’s a break from the narrative, without moving away from the story you want to follow. Each one is only a couple of pages long but you see characters from a different point of view, however briefly, and get a little insight into the world outside of Jazz. (Though I can’t say I’m impressed with the cleaner - I don’t care how much Sophie Stone paid you).
Speaking of Sophie Stones, she is a particularly interesting character. She probably asked the most questions throughout, but for me she also sparked the most. There was something fascinating about her psychology - if I could have any question about this book answered, I’d probably ask for some info on her background and desperation to impress.
In one of my lectures we also got presented with Kay’s poem In My Country which relates to her being both black and Scottish - a dilemma faced by Coleman (and Joss) in the novel. I’ve stuck a link in here because it’s a good poem and a nice little addition to the book. In fact, I’d advise looking at more of her poetry (such as Old Tongue) to explore more about identity and nationality.
Message me and tell me your thoughts on Trumpet, I’d be interested to hear from someone who read it without actively studying it!
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