Rehearsal: A Different Drummer Book

Joplin's Ghost is an eclectic mixture of historical fiction and borderline urban prose. For the historical lesson on Scott Joplin, I give the book 5 stars; and for the lean to urban I give 4, my final rating falls somewhere in between. Do I dare mention again how I love me some writing by Tananarive Due? Well if you don't know by now, she is one of my all time favorite authors, but I promise this review is unbiased.

What I enjoyed most about Joplin's Ghost is that it took Ms. Due a little out of her usual style of writing and I respect her even more for challenging herself to show that she is a versatile writer willing to take a chance on drawing in a new group of readers. Where she may have disappointed some of her long-time faithful followers, I believe she may have picked up some new younger ones along the way who are huge fans of the urban genre but ready to grow in their literary journey.

Joplin's Ghost is a love story of sorts involving famed Ragtime composer Scott Joplin, who departed from this life like many gifted artist, way before their time. It is evident in the writing that the author spent a considerable amount of time researching Joplin's life, as well as music in general, to create this work of fiction. I will admit that I am still a little unsure if the ghost was Joplin himself, his piano, or Joplin's second wife Freddie, whose spirit may have been trapped in the piano when Joplin attempted to make his transition into the afterlife. But not knowing for sure doesn't take away from the story.

The story moves back and forth between Joplin's era (early 1900's) and modern day as we discover new singer Phoenix, who is a trained classical musician trying to make it in today's music scene (ala Alicia Key's). The two stories meld as Joplin dies and Phoenix is injured by a mysterious piano when she is 10. Fast forward 14 years, Phoenix is now signed with a popular Hip Hop label and journeys to Joplin's hometown. There her father/manager encourages her to visit the Scott Joplin Museum, where she has her first (well second) encounter with the ghost.

We get to know Joplin, the man and composer, as Due's story follows a fictitious account of his life beginning in 1900. Through her storytelling we meet his second wife, Freddie, who is his soul-mate even into death. Back in current time, we have Phoenix who accepts that his ghost is very real and very present in her life. At times it seems that Joplin is using her as an instrument to share with the world music he composed for two Opera's that he never received proper recognition for'eventually destroying the sheet music before his death. Then at other times, it felt as if his goal was to free Freddie's spirit from the hounted piano so he could finally crossover into the afterlife, and she could make her return there ( she died before him but came back as a ghost when he claimed the mysterious piano that had been abandoned in an ally…yes, the same one that injured Phoenix at age 10).

Remember, Joplin's Ghost really is a love story. It's being told from several angles, which makes it that much more fascinating. If you have read Tina McElroy Ansa's, The Hand I Fan With, you can get a better picture as to how someone can fall in love with a ghost. As Phoenix becomes more absorbed in Joplin's ghost her world begins to unravel, and she faces losing not only her career but the support of family and friends. Just when she didn't think her life could get any crazier, tragedy strikes.

Where I think Due loses some of her die-hard fans is in the urban aspects of the book, which at times (only a few) seemed forced and out of place in the full scheme of the story. Some of the scenes simply did not flow as fluently as when she was telling Joplin's story. The only part of the book I simply could not enjoy was the knowledge that Joplin died from the sexually transmitted disease Syphilis, yet there was a love scene between Phoenix and Joplin's ghost under the guise that physically she was making love to her boyfriend, but subconsciously it was the ghost. That just wasn't sexy and was a bit much to digest, even though we had learned earlier in the book that the disease is no longer contagious after a certain period of time (as long as there is no re-infection).

If you are a follower of Due's "Living Blood" series, I recommend you give Joplin's Ghost a try. As I anxiously await the next installment due out this fall, I have been catching up on some of her other books and so far I have not been disappointed.

Much Love,


Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of He Loves Me He Loves Me Not! and Love…Like Snow In Florida on a Hot Summer Day. For more information, visit: www.TracyLDarity.com