3.5
Clifford's Blues
ByPublisher Description
A self-proclaimed "gay negro" from New Orleans, Clifford Pepperidge made his name in the smoky nightclubs of Harlem in the 1920s, playing piano alongside Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and other jazz greats. A decade later, he thrills crowds nightly in the cabarets of Weimar Berlin. But dark days are on the horizon as the Nazi Party rises to power.
Arrested by Hitler's Gestapo during a roundup of homosexuals, Clifford finds himself placed in "protective custody" and transported to a concentration camp. Stripped of his dignity and his identity, and plunged into a nightmare of forced labor, starvation, and abuse, he seeks escape in his music. When a camp SS officer and jazz aficionado recognizes Clifford, the gentle musician learns just how far a desperate man will go in order to survive.
Shining a light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust,
is a disturbing portrait of a dark era in world history and a poignant celebration of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of music.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesClifford's Blues Reviews
3.5
Imani Leveridge
Created over 2 years agoShare
Report
birthsister
Created about 6 years agoShare
Report
“There's a lot to unpack in this book. If a novel about Dachau isn't bad enough, it's a novel about being a Black man in Dachau. Being a gay Black man in Dachau. Being a gay Black man under the dubious protection of a closeted gay Nazi. Being a gay Black man under the dubious protection of a closeted gay Nazi in a kind of dysfunctional, abusive thruple with the Nazi's wife. It's well written, but it's...a lot...and the ending will probably leave you unsatisfied.”
Caroline Millen
Created almost 7 years agoShare
Report
Shauna
Created almost 8 years agoShare
Report
Nati Natilla
Created about 10 years agoShare
Report
About John A. Williams
John A. Williams (1925–2015) was born near Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Syracuse, New York. The author of more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed novels
and
, he has been heralded by the critic James L. de Jongh as “arguably the finest Afro-American novelist of his generation.” A contributor to the
, the
, and the
, among many other publications, Williams edited the periodic anthology
and served as the African correspondent for
and the European correspondent for
and
. A longtime professor of English and journalism, Williams retired from Rutgers University as the Paul Robeson Distinguished Professor of English in 1994. His numerous honors include two American Book Awards, the Syracuse University Centennial Medal for Outstanding Achievement, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters Award.
Other books by John A. Williams
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Books Similar to Clifford's Blues
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List