Weekend Reads: “Wild Women and the Blues”

Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t even know where to start … I just loved this book!

Film maker Sawyer is meeting with 102-year-old Honoree Dalcour, to interview her about her experiences in 1920s Chicago’s Black jazz scene and the politics of Bronzeville. He’s also working with a film restoration company on some footage that he hopes will be a previously-undiscovered work by Oscar Micheaux … which features Miss Honoree dancing in a night club.

What we get is a fantastic look inside gambling, bootlegging, and Al Capone’s tight squeeze on numerous industries during the era — as well as the Black experience during prohibition, segregation, and more.

We also discover that a whole lot of people have secrets they’re hiding.

The characters, both historical and fictitious, came alive on the page; I felt like I knew all of them. Plus, Denny S. Bryce truly did her homework in the research process; I learned something new on every page, without feeling as though the information was being force-fed to me.

Honestly, this is one of the best books I’ve read all year. Highly recommended.

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