Nine Bar Blues

April 1, 2020
God, swinging her heels, inspires a lunch lady to add pecans to her tuna, which will change a trajectory for one young girl. The sun one day stops shining, but only over the city of Austin. A muse or goddess sent to collect the music of the earth finds herself creating her own, sending magic out into the world. Thomas (Sleeping Under the Tree of Life, 2016) writes of a strange, mystical world of rising waters and blues music. Her stories are occasionally interconnected, and hint at a variety of struggling, dark worlds all bonded by her thick, rich prose. She brings characters to life who struggle to decide whether or not to leave a place that's dear to them; she writes tales of characters who summon their voices or a treasure or a monster from the earth. These stories are often as heartbreaking as they are hopeful, using the genres of fantasy and horror to explore abuse, escape, grief, and more. This collection is rooted in heart, and draws inspiration from the Black American South?its music, its history, and its folklore.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)