Customer Reviews

Bessie Smith (Outlines)

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If you want to know about Bessie Smith's life, check out the Chris Albertson book. If you want a thumb-nail sketch of her life, check any descent Blues Enclyclopedia (even Encarta isn't half bad.) If you want a fictional account of a blues legend, try August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Trouble is, Kay tries to accomplish all three in the space of less than 200 pages. Smith's life was bigger than fiction, and FUN to read about. At best, this book will whet the appetite. But read it fast and move on...

For the person looking to just scratch the surface in understanding the Empress of the Blues, "Bessie Smith (Outlines)" hits the mark, giving the highlights and lowlights of her life and career. Perhaps, "Outline", the name of this book series, is an appropriate name given the length and depth of the book. For the Bessie diehards or those that want real depth, the book doesn't offer anything new or particularly insightful. Read the Chris Albertson book if you want the best bio on Bessie. Also, Kay annoyingly interjects fictional passages into the story, making it difficult to determine fact from fiction. I found that aspect irratating, particularly in a book so short. The back cover presents the Outline series as exploring the impact homosexual life has had on certain aritsts. Kay misses this point entirely. She actually avoids Smith's alleged homosexuality. It is a short (150 small size pages, large font) and easy read though.

A beautiful melody of a book, Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay evokes the life of the great blueswoman through a provocative interweaving of fact, poetry, blues lyrics, and imaginings. It is also about the awakening of a young girl's (the author's) sense of herself as female and black. If you prefer dry facts only, or are doing serious research, look to another biography. If there's a bit of repetition in this book, well, think about the blues. If you want to immerse yourself in Bessie's blues, read this book in one sitting, and read it out loud. Then get
out your old vinyls and a bottle of gin, and read it again.