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I did not love Tananarive Due's take on the Immortal Boyfriend in My Soul To Keep, but either I am more okay with Ghost Boyfriends than Pseudo-Vampire Boyfriends, or Joplin's Ghost is just a more fun book. (I am pretty sure the answer is option B.)
The basic plot of Joplin's Ghost, boiled down to its essence, goes something like this:
SCOTT JOPLIN: I am an acknowledged musical genius and the King of Ragtime! I am also often penniless and tend to have my dreams stomped more often than not. Thank you, racism. Also, I am dying of syphilis.
PHOENIX: I am a rising young R&B star who is about to release a CD on a major record label! But I may be selling out and losing my artistic integrity and unique voice. Meanwhile, let's see how many musical puns we can make on my name.
SCOTT JOPLIN: Hi there! Your concerns about artistic integrity are relevant to my interests.
PHOENIX: . . . . which means I do not really need to add a stalker ghost to my life at this time. Not when I am singing my hit single on a major television show tomorrow night -
SCOTT JOPLIN: Or. OR. I have a better idea! Instead of your hit R&B single, you could sing . . . my tragically destroyed RAGTIME OPERA.
PHOENIX'S MANAGER DAD: I do not think that is a better idea.
PHOENIX: Too late, oops.
PHOENIX'S FRIENDS AND FAMILY: We cannot deny ragtime is awesome. But being possessed by a ghost, however much of a sexy musical genius: maybe not so awesome?
PHOENIX: Hey, do you think this whole thing is maybe a metaphor for suppressing your own artistic voice in favor of somebody else's?
TANANARIVE DUE: Feel free to draw literary conclusions in your own time, but just FYI your piano is definitely possessed, so . . . watch out for that, is all I'm saying.
Creepy possessed pianos aside, I really liked a lot of things about this book. First of all, I happen to find extended metaphors about artistic dilemmas like commercial viability vs. artistic integrity and finding your own voice vs. being influenced by the greats interesting! I also find Scott Joplin super interesting. (And I will admit I felt a great urge to go listen to The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag a few times over when I was done the book.) However, what I actually liked best was Phoenix and her relationship with her family, which was full of complicated and interesting and believable people who are all actually trying to be supportive. Phoenix's parents are both from music backgrounds - her former-Black-Panther dad currently works with scheduling musical venues, her Jewish mom struggled for years to hold onto her family's failing music club - which means they actually know the industry, and the question of relying on them vs. finding her own independence is a real one. Phoenix also has close relationships with her much-older sister from her dad's first marriage and her flamboyant slacker best-friend-and-cousin on her mom's side, and these are not just window-dressing - they're important to the book, and I loved them. So much Bechdel-test passing!
Phoenix also has a boyfriend but I do not care much about him. But I do care about Scott Joplin, so that's okay! Overall, I would recommend.
(Though, one tiny, tiny quibble: while I love that the book had Jewish characters and that both halves of Phoenix's identity were important, I am pretty sure that Phoenix's grandmom would not have been named Oprah, because the actual name in question is Orpah. Tiny tiny detail! I give points for effort, though.)
The basic plot of Joplin's Ghost, boiled down to its essence, goes something like this:
SCOTT JOPLIN: I am an acknowledged musical genius and the King of Ragtime! I am also often penniless and tend to have my dreams stomped more often than not. Thank you, racism. Also, I am dying of syphilis.
PHOENIX: I am a rising young R&B star who is about to release a CD on a major record label! But I may be selling out and losing my artistic integrity and unique voice. Meanwhile, let's see how many musical puns we can make on my name.
SCOTT JOPLIN: Hi there! Your concerns about artistic integrity are relevant to my interests.
PHOENIX: . . . . which means I do not really need to add a stalker ghost to my life at this time. Not when I am singing my hit single on a major television show tomorrow night -
SCOTT JOPLIN: Or. OR. I have a better idea! Instead of your hit R&B single, you could sing . . . my tragically destroyed RAGTIME OPERA.
PHOENIX'S MANAGER DAD: I do not think that is a better idea.
PHOENIX: Too late, oops.
PHOENIX'S FRIENDS AND FAMILY: We cannot deny ragtime is awesome. But being possessed by a ghost, however much of a sexy musical genius: maybe not so awesome?
PHOENIX: Hey, do you think this whole thing is maybe a metaphor for suppressing your own artistic voice in favor of somebody else's?
TANANARIVE DUE: Feel free to draw literary conclusions in your own time, but just FYI your piano is definitely possessed, so . . . watch out for that, is all I'm saying.
Creepy possessed pianos aside, I really liked a lot of things about this book. First of all, I happen to find extended metaphors about artistic dilemmas like commercial viability vs. artistic integrity and finding your own voice vs. being influenced by the greats interesting! I also find Scott Joplin super interesting. (And I will admit I felt a great urge to go listen to The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag a few times over when I was done the book.) However, what I actually liked best was Phoenix and her relationship with her family, which was full of complicated and interesting and believable people who are all actually trying to be supportive. Phoenix's parents are both from music backgrounds - her former-Black-Panther dad currently works with scheduling musical venues, her Jewish mom struggled for years to hold onto her family's failing music club - which means they actually know the industry, and the question of relying on them vs. finding her own independence is a real one. Phoenix also has close relationships with her much-older sister from her dad's first marriage and her flamboyant slacker best-friend-and-cousin on her mom's side, and these are not just window-dressing - they're important to the book, and I loved them. So much Bechdel-test passing!
Phoenix also has a boyfriend but I do not care much about him. But I do care about Scott Joplin, so that's okay! Overall, I would recommend.
(Though, one tiny, tiny quibble: while I love that the book had Jewish characters and that both halves of Phoenix's identity were important, I am pretty sure that Phoenix's grandmom would not have been named Oprah, because the actual name in question is Orpah. Tiny tiny detail! I give points for effort, though.)