Mumbo Jumbo (Penguin Modern Classics)

'A great writer' James Baldwin

'Part vision, part satire, part farce ... a wholly original, unholy cross between the craft of fiction and witchcraft' The New York Times

Aplague is spreading across 1920s America, racing from New Orleans toNew York. It's an epidemic of free expression, carried by black artists,and its symptoms are an uncontrollable urge to dance, sing, laugh andjive. The state will stop at nothing to suppress the outbreak, but, deepin the heart of Harlem, private eye and Vodum priest Papa LaBas hasother ideas - and, possibly, the key to everything. A freewheeling,explosive blend of jazz, ragtime, ancient myth, magic and conspiracythriller, this anarchic postmodern classic is a satire for our times.

Reviews

A dazzling classic ... exhilarating ... like jazz, the novel feels improvisatory and ambitious [...] It is a funny book about conspiracy theories that nonetheless feels serious and true. A philosophical and ingenious American race satire