Blue (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780573628085)

Using music as an integral part of the storytelling, Blue spans nearly twenty years in the life of the affluent African American Clark family in rural South Carolina. Events are seen through the eyes of the eldest son Reuben, who evolves from a preteen trumpet player into an adult artist. His mother, a relentlessly chic matriarch with dark secrets who is out of place in the her provincial surroundings, holds court at family gatherings. She lays out grandiose plans for her two sons while the mesmerizing music of sexy jazz singer Blue Williams adds a unique dimension. Meanwhile, her husband runs a profitable funeral home, grandmother offers unsolicited advice and Ruben's brother runs with the girls. This humorous family portrait abounds with tenderness, acceptance and the search for unconditional love while introducing audiences to an African American family the likes of which is seldom portrayed on stage or screen.