Mumbo Jumbo: A Novel (Digital Original) (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)

By: Ishmael Reed

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Synopsis: Ishmael Reed&’s inspired fable of the ragtime era, in which a social movement threatens to suppress the spread of black culture—hailed by Harold Bloom as one of the five hundred greatest books of the Western canonIn 1920s America, a plague is spreading fast. From New Orleans to Chicago to New York, the &“Jes Grew&” epidemic makes people desperate to dance, overturning social norms in the process. Anyone is vulnerable and when they catch it, they&’ll bump and grind into a frenzy. Working to combat the Jes Grew infection are the puritanical Atonists, a group bent on cultivating a &“Talking Android,&” an African American who will infiltrate the unruly black communities and help crush the outbreak. But PaPa LaBas, a houngan voodoo priest, is determined to keep his ancient culture—including a key spiritual text—alive. Spanning a dizzying host of genres, from cinema to academia to mythology, Mumbo Jumbo is a lively ride through a key decade of American history. In addition to ragtime, blues, and jazz, Reed&’s allegory draws on the Harlem Renaissance, the Back to Africa movement, and America&’s occupation of Haiti. His style throughout is as avant-garde and vibrant as the music at its center. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Ishmael Reed including rare images of the author.