TBR Review: The Masquerades of Spring, by Ben Aaronovitch

Description

New York City, New York.

Meet Augustus Berrycloth-Young – fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad – as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps.

That is, until his old friend Thomas Nightingale arrives, pursuing a rather mysterious affair concerning an old saxophone – which will take Gussie from his warm bed, to the cold shores of Long Island, and down to the jazz clubs where music, magic, and madness haunt the shadows…

My Review

A fun novella set in jazz-age New York, with a queer cast and inter-racial love. Nightingale turns up unexpectedly, and Gussie must help him rescue a fae. Interrupting things in the US, and upsetting lots of politicians, businessmen and mobsters, and people of a magical persuasion, events culminate at a drag ball, with policemen amusingly debagged, and explosions on lonely roads.

Aaronovitch conjures the air of excitement and danger that pervades New York in the 1920s and 30s, as jazz clubs and bathtub gin fill the need for escape after the horrors of war, and chronicle a forgotten period of cultural explosion, particularly exemplified by the Harlem Renaissance, in which Black culture and Queer culture flourished, before being appropriated and repressed after the second world war. He also captures the culture of corruption in the city, from police shakedowns for personal gain to gang violence. I loved the inclusion of the drag ball. I’ve heard about them, and how popular they were, but I don’t think they’re particularly well known outside of people interested in Queer history.

Gussie and Lucy are adorable, and I was sure Beauregard is some species of fae, although he might just be a practitioner with connections. I hope Lucy, Gussie and the gang all have long and fun lives, although I think they’d be old before their relationship becomes legal.

I enjoyed the ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ tone of the narrative, and Gussie is a funny narrator. He’s self-deprecating and observant, and astute enough to know when and when not to be himself, even if he has a low opinion of his own intelligence. The references to golden age crime fiction made me laugh – especially when Gussie decides to be a detective for a minute.

Enjoyable novella that introduces new aspects of the Rivers of London universe. Highly recommended.