Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar
At the centre of Viper's Dream is a turbulent love story. And the climax bears an element of Greek tragedy. For the better part of 20 years, Viper Morton has been in love with Yolanda 'Yo-Yo' DeVray, a singer of immense talent but a woman consumed by demons. By turns ambitious and self-destructive, conniving and naive, Yo-Yo is a classic femme fatale. She is a bright star in a constellation of compelling characters including the chauffeur-turned- gangster Peewee Robinson, the Jewish kingpin Abraham 'Mr. O' Orlinsky, the heroin dealer West Indian Charlie, the corrupt cop Red Carney, the wife- beating singer Pretty Paul Baxter, the pimp Buttercup Jones and the brutal enforcer Randall Country Johnson.
Viper's Dream is a hard-boiled crime novel set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961. The protagonist is Clyde 'The Viper' Morton, one of the most respected and feared Black gangsters in America. The story combines elements of the epic Godfather films and the Harlem detective novels of Chester Himes.
But Viper's Dream has a fast-paced vibe all its own, a story charged with suspense, intrigue and plot twists and spiced with violence and humour. It is also steeped in music. The Viper's story is intertwined with the history of jazz over a quarter century.
About the author
JAKE LAMAR was born in 1961 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. After graduating from Harvard University, he spent six years writing for Time magazine. He has lived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing at one of France's top universities, Sciences Po. He is the author of a memoir, seven novels, numerous essays, reviews and short stories, and a play. His most recent work, Viper's Dream, is both a crime novel and an audio drama, set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961. He is a recipient of the Lyndhurst Prize (for his first book, Bourgeois Blues), a prestigious Centre National du Livre grant (for his novel Postérité), France’s Grand Prize for best foreign thriller (for his novel The Last Integrationist), and a Beaumarchais fellowship for his play Brothers in Exile. He is currently working on a memoir about his life in Paris. Jake Lamar is available for interviews and features.
Review
‘Viper’s Dream’ is a hard-boiled tale set in Harlem from the 1930s to 1961 and follows the life of one Clude Morton. I loved this book as it fully immersed me into a culture and place and I don't really know too much about. It shows us how history can be twisted, places evolve and how people either cause this evolution or are evolved along with it. Society is as fluid and unpredictable as jazz is and although this book focuses on one man, it's really about how individual strings come together, intertwine and make great music.
It opens in 1961 with Clyde ‘The Viper’ Morton sitting in the legendary Cathouse. He has just committed the murder of the love of his life, Yolanda. He has been given three hours before he is going to be arrested and he is using it to contemplate his life and relationships.
This book is a love letter to Harlem and to jazz. It oozes off the page and I picked the perfect place to be reading this book, New York itself. Harlem and The Bronx have always fascinated me and of course I have a thing for jazz. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear any this time around but I definitely lucked out by reading this book. Spoitify didn't know what hit it as I hopped from artist to artist!
This is a gritty book and evokes the feelings and temperament of the hard-boiled detective books ala Chandler. It was dark and moody. You could picture every scene vividly as the rich descriptions made it feel like you were slipping into a different reality.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
