Mumbo Jumbo

James Mustich says this noir mystery satire may be "the most rambunctious novel you'll ever read. ... Reed constructs a narrative—enlivened by photographs, drawings, charts, radio dispatches, and typographic variety." Harold Bloom selected this ragtime novel as one of the greatest books of the Western canon. From the publisher: "In 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. 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."