Synopsis
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize
‘Rich, taut and compelling’ – Melvyn Bragg, The Guardian
‘An accomplished display of vocal versatility’ – The Literary Review
The death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody exposes an extraordinary secret. Unknown to all but his wife Millie, Joss was a woman living as a man. The discovery is most devastating for their adopted son, Colman, whose bewildered fury brings the press to the doorstep and sends his grieving mother to the sanctuary of a remote Scottish village.
Trumpet by Jackie Kay is a starkly beautiful modern classic about the lengths to which people will go for love. It is a moving story of a shared life founded on an intricate lie, of loving deception and lasting devotion, and of the intimate workings of the human heart.
‘Kay carefully registers the technical difficulties of transgendered life . . . She leaves us with a broad landscape of sweet tolerance and familial love’ – The New York Times
Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.
Details
Reviews
“A rich, taut and compelling novel by a fine writer. A Picador classic”Melvyn Bragg, The Guardian
“A novel whose humanism, humor and vision demolish anyone's urge to think they've got the right to decide about, categorize or dismiss other human beings”Ali Smith, The New York Times
“Recounted in clear, spare, utterly unsentimental prose . . . the voices in this tender, compassionate work were still singing in my head a couple of weeks after I'd finished it”Observer, Observer
“The book's style works like a jazz riff, a literary improvisation of the central melody of Joss's death”The Independent on Sunday, The Independent on Sunday
