MJJG: an odd but apposite placement, leading to a useful critical view

[Raphael Saltwood]

https://detecs.org<https://detecs.org/labas.html>

Detecs.org is a catalog of “clerical detectives”: “any detective with a significant church or religious background”

There are a lot of them!

PaPa LaBas apparently comes under the ecumenical heading in his capacity as a neo-HooDoo priest.

The review is at
https://detecs.org/labas.html


I found the review interesting, and useful. Viewing MJ as a detective novel sets up different expectations & criteria than viewing it as “a po-mo classic” or (per Pynchon) source of info about feuding conspiracies.

Viz: on the home page he sez “...the most successful detective stories are 25% plot, 25% characterization, and 50% what the writer knows best.” That seems reasonable - the book is full of cultural references to literature, art, music and history. With Harlem Renaissance taking a prominent place. I’d go so far as to say that one needs to be interested in those things to enjoy it.

In between appreciating the many, many references and the style of presentation one can winkle out a mystery surrounding a mysterious text.

Without intending any racial connotation - although it’s pretty unavoidable - the plot falls into a noirish category, in that the official apparatus of justice is incapable/unwilling to deal with the crime(s), and the outsider protagonist has to settle for living up to a personal code of honor (and perhaps seeding ethics among those he affects)

The character development is also backgrounded compared to the cultural references, but still very visible. Not only PaPa LaBas, but Earline, Abdul Hamid, Black Herman, Musclewhite, Buddy Jackson, and Charlotte among others become distinct and memorable.

The review is not entirely favorable:

Again with the link
https://detecs.org/labas.html

Basically says it’s incomprehensible but there’s a lot to enjoy. “It is the author’s sense of humor which makes the book so readable, even when you can’t understand what is going on.”

Seems fair-ish, if your primary interest is in the detective story.

 Mentions somewhat of a sequel in _The Last Days of Louisiana Red_ - his summary of that book makes it seem like a segue into Mr Reed’s somewhat more straightforward later works.