Swing Sisters

I remember reading this on a cozy Sunday afternoon back in the late 90s. There's so much to like about it...the old movie feel, the big band backdrop, the characters and their lives with and apart from each other, the emotions we share with each of the women we grow to care about... It is somewhat similiar to another great and impossible-to-find novel called ALL GOOD WOMEN by Valerie Miner. Both books take place during the big band era, both give the reader endearing, fully fleshed-out characters and both wreck havoc with your heart. SWING SISTERS, though, focuses more specifically on an all-girl band and their adventures both on and off the stage. This is what I found in my book journal, written right after I finished the book: Every main character has serious emotional issues to work through...for some reason Roz's situation got to me the most...her story isn't just a story, but something going on inside of me. Lovey, the lead singer, leaps to the reader's reality so that you can practically hear her weave tapestries with her voice. Various subplots come together in this amazingly touching book, but Roz's experience is what especially grabbed me. Anyone who has ever loved someone who didn't feel the same way will feel Roz's sorrow as she tumbles into something she doesn't quite understand, but knows is all too real. Her feelings for fellow bandmate Sarah jumped off the page...Westin captures unrequited love like no other author I've read. SWING SISTERS is the kind of thing you want to reread...the problem is I have yet to find it again. It's like an incredibly vivid, great dream you had once and want to recapture because while you loved having it, it's faded over the years.

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my love of swing and jazz music, maybe it was just well written, probably a combination of all, but I found it hard to put down and felt myself involved in the story even when I wasn't reading it. Jeane Weston either did a tremendous amount of research or had some musical experiences of her own in order to create this work. I was particularly impressed with the individual billboard quotes from various sources that headlined each chapter. Although there were times I felt too much story description was being to Tonia and her light skinned boyfriend Charlie, the reason became clear towards the end of the book. References to the big bands and news events of the era were timely and accurate. The story was believable, for the most part, and the ending was one that I had hoped for. Lovey Anderson's character was particulary descriptive and memorable. Anyone who has the even the slightest interest in the music scene of the 30's or the part women played in it and the obstacles they faced would find this to be a fascinating, inviting piece of literature. In short, I loved the book.Kudos to Jeane Westin.

I was fortunate enough to find this in paperback recently and enjoyed it immensely. I popped a big band cd on the stereo for background music and found myself caught up in the story of the Swing Sisters-a band started up by ex-burlesque star Rita who'd planned to sing lead, drummer Roz, who must keep her sexual preference a secret at all costs, Sara on the piano, trying to leave her broken marriage behind her, trumpet player Tonia who becomes involved with the wrong man and last but not least Lovey, the ex-farm girl who could sing like an angel. What more could you want from this fast-paced story of an all girl band back in 1937? Read about their many struggles both personally and professionally, how they literally clawed their way to the top. Highly recommended.