Love And Theft

Hari Kunzru on his novel White Tears, hipsters, and blues music

I loved the idea behind the first half of Hari Kunzru's White Tears, but the second half is a bit of a letdown.  The characters are interesting, but the shift from straight-up narrative to magical realism feels very forced and unearned to me.

Still, the issues of authenticity and appropriation in American blues music are always worth thinking about.  (The basic plot involves two white hipsters who manage to "invent" an old-time blues song through field recordings of modern-day New York City.)

But this interview makes me appreciate the novel a bit more.