Mumbo Jumbo

I finished reading what is possibly my favorite book ever: Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed. It’s weird to read, to say the least, but it’s worth while if you can get through the first few chapters.

Before I put you off to it, I want to say that the book is not hard to read, or particularly hard to follow, it’s just that Mumbo Jumbo is meant to be like a blacksploitation movie in book form. For instance, when you open the book you will notice that there is no title page, copyright page, and etc., and instead the story just begins. That’s because, like a movie’s soft opening, they are a few pages in, after an initial setup. After that, the scenes to change randomly and if you don’t think of it as a movie, you’ll probably get lost.

Honestly, the reason I love it so much is its blacksploitation elements. Mumbo Jumbo takes place some time during the Harlem Renaissance, but the main character, Papa Labas, dresses like a 70’s pimp and some of the characters use 70’s-esque slang. That plot revolves around the Laba’s attempts to save Jes Grew, a disease that causes people to dance and act like black people, from the mysterious Wallflower Society.

This definitely ain’t a book for everybody. Read it a little first, then buy.