Blackbird Blues--A Deeply Human Novel Taking Place in Chicago in the Early 1960's

When I'm offered a historical fiction novel for review, I give it serious consideration if it deals with topics that interest me and seems unusual. Blackbird Blues is a first novel by journalist and psychotherapist Jean K. Carney that was pitched to me by publicist Jennifer Vance.  I was interested in this book because it had a female protagonist,  and centered on music, racism and illegal abortion. I had not read a novel taking place during this period in which a character had to go through the process of abortion.  I thought it would be provocative and intense.  So I accepted a copy for review.

                               

The 1960's are usually associated with hippies and protests, but all of that was happening toward the end of that decade. The early sixties mirrored the convention-bound 1950's that had come before it to a very large extent.

Readers will need to understand that women in the sixties had far fewer options than they do today.  This is the situation that brought about the 1970's feminist movement.

Protagonist Mary Kaye O'Donnell came from a devout Irish Catholic family who also had limited means.   They couldn't afford to send their very bright daughter to college.  So she chose to become a nun with the reasonable expectation that she might be given the opportunity for further studies through the Church.  Although the Catholic Church wanted those who entered convents to have a vocation, people often made such a decision for practical reasons rather than spiritual ones.

Mary Kaye also had a talent for singing, and she loved jazz.  Her mentor in this area was Sister Michaeline, a jazz singing nun.  Some readers of this review may be saying to themselves that they never heard of a nun like that one.  Since I knew that nuns might come from a variety of backgrounds, I wasn't surprised.  Like Mary Kaye, I began the book thinking that Sister Michaeline was very admirable.  I particularly admired her prison ministry.

Yet eventually we learn about the tragic past that motivated Sister Michaeline's actions, and her deep unhappiness that was caused by serious mistakes.  All the major characters in Blackbird Blues were complex human beings who did things that they should not have done.   I understood why they behaved as they did, but certainly none of them qualified for sainthood.  My feeling is that Sister Michaeline's worst mistake was caused by unacknowledged racism which had terrible consequences for everyone in her life.

Mary Kaye's mistakes were typical for teenagers.  I have always believed that straight A high school students would be smart enough to avoid such pitfalls.  Yet Mary Kay was also remarkably sheltered which went a long way toward explaining why she ended up facing the same sort of dilemmas as many of her contemporaries.  She was fortunate in having an extremely supportive father.  He too had his flaws, but his unwavering loyalty to Mary Kaye made him stand out for me.

Those who are accustomed to the protection of women's choices regarding procreation may be disturbed by the description of illegal abortion in Blackbird Blues.  Considering the current concerted effort to undermine women's freedom of choice in the United States, this is probably the most significant aspect of the novel.

There was something that I learned about Catholic history from a reference to it in Blackbird Blues. Pope Gregory XVI wrote an encyclical banning Catholics from participating in the slave trade in 1839.   There's an article about this Pope and his anti-slavery encyclical that appeared in The National Review.  Since I'd never even heard of this Pope, I found that pretty memorable.

So there is more than one good reason to read Blackbird Blues.  It has really good characterization and significant themes.  I applaud Jean Carney for having the courage to address these themes in her first novel.