Ivory Joe
by
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About the Book
Here is a love story that begins with the divorce: a riotous, colorful, nostalgic tale of an unusual girl's coming of age amid the swirling adult world of New York nightlife, with its Runyonesque mix of gamblers, showgirls, and zoot-suited mobsters. Christie Klein isn't fazed by the wild parties thrown by Leo, her utterly lovable, charmingly irresponsible father, while her mother Tina spends yet another night in jail for illegally picketing Leo's Seventh Avenue dress factory. Christie and her sister, Ruthie, are accustomed to the liquor and the smoke, the raucous laughter and, always, the wonderful music. For Christie, music means her mother's newest quest: stardom for Negro singer Ivory Joe in a world dominated by white singers and mob-controlled record companies. By necessity Ivory Joe is a boxer. But by calling he is a heart-busting singer and pianist who practices his craft nightly in dusty back rooms. With his group, the Classics, Ivory Joe is ushering in a strange, pulsating, erotic new music that would come to be known as rock 'n' roll. Through it all, Christie tells us the tangled love story of her parents, who met in a 52nd Street nightclub when Leo came in to shake down Tina's date for an overdue gambling debt. Leo grew up in the Bronx along with other street kids who pushed garment racks on Seventh Avenue before going into loan-sharking for the Mafia. Tina grew up in a shabby Brooklyn walk-up, smart and tough enough to do anything: road-managing Ivory Joe and the Classics in the bitterly divided deep South, succeeding at photojournalism, organizing unions even keeping the affection of an irrepressible rake of an ex-husband. Now, Christie and Ruthie who longingly compares her preadolescent womanhood to the voluptuous nudes on the back of Leo's gambling cards earnestly scheme to put their
In this warm, witty novel set in a more innocent time, 1950s' America, Martyn Burke establishes himself as a writer with a sure voice of his own. Burke's evocation goes far beyond nostalgia: He conjures up unforgettable characters and achingly real personalities who linger long after the last page has been turned.
About the Author
Martyn Burke is a novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books are often drawn from places and situations in which he has been involved. They include Laughing War, The Commissar's Report, Ivory Joe, and his latest novel, the sequel to Ivory Joe, The Shelling of Beverly Hills. His credits as a documentary filmmaker include Connections, powerful expose of the North American and Italian mafia; and Witnesses the award winning behind-the-lines film on the last day of the soviet war in Afghanistan. Other documentaries have ranged in subject matter from street gangs in Los Angeles to the feuds among the Mohawk Indians. He has written screenplays for such comedies as Paramount's Top Secret and The Second Civil War for HBO. He wrote and directed the hit TNT movie Pirates of Silicon Valley which was nominated for five Emmies including Best Screenplay, the Producers Guild award for best film, and the Directors Guild award for best directing. Martyn Burke divides his time between Toronto, Canada and Santa Monica, California.