Growing up in small town Michigan, Martin Dijksterhuis thought he knew everything about what he was going to do with life - run the family business, apple orchards, for his father. His mom had other plans for him - to attend the University of Chicago, her alma mater, and really make something of himself; something that she felt she never did, despite all the opportunities given to her. Everything changed his junior year though when he fell in love. His first love was Corinna Williams, the "Negro" daughter of his father's foreman. His second love, the blues music played by the migrant workers who followed the apples north from Georgia every year.

With the money he had saved up for college, he bought himself a guitar - not just a guitar though, the guitar, the one that first weaved the blues into his heartstrings. It was an ugly thing, but it was good enough for him and the blues. He tried to take Corinna to homecoming, but even his liberal mother was dead-set against it. So instead of joining their classmates, they climbed the water tower and then made love. Martin, had no idea what kind of changes this single moment would set into action. A few months later, Cory was gone, as was Martin's faith in his parents and the world. What follows, is his journey as he followed the call of the blues, tried to find happiness, and at last acceptance for what was, is, and will be.

This is my second Hellenga novel, and while it didn't grab me in the same way Philosophy Made Simple did, it was a well-rendered novel. Set against the backdrop of an explosive time in American history, Hellenga managed to tell a nice story about finding one's self and learning to accept life despite choices that are made, whether good or bad. Perhaps it's because my experiences are so different than those described in the novel, but I just wasn't drawn into the story and the characters lives as much I would have liked. This is not the fault of the author though. For me personally, despite having grown up in a town even smaller than Appleton, I couldn't relate to the characters experiences. I believe it to be more due to the nature of the time period in which the novel was set. I'm not sure that anyone who didn't grown up with the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement can truly get what it was about - nor could an author easily make it come alive. That said, I would still recommend this novel, especially to people who grew up in that tumultuous era. ( )

This is a big book about big issues, beautifully written, sensitively handled. It's about race relations and civil rights from the 1950s through the 1970s. It's about searching for one's place in the world, finding your true vocation. But most of all it's about the power of love. Protagonist Martin Dijksterhuis changes and grows remarkably from age 17 to 37, and he never stops trying to figure out what God - or perhaps fate - intended for him. At first he thought it was all about a girl named Corrina and taking over the family orchard business in southwest Michigan. Then he discovers the blues and his life keeps changing. He learns some hard truths - about his parents, about the world. He loses the girl he loves, then finds her again, years later. But by then too many things have changed. His is a story filled with heartbreak and hard-won wisdom. It's about the way life works out, whether you wanted it that way or not.

Chicago in the mid-20th century is presented from both sides of the tracks, and the music of the era and the Chicago blues scene in particular is lovingly rendered. Robert Hellenga is an artist and BLUES LESSONS is all about black and white, but painted lovingly in every hue with strokes both broad and fine. I read his first novel, THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES, years ago and remember how much I enjoyed it. It's great to rediscover a writer like this. Now I must seek out his other books and read them. I hope Hellenga finds a wide and appreciative audience. He deserves it. ( )

A touching novel about interracial love and blues music. Beginning in the 1950's, young Martin Dijksterhuis finds himself gathering two loves in his life: his best friend, a black girl named Cory, and the country blues of the migrant workers who come to his family's orchard during apple-picking season. A pivotal moment in his life results in Cory's pregnancy, and the decision by his parents to thwart both of Martin's dreams. Cory disappears for years, and Martin later tracks her down to find out that he has a teen-age daughter who doesn't know quite how to deal with the fact of the sudden appearance of a white father. Neither does Martin, but somehow he and Cozy and Cory discover a love that transcends the barriers of society. The only real quibble to the book is that there is not really much mention made of society's barriers, which seems unrealistic in a book that begins in the 1950's and ends in 1974. ( )