Preview of Blues for Silk Garcia Summary:

There are many questions haunting Linda Ann Garcia, the talented but troubled heroine of this book. Linda's questions center on a mystery man from her past, the father she has never known, the late jazz genius Silk Garcia.

Blues for Silk Garcia is a novel which asks: Is there value in recovering a usable past? With this story, Tamar suggests there is, and that children ought to know the gifts—and the burdens—heredity bestows.

Other questions the author raises concern obligations artists have to nurture their talent, but at what cost?

When the cost involves pain for other people, Tamar draws a line. Blues for Silk Garcia exposes a seamy underside, the all-too-frequent phenomenon that accompanies the glitter of professional jazz. Readers may appreciate the gritty realism, too, in the author's descriptions of life in high school for social outcasts.

Tamar creates believable characters with...