“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand . . .”
—Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke
In an iPod infused era where many people’s memories seem to be recalled as their own personal music videos, Ferentz Lafargue, a brilliant young professor of African American studies in New York City invites us to dance with him through true tale of love lost and memories recalled, all set to the tunes of his youth.
Ferentz plays the role of narrator and DJ, cross-fading back and forth between a Haitian immigrants coming of age narrative where reflections on family, friends, love, and spirituality are set alongside meditations on a variety of artists and songs from the last thirty years. The book begins with the days of “craying”—“that sorrow-laden blend of crying and praying delivered in perfect pitch by those in mourning”—when Ferentz happened upon Stevie Wonder’s 1976 classic double album Songs in the Key of Life after his fiancée ended their engagement.
He then invites us to get cozy and listen as he hits PLAY on meaningful tracks from Wonder and others, including Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, LL Cool J, Bruce Springsteen, Beenie Man, Sheryl Crow, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Black Sabbath.
In the tradition of Nick Hornby’s Songbook¸ these words paint a portrait of a life framed by sounds, allowing all of us to think about what songs have been key in our own lives.
Ferentz Lafargue earned a joint PhD in African American and American Studies at Yale University and is an Assistant Professor of Literature at Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts. He lives in Brooklyn.
Published by Harlem Moon
a Random House imprint