Ask a Bookseller: 'The Half-White Album'

Let’s start off the new year with a debut book that defies genre. John Hoffsis of Treasure House Books and Gifts in Old Town Albuquerque, N.M., recommends “The Half-White Album” by local author and musician Cynthia J. Sylvester.The book is a collection of short stories, flash fiction and poetry, but it’s music that ties the story together. Each of the sections are song titles, and the story follows a fictitious cover band, The Covers. Adding further depth, a Spotify playlist of the songs is available here: The Half-White Album playlisthttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ttMH1JaPQOv3NWBDgcXpE?go=1&sp_cid=41c540636bb734102ecb210e6e717d92&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1&dlsi=7ddb3bf956d64837Hoffsis said Sylvester performs pieces of the book locally with a band, recreating The Covers.Sylvester grew up in Albuquerque and is an enrolled member of the Diné. Written from an urban Native perspective, “The Half-White Album” is a story of dwelling in two worlds, of living and loving imperfectly. This book was awarded 2023 the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for best LGBTQ+ book.

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