Marie-Helene Bertino takes readers in Philadelphia and introduces Madeleine Altamari, born on Christmas, but devoid of the cheer the holiday spirit brings. She’s angry, motherless, and with a father who rather spends time locking himself up on his room than taking care of his daughter, it may be right to say that this smart-mouthed girl is close to becoming fatherless. This book, 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas, captures the unhappy life of Madeleine along with Sarina Greene, an elementary school teacher, and Jack Lorca, owner of the #2 jazz bar, The Cat’s Pajamas. The relationship and interconnection of the lives of these characters build up a hodgepodge of emotions in this music-induced novel.
Madeleine likes to sing. But it seems that circumstances and people don’t want her to for reasons owing to her dearly departed mother’s reputation and herself being a girl who doesn’t mince curse words, throwing them absentmindedly like a fairy would sprinkle pixie dust on people. Unfortunately for Madeleine, unlike pixie dust, her words gets her in trouble. Most of the time. But this doesn’t stop the little girl from liking music and spending time practicing the shimmy infront of a mirror. She is dedicated.
Complicating the story is her teacher Sarina Greene, divorced and recently moved backed to Philadelphia. She spent one night with high school classmates and reunited with failed prom date Ben, who is separated from his wife. The two eventually spent the night riding a cab, talking in front of a fountain, walking, and eating pears. The conversation that happened covered most bases including going back to their teenage years when Ben was the lad afraid to dish out sweet compliments and Sarina, who used to wear all black, managed to look pretty in a vintage dress but was, sadly, semi-abandoned by Ben on prom night.
And then, there’s Jack Lorca, debt-ridden from maintaining a jazz bar whose self-destructive musicians called the Cubanistas might as well surrender themselves to the police for arson. His main problem? Finding the cash to pay for a 30,000-dollar fine the officer Len Thomas slapped on his face for several violations.
The lives of these people collide at The Cat’s Pajamas on the night when Sarina and Ben decided to hit up the bar, committed and stubborn Madeleine secretly following them to the location for she is dying to go and perhaps experience jazz music live, and Jack Lorca who decided to give up something special to save the bar.
Surrounding these characters are the likes of Mrs. Santiago, who runs a café , owns a dog named Pedro, and looks out for Madeleine. You can smell key lime pie while reading portions of the story happening inside her café. There’s Vince Sherry, owner of a salon called Beauty Land, who promised Madeleine’s mother that he’ll take care of the girl’s hair until she turns 18. There’s Georgie, Annie, and Marcos in the lives of Sarina and Ben. Alex, Louisa, Sonny, Max, and Gus surround Jack Lorca.
Bertino writes in a language that is quirky and mundane. She brings out the struggles of the middle class, the trials and triumps of everyday living, and the defeats and victories people face at the end of the day. Everything takes place in one day, which is a lot to cover when one puts together all these characters and weave their stories under one, overarching story.
It may be disturbing to read about a girl, two days old shy of turning 10, spewing expletives and talking like someone who just hit puberty and teenage angst is getting the better of her. Is it impossible to have a Madeleine in real life? No. Not at all. There are plenty of Madeleines out there – and while their stories do not end up in a bar called The Cat’s Pajamas, Madeleine Altamari is a representative of them. So is Sarina to women who are divorced and have found the reason to go back to their home states to find something new from the old memories. So is Jack Lorca to every struggling entrepreneur finding solutions to financial problems.
There are characters in this story that are only mentioned in one instance and yet, they strike important vestiges in shaping the character that is Madeleine. Vince Sherry and Darla of Beauty Land are two of them. Watch out for the character Ted. I couldn’t quite understand why he was inserted in the story but take special attention on him anyway. You might find the reason that I didn’t.
You don’t finish and put away 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas with clear answers about the mundane questions it laid on the table. Do not expect liberation here; expect to argue with thy self and discuss in your literature circles why Principal Randles is a stiff, oppressed academic or why Jack Lorca didn’t get angry when that priceless Snakehead guitar was broken from a useless, aimless fight.
The book doesn’t explain how the bar got its name. Perhaps you can help me figure out. I may write the author and ask.
2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas is not for those who want straight answers, for this is the type that tells you to read between the lines. If you’re the type who want straightforward answers, read it anyway or better yet, listen to the playlist the author put together on Spotify (you can find the link a few pages after the ending).
Music – jazz as the genre to be exact – is worth the exploration.
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