Trumpet

TRUMPET

by Jackie Kay

 

Nominations: Dublin Finalist 2000, Women’s Prize Longlist 1999

 

Date Read: February 10, 2023 

 

Millie is a beautiful girl who meets the love of her life in a jazz club – the musician, Joss Moody. When we meet Millie, Joss has just died and she is at sea. Their courtship was strange in that Joss didn’t make a move on Millie until several months after they started dating. When they slowly became intimate, she realized Joss had taken his time because he was trans. By this point Millie was so in love with him that it didn’t faze her at all.

 

Millie’s family rejected Joss, not because he was trans since no one ever had a clue, but because he was black. Because they were unable to have children of their own, they adopted Coleman, a black kid from their native Scotland. When Coleman was about 6, the family moved to London. Around this time, Joss began gaining in popularity for his trumpet playing and ultimately became famous. Would this have happened had Joss been a woman?

 

Upon Joss’ death, his secret came to be known publicly since the medical examiner issued his death certificate as a woman. The scandal of this was known far and wide. Those who clearly have no understanding or respect for trans people kept referring to Joss as a “she” but those who knew him in life always respectfully referred to him as “him.” When I would read “she,” it incensed me to no end.

 

Sophie Stone is a journalist who is working with Coleman to ghost write the biography of Joss. Coleman, never particularly close to either of his parents, feels betrayed and humiliated. As he researches his father’s background for the book, he begins to see a different side to his dad. I don’t believe he ever fully understood why his father lived his life as a man but he began to understand his father’s point of view. The growth of this character was fulfilling, but of course not as much growth as one would hope for.

 

I have had the privilege of reading a couple of books lately with trans characters that have been really eye opening. I have always accepted trans people because I can totally believe that in the vastness of human experience that this can and does occur. Equal rights and equal access to healthcare should never be in question. But I never fully embraced the idea of what it must feel like to live every day in a body that humiliates you and betrays you. I cannot imagine how utterly devastating that must be. Then, for extra shits and giggles, the world tells you that you’re crazy and that doctors shouldn’t have to treat you. Some politicians are going out of their way to make life as difficult as possible for the trans community because they are afraid or lack understanding. I am utterly disgusted and bereft.

 

Jackie Kay did an amazing job here of conveying the grief of Millie, the fear of Joss being discovered, of Coleman’s resentment towards his parents and of Sophie’s complete shallowness and bottom feeding of scandal. Each character was so thoughtfully written and beautifully developed. I am now a super fan.