The vagabond lover

Description

Granada in Flammen by Ludwig Huna is a novel. From the opening provided, it reads as a Jazz Age coming‑of‑age tale centered on shy freshman Rudy Bronson, whose string of campus failures hardens into a fierce resolve to become a saxophonist. He navigates humiliation, a risky night at a roadhouse, and the beginnings of romance and loyalty as his more worldly friend Sport O’Malley pulls him into escapades that ultimately steer Rudy toward starting a band back home. The opening of the novel follows Rudy as he’s expelled from the university after flunking out, largely because he’s poured himself into practicing the sax only to bomb a public tryout. His irrepressible friend Sport drags him to a roadhouse, where a ruse gets Rudy billed as a star pupil of a famous sax man and he’s pushed into a mortifying solo; the night then spirals into parties, a meeting with the owner’s daughter Molly (who detests drinking), and Rudy’s discovery of a planned liquor hijack. When the proprietor won’t listen, Rudy and Sport chase down the truck and brawl with the hijackers—only to learn the police sting was set with ginger ale as bait—and Rudy nearly takes the blame to protect Molly and Sport. Afterward, Rudy sings unseen outside the window of his campus crush, heads home chastened but undeterred, lands a soda-fountain job, and throws himself into forming a local dance band with Sport, where first rehearsals show promise—and sharp criticism—as his resolve to improve hardens. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects

• Love stories
• Impostors and imposture -- Fiction
• Musicians -- Fiction
• Band directors -- Fiction
• PS