Patrick Neate

Pinballing around the major cities of the world, from where it all began in the projects of Brooklyn and the Bronx to the excessive madness of Tokyo, from the random violence of Johannesburg, to the shanty towns of Rio, Whitbread Award-winning writer Patrick Neate explores the way how, through hip hop, the potent …

Twelve Bar Blues is a 2001 novel by Patrick Neate, and the winner of that year's Whitbread novel award. The story is essentially about two people who share a common history - Fortis 'Lick' Holden, a cornet player in early 20th Century New Orleans, and Sylvia Di Napoli, a retired prostitute living in modern day London, …