Louisiana Books

The Vigil is a work about survival amidst alcoholism and the daily struggles of life. I met Ms. Gibson at a literary festival and she autographed my copy of the book. She is a strong poetess and woman, and I would highly recommend reading this book, along with her others.

I have a little bit of a problem with the words 'Modern Classics' usually, but in this case it is appropriate. All five titles are worthy of the prefix.

Midwives is undoubtedly one of the finest pieces of fiction in modern years. Bohjalian mixes suspense with drama to create a masterpiece. Its starts out with a tragic death during labour, which may or may not have been the midwife's fault. As you follow the story through the midwife's daughter's eyes, you discover the truth in what is an interesting finale.

A wonder of translation, The Reader is a fascinating novel of morality and social injustices in postwar Germany, It focuses on the Holocaust through the eyes of 15 year old Micheal, whose older lover Hanna, as it turns out is guilty of unspeakable crimes. Emotional and stirring, The Reader is a must have.

Snow Falling On Cedars is a brilliant mystery set in San Piedro. A Japanese American man is on trial for the murder of a white man. Still reeling from racial distrust, the town is baying for blood, but one man must recover from his own distrust and jilted feelings rooted in his past to discover the truth. Beautifully written and vividly imagined, Snow Falling On Cedars is one of my favourite novels.

Believe the hype, Memoirs Of A Geisha is here to stay. This novel is incredibly popular and rightly so. It uncovers Japan's hidden Geisha trade and stuns us all with its revelations. Through the eyes of Japan's 'most famous Geisha' as we are led to believe, we see it all from the youth up, the training, the social manuevering, the infighting as our very own Geisha struggles with her own morality in her search for happiness.

Cold Mountain is in truth a beautiful love story. Winner of the US national book Award this book is strong, maybe not so as the rest, but entertaining and beautiful in its own right.

And finally, A Lesson Before Dying. Always controversial, this story focuses on a man set for execution. Jefferson is the black man on death row, and as he faces social and racial tensions, his grandmother wishes that someone might teach him to die like a man, and that is where our narrator steps in. Beautiful and poignant, Not to be missed.

So there we have it. Beautiful writing didn't die with Austen, the Brontes and Dickens. 20th century authors may just have what it takes to be classics hundreds of years from now. Read and Enjoy.

A great book, providing a very human view of the development of higher education. Andrew Rice is the perfect vehicle to explore Oxford, Tulane, and several experimental curricular attempts at collegiate education. Reynolds is a gifted writer. Her research is deep, her charactors compelling.

the recipes were superb. Cajun cooking is new to me but I had complete success with each and every recipe. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who enjoys excitement and a zest for life!

My Great Great Grandfather, Private Thomas Quinlan (who is on page 230 of this book)who fought under DeForest with the 12th Connecticut Volunteers, would have been proud of the way in which DeForest's written words immortalize the battles that they fought for future generations to understand just how brutal the Civil War battles were. DeForest describes the battles in such a way that the reader feels that they are there on the battlefield. This book is a "MUST HAVE" for any Civil War library/collection.

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Bruce Clayton's look at Cash is an excellent introduction to the famed author of "The Mind of the South." Unlike Cash's other biographer, Joseph Morrison, Clayton presents a scholarly look at the man and his times. He also offers an execellent review of the book and how it has fared over the decades. While not as intimate as the Morrison book, Clayton is excellent in showing how Cash was very much a man caught in the currents of his time. Suprisingly, considering Morrison was a journalist, the Clayton book is better on Cash's years as a newspaper staffer. This is the best modern look at W.J.Cash and should be read by anyone with an interest in 20th century Southern history.

Ashby Bland Crowder has done a fantastic job recreating the life and times of an elusive novelist, who was at once proud and ashamed of being a Texan. Since his death, William Humphrey's reputation has gone into a tailspin. Crowder gives all the work a sympathetic reading, and makes a case for Humphrey as a novelist of great power and skill, on a par with William Faulkner. The individual readings are extremely lengthy, however, and many readers will skip twenty or thirty pages to get right back to Humphrey's fascinatingly exasperated life. An indifferent teacher (at Bard College) and an Anglophile on the order of Madonna, Humphrey was something of a heterosexual drama queen, often taking offense at minor slights or the converse, trampling over others' individual rights. Perhaps as a consequence, his last days were a nightmare of Kafka proportions, and Crowder doesn't flinch from painting a bleak picture. As a study in contradictions, "Wakeful Anguish" gets it right.

One caveat, I cannot understand those, like Crowder, who downplay the film Vincente Minnelli made of Humphrey's 1950s novel "Home from the Hill." Crowder pegs it as trash, but he should be more sympathetic; indeed, Minnelli's Home from the Hill is wonderful in ways Humphrey's novel never aspires to. Both are worthwhile, and the film is a masterwork.

But don't let that stop you from acquiring a copy of this book, one of the most enthralling literary biographies of the year.

The book was bought as a gift. I only skimmed the contents so I cannot review the book adequately. It appeared to be a complete record of Walker's Texas Division.

...one of the lord's finest men! It doesn't get any better than Stanhope...I mean...I MEAn...how could it get any better than Stanhope?! The man's name has become synonymous with ecstastic exaltation...I mean he symbolizes all I hold dear and virtuous in this sometimes dirty world...trust me, there's nothing better...nothing even compares...this is in its own category, its own stratosphere...orders of magnitude clearer, less perverse, and more shiny than any other...you gotta do it...do it!...please, i beg you, get it done. O'Ransky, progeny of the Bull Even if you don't, make sure someone else does...someone you love...or someone with whom Stanhope could share.