Louisiana Books

Part of the "Voices of the South" series published by Louisiana State University, "Come Back Lolly Ray" is an elegantly-crafted psychological exploration of the secrets, hopes, failures and sterility of small-town Southern life in the 1950s. The author, Beverly Lowry, writes with extraordinary precision and care; she creates both mental and physical landscapes so precisely etched and meticulously envisioned that the reader often will take pause to reflect on the numerous possibilities engendered by these emotional and environmental landscapes. This novel deserves a very wide audience.

Darwing on several established literary traditions, Ms. Lowry uses a central character (Lolly Ray Lasswell) to permit us to examine the texture of life in the ironically-named small town of Eunola. Reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" and of William Faulkner's Southern charcterizations, "Come Back Lolly Ray" mercilessly dissects the lives of the citizens of this emotionally barren city. Lolly Ray, virginal and untouchable, comes to represent, unwillingly and unknowingly, the ultimate symbol of white Southern purity. Her "abandonment" of an unspoken compact with the town propels the plot of the novel. Her parents, Frank and Lucille, symbolize the terrible tensions and unresolved conflicts not only particular to the white South in the 1950s but to unfulfilling marriages regardless of time or place. Other characters, whether they be the town abortionist or the village idiot, the elegant-gone-to-seed cotton aristocrat or the slightly-touched matriarch living in isolation with happy abandon, are sketched with evocative detail and unusual empathy.

Above all else, however, "Come Back Lolly Ray" is a writer's novel. Now a professor at George Mason University, Beverly Lowry demonstraters, on every page, a profound respect for the written word. Lush with visual and emotional imagery, her novel requires patience. For those who can afford a provocative and disturbing view of small-town life and who do not feel the need to rush through a novel whose themes have been explored countless times in our national literature, "Come Back Lolly Ray" will remain in their memories long after having read the book.

The new Amazon format forces the reviewer against his will to assign the numerical evaluation.

"Carpetbaggers", as generally understood, is a term of opprobrium applied to civilian Yankees who invaded the South after the Civil War in search of political and economic opportunity.

There was another class of migrant not as well known; men and women who moved North to create new lives and careers among their former enemies. Some failed, but many remained to succeed brilliantly, enriching the entire nation and serving as ambassadors of reconciliation.

Professor Sutherland's graceful prose style lends itself admirably to their story.

Photos, bibliography, appendices, index.

An easy to read book with a tremendous amount of detail not only about Daniel Pratt and his business but about the town of Prattville that was named for him and the inhabitants of that town during the time period from 1835 until the 1870s. Exhaustively researched, footnoted and indexed this book is a treasure for all who want to see a view of the South contrary to the popular agarian stereotype. Historians as well as genealogists will find this a wonderful resource.

When I lived in New Orleans I met the women that wrote this cookbook, and let me tell you - this is true "Nawlins" cooking. It has the best and easiest recipes for gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffe and more. Yummy food, with great little stories and comments accompanying each recipe. You can't go wrong buying this - but don't expect any leftovers!!!)

This book is simply stunning. The first poem alone is worth the price of purchase.

Loved the cookbook. Recipes are creative and delicious. I highly recommend this book for people who like their food slightly spicy to super hot. Dave also has a great writing style and sense of humor, which make this cookbook fun to read.

Outstanding!!!

CREATING THE BIG EASY: NEW ORLEANS AND THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN TOURISM, 1918-45 is especially important today as the city struggles to rebuild and redefine itself. It's a survey of tourism-based development and the cultural and economic forces that transformed New Orleans from a port to a national tourist destination. Urban development, historic preservation and taxes along with the city's efforts to promote its cultural heritage to outsiders makes for an in-depth survey on how visitors are enticed by an image of an urban area's past and present. A 'must' for any who would understand the roots of modern New Orleans' development and the task at hand for rebuilding it.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

My wife and I love this book. Every recipe we have tried is fantastic. Every recipe has a picture that shows the final dish. The quality and binding of the book is the best I have seen.

This photoreproduced volume of the original 1885 edition is an historical work of some local importance -- the second collection of Creole recipes ever published. As hundreds of civic groups have done since, the thirty-two ladies of the still-existing Christian Woman's Exchange compiled this book as a money-raiser so they could buy or build a permanent roof over their heads. "The recipes which make up the collection," they assured the reader, "are the contributions of housekeepers experienced in the science of cookery as practiced throughout the South, and more particularly as it is understood and applied by the Creoles of Louisiana." Their effort was quite exhaustive and the result, 120 years later, is a still perfectly usable recipe book -- many of them are in regular in the public cooking demonstrations at the Hermann-Grima House in the French Quarter, which the Christian Woman's Exchange eventually made their headquarters. It's also a fascinating reference source in the foods and eating habits of our ancestors. Besides okra soup and parsnip fritters (I'll pass), you'll find Sauce Piquante (yum!), Baked Red Snapper, Fried Tomatoes with Peppers, Peach Sherbet, and Roll Jelly Cake [sic]. In fact, there are more than 150 cake recipes. Also a dozen ways to prepare oysters, three dozen pickling recipes, and more than a hundred puddings. It's instructive of the distinction between "creole" and "cajun," though, that you won't find jambalaya, dirty rice, or similar rural staples.

I am Creole (French and Native American). From what my grandparents and great-grandparents had told me about Louisiana of the 19th century -- the collection captures the culture and essence of the Creoles and Creole culture and society of that period. And, nothing is lost in the translation by Norman Shapiro -- keeps the meaning and flow of the language intact.