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A wild, often horrifying, novel about freaks, geeks and other aberrancies of the human condition who travel together (a whole family of them) as a circus. It's a solipsistic funhouse world that makes "normal" people seem bland and pitiful. Arturo the Aqua-Boy, who has flippers and an enormous need to be loved. A museum of sacred monsters that didn't make it. An endearing "little beetle" of a heroine. Sort of like Tod Browning's Freaks crossed with David Lynch and John Irving and perhaps George Eliot -- the latter for the power of the emotions evoked.
Book Description
Geek Love is the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out–with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes–to breed their own exhibit of human oddities. There’s Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious–and dangerous–asset.
As the Binewskis take their act across the backwaters of the U.S., inspiring fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion; as its members conduct their own Machiavellian version of sibling rivalry,
Geek Love throws its sulfurous light on our notions of the freakish and the normal, the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the obscene. Family values will never be the same.
Customer Reviews:
Geek Love.......2007-10-01
I greatly enjoyed this story. If you like books like Fight Club, you will too. I have a feeling that this is the sort of book that you either love it or hate it. It was a little slow to begin with but I stuck with it to the end and was glad that I did because overall it is worth the read. I liked it so much that I purchased another copy to be shipped to my brother in Florida. This story was surprisingly and refreshingly different. I would advise parents to read it before allowing their teenagers to due to the fact that there is some adult content. I would rate it a P-13 borderline R but some readers may feel differently so don't take my word for it, go read it yourself! I will be looking for more books by Katherine Dunn!
strangely odd , but just as lovely even odder.......2007-06-30
Read this book years ago, and I read it fast not being able to put the book down for a day and half. I had to finish it, and hating that it came to an end. This book has stayed with me for some reason that I can't name. Don't think you are going to read a book about the life of circus folks, you are going into depths that can frightened you and make you throw you head back and laugh all at the same time
A PERFECT DESIGN.......2007-06-22
Okay, if you are on Amazon to look for a new book to read, and decide to read the reviews first, than listen up. Read the "synopsis", see what it's about? Yeah, it's not a novel about Nerds who fall in love; it's a fantastical novel about a family that is designed to be full of horror, wonderment, shock and awe, literally. If you cannot stomach reading descriptions of deformities, or people who are cult followers to the nth degree, or talk of injuries to both body and soul and mind, than do not buy this. If you do, than soon you will be on here reviewing this and saying "it was disgusting, and horrific, and I didn't get it" This book isn't for the faint of heart, or the simpleton who just wants quick read before settling into beddy-bye for the night. You must be able to wrap your head around profound, well written, scarring literature. If you choose this for a readers circle, or book club, make sure that everyone has an open mind, you don't want to choose this and than have a bunch of people look at you like you grew fins and a hunchback.
We all have handicaps, physical or mental. I know that I can personally blame my parents for the struggle and afflictions I have had in my life, they might not have designed me that way, but they sure as heck didn't think before they acted. I fell in love with this book because I fell in love with the sublime mystery of It all, I couldn't wait to see how it unfolded, and how it came to be that Oly was on her own looking after both her daughter and her mother, and neither knew who she was. I will forever treasure this book.
And I'd figured I'd come to the end of being amazed........2007-06-05
"And I'd figured I'd come to the end of being amazed. Run out of it, like you'd run out of sugar. But when I saw you lovely girls I thought to myself, maybe there's more to life yet."
An astonishing, grotesque, sharp-tongued, and lovingly written family memoir and the most entertaining work of fiction I've read in years. Reduced to archetypes, it's the story of a family struggling with its own hubris (a la the Magnificent Ambersons or Royal Tenenbaums) and a meandering reflection on small-town America -- an unsentimental road-trip comedy dotted with soft drawls, murder, prostitution, tigers, telekinesis, a cult of amputees, and lots of security guards. Think Willie Nelson and the Quay brothers collaborating in the milieu of HBO's Carnivale, and you have a rough idea of the premise and aesthetic of the novel.
Though it's thoroughly entertaining, the flaws are stark: at about the two-thirds mark, Dunn steers the storytelling away from a first-person recollection to 'journalist's notes,' a decision which, depending on how you frame it, drags down the pace considerably or is a judicious bit of editing that compresses the formidable challenge of exposition and actually speeds the action. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's there and it gives Dunn the opportunity to drop in a few smart epigraphs that would otherwise have been non sequiturs. Some characters are painstakingly and hilariously dressed but given few lines; while I hoped that some of them would have more presence in the story arc, I know that if my obituary is to be published, I want Dunn to write it.
Something else to keep in mind as you read this book: a majority of the action happens between characters who are children, at most adolescents, in the 20th century. While in the 21st century, I might no longer look upon carnivals or freaks or even acts of extreme sadism in awe, Geek Love reminded me of the thrill of audacity, and that achievement on its own is amazing to me.
One "Freaky" Book.......2007-06-05
This is a tough book to review because it is definitely weird - but not so twisted that you should pass it up. I don't go out of my way looking for books this strange, but I did enjoy it. You would have to know a person pretty well to know whether they would like it or not. It kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out where it could possibly go after starting with such a bizarre premise.
Book Description
DON'T STOP THE CARNIVAL is Herman Wouk's comedy about living out your fantasies on an exotic Caribbean island.Norman Paperman, a successful Broadway publicity agent, has long dreamed of escaping his high-pressure Manhattan life.In a fit of bravado, he chucks it all and buys an old hotel on tiny, primitive, lush Amerigo island.
Customer Reviews:
A delightful splash of reality.......2007-07-27
This is the book for anyone who has considered throwing it all in and running away to the Caribbean. Wouk paints a hilarious picture of a mainlander trying to make it as a resort operator in "paradise." We soon learn that swaying palms and stunning sunsets aren't always what they're cracked up to be. Although "Don't Stop the Carnival" is fiction (right down to the name of island where it takes place) it's a wonderful behind the scenes look at what could be going on while you're basking on the beach sipping your rum punch on vacation. I highly recommend this book.
More suspenseful than I'd expected.......2007-03-02
I finally got around to reading this after years of listening to the Jimmy Buffett musical (which, contrary to what some earlier reviewers seem to think, already exists). I therefore already knew how the story ended, but with a hundred or so pages left to go I was involved enough to hope they'd changed it from the book. No dice, unfortunately, but it's still a far more engaging story than I was expecting.
If you're wondering - as I was - how a story of a guy who buys a hotel could possibly be entertaining, don't worry. I don't know quite how Wouk did it, but he did. The sequence of events sometimes does seem a bit Hollywood-ish, in the sense that you think things can't possibly get any worse for Norman Paperman and friends, but oh look, they just did. For that matter, they sometimes also get better faster than you'd ever expect in real life. Still, the story does draw you in and make you root for Norman to tough it out regardless of what the island and its cast of loony characters throw at him next. Speaking of which, Wouk is a genius when it comes to original yet strangely convincing characters. Even if the action dragged (which it doesn't), the book would be a fun read for them alone.
Through it all, you just might find yourself wanting to run off to the tropics and start life over again too. Perhaps unintentionally on Wouk's part, the Papermans' lifestyle back in New York comes across as so dreary that it's easy to believe Norman would rather cope with disaster after disaster than go home! It is, of course, easier to say that when we're only reading about the big adventure rather than living it. But it does make for a fun read.
It's a 'Fawlty Towers' in the West Indies.......2007-02-11
A very funny and entertaining novel. It slightly recalls the above British TV comedy, but with a self-exiled NYC Jewish Theatre man dealing with a new world for him- a fish out of water. He finds himself among other exiles from America and Europe but who seem to float through their lives there while he is buffeted by constant ups and downs. The story has the feel of the late 50s, and does reference 'the new year' of 1960 at one point. One of the charaters, Iris Tramm, is a failed Californian movie star who, it is implied, may have been a casualty of the blacklisting craze of the early 50s. If they had ever made a movie of this, she could have been played at one time by Sally Kellerman. The comedy turns to tragedy by the end of the story.
Mostly fun - suspend disbelief.......2007-02-02
I just read this after a trip to the US Virgin Islands and it certainly helped prolong the vacation for me. Anyone who has ever unsuccessfully tried to superimpose our northern sense of urgency into any minor crisis in the tropics, such as lost luggage, missing captains, etc., can relate to this book. Set in 1959 (and written in '65 I believe), the book treats such hot topics as inter-racial romances, non-traditional families and ethnic stereotypes with a respect that our society has yet to catch up to, in my opinion.
My only two beefs are 1) at times it was too over-the-top in comic misery - like one of those action scenes that goes on longer than you can even pretend possible, and 2) the very ending is simply out of place and almost a cruel trick - I can't say any more without revealing it.
Fans of Jimmy Buffett's novels will see a likely source of inspiration for Jimmy's writing style in this book.
Entertaining escape from your everyday life.......2007-01-05
If you are looking for an easy, fun quick read this is your book. There were some serious moments, but a great escape book for the beach. I have to admit that I cannot see it as a musical, but with Jimmy Buffett anything can happen.
Product Description
GloomCookies fourth collection, featuring issues 18-23 GloomCookie features an ensemble cast of cursed beauties, living wax statues, bad goth poets, malevolent gargoyles, disturbed werewolves, and a boy struggling to come to terms with his enormous power. The Carnival Macabre goes to war against Marguerite and her evil shape shifting acolytes for their horrific misdeeds against Sebastian and his friends. Beautifully packaged, with special guest pin-ups, and goodies from Serena and Sparx, including lovely paper dolls and well as some deleted scenes from issue #22.
Customer Reviews:
This story needed to be defragmented..........2007-08-19
As usual, a great storyline was told in this book, but unfortunately it is told in bits & pieces instead of one nice steady storyline. There are things that are forshadowed, but when it does happen it lacks the punch that a bit more storytelling would have given it.
Not The best........2007-05-19
This series of books is very hit or miss book one being fabulous and worth every knickle spent and this one being very brief and scattered.
Book Description
Robert Antoni has established himself as one of the most innovative voices to emerge from the Caribbean and the Americas. His ambitious third novel, Carnival, takes us on an expedition that stretches from contemporary New York City to the glitter of Trinidadian Carnival, and deep into the island's mountainous interior. Narrator William Fletcher is an aspiring novelist who has come to New York to escape his affluent West Indian roots. A chance meeting in a Greenwich Village bar reunites him with two of his childhood companions: Laurence and the vivacious and stunning Rachel, William's first love. Together, the three make a liquor-soaked pledge to return "home" to Trinidad for Carnival. The festival starts with passion and pleasure, but the Carnival ecstasy slides into a fog of ganja, alcohol, and the endless calypso beat. As William, Rachel, and Laurence journey to a remote area of the rainforest to "cool down" after the festival, the three hope for a secret paradise, hidden "behind God's back," to begin anew. But even here the demons of history, prejudice, and hatred violently intrude, as the novel's startling conclusion forces them to face both the power-and impotence-of human resilience and human love.
Customer Reviews:
Jake Barnes goes to Carnival.......2006-11-24
Part way through this closely observed, and ultimately depressing, novel, I began noticing an odd affinity for "The Sun Also Rises" which I had not read in decades. Soon it became apparent that this was more than a passing similarity but rather a retelling of the story set in contemporary Trinidad during Carnival, complete with vivid descriptions of food, drink, and in this retelling, drugs, with Trini slang playing the role that Spanish did in the original, adding to the exotic color. (The Carnival setting for retelling the story also recalls Marcel Camus' "Orfeo Negro.")
Having not read the original in a long time, I cannot remember how Hemingway captures the bacchanalian haze into which his protagonist descends, and I not sure if it was Antoni's writing, or my own jet-lag, but pretty soon the endless Caribs and joints did get hazy. This being the 21st century, the remake is more explicit than the original - the putative source of Jake/William's sexual difficulties is not left to the imagination, though the novel is sufficiently open-ended along many dimensions that one is left space to draw their own conclusions. Love does not conquer all, but it would be happy to think so.
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Carnival: The World Of Katsu-Aki
Manufacturer: Graphic-Sha
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 4766117107 |
Book Description
This book features two brand-new short manga by Katsu-Aki and an illustration gallery of his work. Readers also get a first glimpse of a rare early work by Katsu-Aki, produced soon after his debut as an artist and more. In addition, this volume includes the first-ever look at Studio Katsu's new location and an assortment of products guaranteed to make the reader drool with envy.
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Rabelais's Carnival: Text, Context, Metatext (New Historicism)
Samuel Kinser
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0520065220 |
Book Description
How is it possible, after four centuries, that a major episode in Rabelais's novels remains systematically misread? The episode, which playfully and grotesquely treats the relation of Carnival to Lent, occurs in Rabelais's Fourth Book, his last and most artfully crafted novel. Samuel Kinser argues that the text has been distorted because critics have not attended to the episode's performative as well as literary contexts, overlooking the innovative use Rabelais made in his work of his immediate world. In this original interpretation of the Fourth Book, Kinser evokes the gestures, games, and visual, oral, bodily semantics of Carnival and Lent as they were performed in Rabelais's day. He also underscores the importance to Rabelais of the invention of printing, an innovation which revolutionized the relationships of author and reader. Understanding this and fearing it, Rabelais adopted an extraordinary set of disguises as an author, disguises which in their bewildering interplay constitute the truest sense of his carnival.
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Carnival of Rainbows: A Novel of the Pan-American Exposition
Barbara Soper
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1401025021 |
Book Description
Carnival of Rainbows is a cocktail for world's fair enthusiasts. Set at the glittering 1901 Pan-American Exposition, the novel has a strong electrical theme. It focuses on the irony that Buffalo, New York, the city that hosts the Exposition and glorifies electricity as a force for human advancement, was the city where the electric chair was invented.
Return to the breathtaking Rainbow City. Experience one of the most unusual love stories ever told. Watch an aging adventuress take on the thundering face of nearby Niagara Falls. And witness the incredible crime that cast its shadow over a nation and eclipsed the light of the electrical fairyland.
Customer Reviews:
WOW!!!.......2006-02-03
This book is amazing! It has romance, adventure, humour, it's got everything! And, it's good! One of the best, and most accurate, portrayals of Buffalo and its surrounding areas, geographically and emotionally, capturing the whole Buffalo attitude and way of life. As a native, I know. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, although probably at least in eighth grade.
Average customer rating:
- 11 tales of Carnival in the Big Easy
- Pretty good book, but I have a few problems with it
- Not for the faint of heart!
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Mardi Gras Madness: Tales of Terror and Mayhem in New Orleans
Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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Greenberg, Martin Harry
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ASIN: 1581820771 |
Customer Reviews:
11 tales of Carnival in the Big Easy.......2004-08-03
Mardi Gras [French 'Fat Tuesday']
- Shrove Tuesday, celebrated as a holiday with carnivals, masquerade balls, and parades of costumed merrymakers
- a carnival period coming to a climax on this day
- THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY
"The festival of Mardi Gras is a tradition dating back more than 200 years. Its roots can be traced back to the Latin 'carnivale', which means - roughly - 'farewell to flesh'. The premise was simple: a time of great feasting prior to the time of fasting that traditionally begins with Ash Wednesday."
- Davis' introduction
Many of the contributors have taken the 'farewell to flesh' theme and run with undead characters of one sort and another: vampires, ghosts (even the Haunted New Orleans tour), zombies (of course, in the land of voodoo), and wierder entities. Others (sometimes in the same story) have taken the theme of sacrifice, when the king/queen of a festival feted in high style shouldn't make long range-plans.
And, of course, there are the krewes - the societies (ranging from brand-new to very old) that run various Mardi Gras masked balls as well as the parades punctuating the festival. In a city with over fifty such organizations, surely a few may be more than they seem. While the most ancient krewes are traditionally closed organizations - if you have to ask about joining, don't expect to - the younger krewes may be freer with invitations to strangers...
Bischoff, David: "May Oysters Have Legs" Tony Viti considers himself a sophisticated hitman - he's been all over the country, even to New Orleans. Unfortunately, he's unfamiliar with the more creative uses of Dixieland jazz funerals, and didn't know that his target's into voodoo...
Braunbeck, Gary A.: "Down in Darkest Dixie Where the Dead Don't Dance" Pete Russell's calling as a homicide cop broke his heart, bringing him to a suicide's deathbed this Mardi Gras. But death brings him one final case, as a fellow ghost's killers hunt yet again. Russell's hideous flashbacks will haunt readers even as they enjoy his exchanges with the Goth chick whose murder he seeks to avenge ("I'm tired of being hassled by the Man!").
Crowther, Peter: "Songs of Leaving" New Orleans' last festival, as Earth awaits the asteroid 'Fat Tuesday'. But the city has taken to heart the old Cajun adage, "Come the end of the world, we *better* be dancin'...", facing the end with both style and dignity. [The F/SF elements weren't necessary to make this a good story.]
Davis, R.: "Fat Tuesday" Narrator Martin Grant, a freelance writer, enjoys covering the underside of public events; hearing of the 'Vampire John' serial killings this Mardi Gras, how can the man who uncovered the 'werewolf' Times Square Murders resist? But catching the perpetrator seems unlikely: a scant physical description - tall and strong, judging by some of the victims, no hair or fibers left at the scene...
de Lint, Charles: "Masking Indian" (collected in de Lint's TAPPING THE DREAM TREE) Braided format, alternating 1st-person POV of Marley Butler and 3rd-person Wendy and Jilly of the Newford stories. Marley's POV recalls her youth as a runaway "looking for her black roots among the Black Indian tribes that rule the Mardi Gras". Wendy and Jilly find her haunted by memories (?) of her old mentor's ritual costume.
Helfers, John: "Farewell to the Flesh" Seth, like Indiana Jones, recovers stolen artifacts and art objects under exotic circumstances; when we first encounter him, he's preventing a human sacrifice by a Cthulhu-mythos-type cult (Lovecraft's de Marignys, although from New Orleans, aren't mentioned). But Seth loves Mardi Gras for unusual reasons. "After all, there are enough fake vampires roaming around, what's one more, even if I am real?"
Holder, Nancy: "Skeleton Crewe" emphasizes fasting as well as feasting. The anorexic protagonist is out of hospital only after running out of insurance, but for Lent, she's giving up her brinksmanship of spurning flesh for spirit - only to encounter the strangest krewe parade of all.
Lindskold, Jane: "Sacrifice" 'The festival has been explained as a farewell to the eating of meat before the long Lenten fast. It is curious, however, that the places where Carnival has survived most powerfully - even though Lent now requires no more than a token sacrifice - is where living water is most powerful...Farewell to the flesh. Farewell to the body of the girl who will give herself to the water so the water god will not take the city.' The story focuses on Mirabelle, one of the debutantes at the once-in-a-lifetime Bride's Ball from among whom the river's queen will be chosen. [Apart from Mirabelle's courage at facing the unknown, a number of fascinating 'echoes' are sketched in between the Ball and the unconscious tributes paid by the revellers of the surrounding city: the parades, the krewes, the crowned monarchs.]
Rogers, Bruce Holland: Sensation-seeking Andy happily accepts the title "King Corpus" offered by a 'most ancient' krewe with a one-float parade. They offer all the pleasures of the flesh - but at what price?
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann: "The Invisible Woman's Clever Disguise" for the Krewe of Melusine's ball was chosen at the last minute; having been invisible for years, she never expected even junk mail, let alone a mysterious invitation slipped under her door. [The prologue of how people gradually began to look through her as she didn't make time to see others, is *very* clever, without taking the same tack as Silverberg's "To See the Invisible Man".]
West, Michelle: The krewe summoning Susan to Mardi Gras requires only "Faces Made of Clay" for admission to the ball: the ceramic mask accompanying the invitation. Susan's concern is with another mortal clay altogether: the memory of her family, 15 years lost, at whose graves the invitation was delivered.
Pretty good book, but I have a few problems with it.......2002-01-31
This book is great for those of us who like stories with a twist, stories about Mardi Gras, or just plain good reading. Overall, I think it is a great collection of short stories that, for the most part, are entertaining to read.
Here's one of the main problems that I have with the book. If it's a collection of stories about New Orleans Mardi Gras, why do most of the stories appear to be written by British authors? If you look, you'll see some traits of UK vocabulary and spelling, such as using "realise" when a US author would have spelled it "realize". That doesn't give these authors as much credibility to me, but, who really cares?
I think the last story of the book was DEFINITELY the best. If you've ever been to New Orleans and done one of the Haunted History tours, you'll surely recognize the characters in this story. Wonderful!!
Not for the faint of heart!.......2001-04-26
Mardi Gras Madness is a collection of eleven stories by as many authors, the topics ranging from the light-hearted to the macabre. All of the stories are set primarily in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy dark tales of murder and the supernatural. The stories will send delightful chills of terror down your spine, and make you want to sleep with the lights on.
This book would make a good purchase for those with a-- twisted-- sense of humor. All eleven are short stories, but there are elements in many of them that will have you going back to read it again.
One of my personal favorites out of this book was "The Invisible Woman's Clever Disguise", one of the more light-hearted pieces about a middle-aged woman from Portland who discovers she's become invisible, and decides to have a bit of fun. She goes to New Orleans for her first Mardi Gras, where she gets an surprise invitation from a new and rather unorthodox krewe.
Two more of my favorites are "Farewell to the Flesh", a decidely darker tale about a vampire who gets involved with a group of cultists; and "Down in Darkest Dixie Where the Dead Don't Dance", another dark story about the spirits of New Orleans and the ones that return to do their evil work, year after year.
I highly recommend this book, all of the stories are absolutely wonderful!
Average customer rating:
- Good vintage stuff from the pen of a master pulp writer.
- Good vintage stuff from the pen of a master pulp writer.
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The Freak Show Murders (Fredric Brown Pulp Detective Series, Vol 5)
Fredric Brown
Manufacturer: Dennis McMillan Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0960998640 |
Customer Reviews:
Good vintage stuff from the pen of a master pulp writer........2002-09-22
This compilation of six of Fredric Brown's rarer mystery stories is volume number five in publisher Dennis McMillan's Fredric Brown Pulp Detective Series. McMillan did a great service in the 1980's and 90's by reprinting a good deal of Brown's pulp fiction magazine mystery and thriller stories. This is one of the more obtainable volumes from that series. Some of the others are quite rare and expensive. Besides the title story, which is a novelette set in the world of the traveling carnival, or "carnie", there is "Double Murder", "Two Biers for Two", "See No Murder", "Fugitive Imposter", and "Client Unknown". While none of these stories rises to the level of Brown's great novels or classic science fiction stories, such as "Arena", all are interesting period pieces, still readable after 60 years. Each has Brown's trademark unusual twist or ending, and in some, such as the title story and "Client Unknown" one can see the beginnings of some of the ideas and characters that would later become the "Ed and Am Hunter" novels. If none of these names mean anything to you, I firmly suggest that you get a hold of as much Fredric Brown literature as possible and start reading. You won't be disappointed. While the novels are probably the best place to start, this collection is certainly a good intro to the early Brown.
In addition to the stories themselves, all of which were originally printed in Detective pulp magazines in the 1940's and 50's, there is a wonderful introduction by Richard A. Lupoff, a famed writer in various genres, much as Brown himself was. Lupoff examines the direction the mystery story took in America after the pulp influence of Chandler and Hammett, along with Brown's own comments on how he arrived at his ideas and plots. There is also an interesting comment or two on the differences in character development in the short story vis-à-vis the novel. Once again, highly recommended.
Good vintage stuff from the pen of a master pulp writer........2002-09-22
This compilation of six of Fredric Brown's rarer mystery stories is volume number five in publisher Dennis McMillan's Fredric Brown Pulp Detective Series. McMillan did a great service in the 1980's and 90's by reprinting a good deal of Brown's pulp fiction magazine mystery and thriller stories. This is one of the more obtainable volumes from that series. Some of the others are quite rare ... Besides the title story, which is a novelette set in the world of the traveling carnival, or "carnie", there is "Double Murder", "Two Biers for Two", "See No Murder", "Fugitive Imposter", and "Client Unknown". While none of these stories rises to the level of Brown's great novels or classic science fiction stories, such as "Arena", all are interesting period pieces, still readable after 60 years. Each has Brown's trademark unusual twist or ending, and in some, such as the title story and "Client Unknown" one can see the beginnings of some of the ideas and characters that would later become the "Ed and Am Hunter" novels. If none of these names mean anything to you, I firmly suggest that you get a hold of as much Fredric Brown literature as possible and start reading. You won't be disappointed. While the novels are probably the best place to start, this collection is certainly a good intro to the early Brown.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Description of Mardi Gras
- An engaging and highly entertaining work of period fiction
- Nostalgia for New Orleans
- Good Book about New Orleans
- It's not just about Mardi Gras
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Return to Mardi Gras
Richard A. Sherman
Manufacturer: Key Largo Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Mardi Gras Madness: Tales of Terror and Mayhem in New Orleans
ASIN: 0970529104 |
Book Description
A novel in the grand tradition of Michener, Return to Mardi Gras tells everything about Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Some novels contain a chapter about Mardi Gras, always set in the French Quarter. In Return to Mardi Gras half of the novel is set at Mardi Gras, and not only describes Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, but also describes how Mardi Gras is celebrated across New Orleans by the locals. It describes the family nature of Mardi Gras for the locals, and the neighborhood parties along the parade route and across New Orleans.
Return to Mardi Gras is an exciting novel for anyone who has wondered what Mardi Gras in New Orleans is really like. It is a love story and the story of life in the French Quarter, and contains a day by day description of Mardi Gras including the festivities and parties in the French Quarter, Mardi Gras by the locals in the elegant Garden District and the suburbs, the parades, Mardi Gras Balls, Cajun Mardi Gras, street entertainers, and the history of New Orleans, the French Creoles and the Cajuns.
Jim, a 30-year-old attorney in New Orleans has an affair with a strikingly beautiful 22 year old court reporter named Aimee who lives in the French Quarter. He leaves his wife and young son and moves to the French Quarter, and much of the novel describes life in the quaint historic French Quarter. They party in the French Quarter with Craig, a doctor doing his residency in New Orleans who is a playboy; George, an attorney who practices law from his apartment in the French Quarter and stays one step ahead of the Bar Association Grievance Committee; Faye, a single mother living in the French Quarter who is trying to grab all the pleasure out of life she can while she waits for the man of her dreams; and Bill, an attorney from a wealthy family who has trouble holding a hold a job because of his hostility toward authority figures. Together they party in the French Quarter waiting for Mardi Gras because it will somehow give meaning to their lost lives. When Mardi Gras arrives the! things that have been building up all year come to a head.
During Mardi Gras Jim re-establishes a relationship with his three-year-old son while taking him to Mardi Gras parades, Mardi Gras parties, and to see the troubadour street entertainers; jugglers, clowns, musicians, acrobats, pantomines and others in the French Quarter, and has to decide which is the life for him, the carefree hedonistic life of the French Quarter or the family life in the suburbs.
Return to Mardi Gras is also a philosophical novel, and contains symbolism comparing life in the French Quarter with the Odyssey, as well as other symbolism. The most unique and interesting aspect of Return to Mardi Gras is that it paints a true picture of what Mardi Gras is like for New Orleans locals. Whereas other novels might have a brief chapter about the wild Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, this novel also describes Mardi Gras as the locals enjoy it, a family Mardi Gras with parades geared to children and neighborhood parties with friends and family. It is a complete picture of the real Mardi Gras as enjoyed by families in the suburbs and all across New Orleans and southern Louisiana.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Description of Mardi Gras.......2003-02-17
I enjoyed Return to Mardi Gras. I think it does a very good job of telling everything about Mardi Gras. It not only tells about Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, which is what everyone sees on television. It also tells how it is celebrated in the neighborhood by the local people, which is very family oriented. It also does a good job of describing the quaint French Quarter scenery, as well as telling the history of New Orleans.
I live in New Orleans, and whenever people from out of town ask me what Mardi Gras is like, I give them a copy of Return to Mardi Gras, since it describes Mardi Gras far better than I can, and they see a true picture of Mardi Gras.
It is an interesting story about the romance between a conservative attorney and his young uninhibited mistress who lives in the French Quarter, when he moves in with her. It is amusing how they try to work out their different lifestyles, against the backdrop of the French Quarter and Mardi Gras.
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to find out what Mardi Gras is really like.
An engaging and highly entertaining work of period fiction.......2001-08-09
Jim is a 30 year old attorney in New Orleans who is having an affair with a beautiful 22 year old court reporter living in the French Quarter and named Aime. Jim leaves his wife and son and moves in with his mistress. A conservative attorney, Jim tires to accommodate and accept Aime's totally uninhibited free spirit driven lifestyle. All this against the detailed background of Mardi Gras of the 1970s. An engaging and highly entertaining work of period fiction, Return To Mardi Gras is Richard Sherman's debut novel and marks him as a significant literary talent to be looked for in the future!
Nostalgia for New Orleans.......2001-06-22
I thought Return to Mardi Gras was a very good book. I was in New Orleans and went into a book store in the French Quarter and asked if there was a good novel about New Orleans, and they recommended this one. They said it had the history of New Orleans and told everything about Mardi Gras. I started reading it on the airplane going home to Chicago and I wish I had read it before I went to New Orleans or while I was there. It would have made the trip more fun. It not only tells the history of New Orleans but also discusses several things in the French Quarter--restaurants, bars, old historic buildings, traditional New Orleans dishes and drinks, and many other things. I finished reading it after I was home and it made me miss New Orleans. I enjoyed the story too about someone who lives with his girl friend in the French Quarter and during Mardi Gras sees some of Mardi Gras with her and also takes his young son to see Mardi Gras Parades and other Mardi Gras things, and has to decide between them. I won't give away the ending.
Good Book about New Orleans.......2001-05-11
I thoroughly enjoyed Return to Mardi Gras. A friend read it and passed it along to me and I thought it was very good and passed it to another friend. What I really liked about the novel is that it puts you in touch with New Orleans and New Orleans history. It is set in the French Quarter and the writing is so vivid you feel like you are walking throught the French Quarter. There are several chapters about New Orleans history which is fascinating, as well as the history of the Cajuns and Mardi Gras. 200 pages of the novel are set at Mardi Gras and it tells everything about Mardi Gras; the parties, parades and balls and made me want to go to Mardi Gras. The story is about a conservative attorney who moves in with a girl who lives in the French Quarter and is a free spirit, and about how they try to reconcile their differences. I enjoyed her character development and she is quite an unforgettable character. The ending was a surprise and I stayed up late to see how it came out. I would recommend the novel to anyone who is interested in New Orleans or Mardi Gras.
It's not just about Mardi Gras.......2001-03-09
I was expecting a good novel about Mardi Gras. It took about half the book before the parades even started. It's an interesting story, but if you're expecting the plot to be centered around Carnival in New Orleans exclusively you might be disappointed. The book was hard to read because the editing was really bad. Being a Louisiana native, I noticed several misspellings of New Orleans' places and in more than a few instances sentences just don't make sense. That was the biggest disappointment - that a book would get out with these kinds of mistakes.
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