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Guest ii

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I was wondering if any of you know any books taking place in the South, New Orleans and so on? I'm in the mood for some creole atmosphere... So any ideas, anyone? Thank you!

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ii, you might like to check out this article, which seems to give some pretty good recommendations. Of the books mentioned, I have A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole on my bookshelf and it really sounds like an excellent read.

 

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what you choose.

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I read A Confederacy of Dunces a few years back. I was really looking forward to it, but to be honest I thought it was a load of over-rated twaddle.

 

But don't let that put you off .....

 

Vampire fans of my acquaintance swear by Anne Rice, but I've never read any of her work myself.

 

And another thing - William Gay's Twilight is supposed to be a good old slice of Southern Gothic. That's one that is on my list to read (if anyone wants to buy me a Christmas present ....)

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The Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris is set in the South. If I remember correctly, I thin part of one of the books happens in New Orleans.

 

Part of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles also happens there (I think - it's been a LONG while, so I'm not definite about that).

 

How strange - both vampire series'. Hmmm!

 

Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming (my favourite Bond film and the only Bond book I've read) has part of its action take place in New Orleans.

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I read A Confederacy of Dunces a few years back. I was really looking forward to it, but to be honest I thought it was a load of over-rated twaddle.

 

But don't let that put you off .....

 

Oddly, that's almost exactly what I thought - even to the point of "don't let it out you off". Because so many people that I trust loved it, give it a chance.

 

Although to me it was a bloated mess with no structure or style or direction...

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Put me in the pro CoD camp.

 

But meanwhile the Bloomsbury GoodReadingGuide to World Fiction suggests the following for the South of the USA:

 

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Ballard of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty

Property by Valery Martin

A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Modern Babtists by James Wilcox

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J Gaines

Tourist Season by Carl Hiaason

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe

 

Regards,

 

K_S

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She's gone country! :006::welcome:

 

*laughs so much her sides hurt* Wow!! All my friends could have had that reaction, too! Everyone knows I hate nature and the countryside. But isn't creole the upperclass people in the city and cajun the countryside folks, as it would have been said in the old days? Then again, I guess those terms really don't have definitions set in stone...

 

Thank you, Kylie, I'll be sure to check that out. And Roland, Andy, thank you, I might check that one out, too. (My late granddad got me to read The Hundred Years of Solitude by bragging how noone else in the family had gotten through it. So I had so show him off, that he wasn't so special by hving read it. I can't turn down a challenge.)

 

Kell, thank you for your suggestions. I'm not really into vampire stories, which I know will limit the selection, especially since New Orleans is known for voodoo and things like that. And I'd forgotten the James Bond story, I love the movie, though!

 

Thank you, Kenny, I'll be checking those out too. Of course I know few, but there's some new ones. Thank you.

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[quote name=ii;114546 Everyone knows I hate nature and the countryside.

 

I wonder if you lived in England you would be tempted to change your mind. I really dont understand how anyone can make a statement like that' date=' but hey each to his own. You have disappointed me ii[/quote]

 

My sentiments exactly!! I seriously can't understand city life - how can people want all that noise and bustle??? Not to mention not having wide open spaces with plenty of fresh clean air!! Give me England, the countryside and sea air any time!

 

I only know of The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

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I wonder if you lived in England you would be tempted to change your mind. I really dont understand how anyone can make a statement like that, but hey each to his own. You have disappointed me ii

 

My sentiments exactly!! I seriously can't understand city life - how can people want all that noise and bustle??? Not to mention not having wide open spaces with plenty of fresh clean air!! Give me England, the countryside and sea air any time!

 

I don't think it would make any difference which county I'd live. Finland, for example, has quite possibly the most beautiful nature in the world, and I still don't like it. I can do the archipelago for a day or two, but that's stretching it, and requires electricity and running water and phone coverage. All in all countryside's just too much dirt and sticks and bugs.

 

In the city you have all the things near you, if you live smartly you don't have to worry too much about the noise and so on, there's other people, you can get things you need when you need it... It's just for free. You're not dependent on schedules and opening hours and means of transportation and weather.

 

Funny how you call me out on hating the countryside and in the same sentence declare how you can't understand why anyone would want to live in the city... *grin* I am disappointed, Supergran, that you can say you're disappointed in me simply because I prefer the civilisation.

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I am surprised no one has mentioned Gone With The Wind, a classic if ever there was one. I am a huge fan of Carl Hiassen, and the swamp features heavily in his books, just not Louisiana Bayou. Also I think Grisham's Pelican Brief is in Louisiana, isn't it?

 

But isn't creole the upperclass people in the city and cajun the countryside folks, as it would have been said in the old days? Then again, I guess those terms really don't have definitions set in stone...

 

Cajun always refers to someone of Acadian descent, those who were kicked out of Canada in the 1700s and migrated south to Louisiana.

 

Creole is a confusing term, usually meaning someone of mixed heritage, often Spanish/French/Indian (as in Native American)/Black and lots of others.

 

Regardless, both cuisines are ridiculously awesome. God, I love gumbo.

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Cajun always refers to someone of Acadian descent, those who were kicked out of Canada in the 1700s and migrated south to Louisiana.

 

Creole is a confusing term, usually meaning someone of mixed heritage, often Spanish/French/Indian (as in Native American)/Black and lots of others.

 

Regardless, both cuisines are ridiculously awesome. God, I love gumbo.

 

One distinction between the two I've heard was that creole was the upperclass white population mainly in cities, and later on also the better-off black people, and cajun was the poorer, inland countryside population. That would coinside with the Spanish/French heritage you mentioned.

 

And you're spot on about the food!

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I could be very much mistaken, it's just one of those tid-bits that have stuck to my brain and have no foundation in real life. Like the information that ants never sleep. But please, do check, I'm curious, too!

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I could be very much mistaken, it's just one of those tid-bits that have stuck to my brain and have no foundation in real life. Like the information that ants never sleep. But please, do check, I'm curious, too!

 

Really? Ants never sleep? That is so cool! :welcome:

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Ok, of the two people I have asked -- BF and BF's cousin, neither knew anything about "Creole city people" vs. "poor Cajun country people". Danny, the cousin, did say that there was some thing between Eastbank and Westbank --

 

The difference between creole and cajun, where as eastbank (creole) "that's east of the mississippi" and Westbank being more cajun.

 

Pam (his wife) is from the Westbank and I grew up on the eastbank and we always looked down to people from the westbank.

 

However, neither of them are of color, so I'm not sure his comment totally applies in this situation. Also, BF's family is French-Acadian. I know a great place where we could do some research though -- maybe we should all make a field trip to the Backstreet Cultural Museum! I've been there and can vouch for the history and really great people:)

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK y'all here ya go....

 

Cross Creek, The Yearling, or any other works by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

 

Rawlings lived just a few miles from my home. I have hiked the park now located at her residence. I can just "feel" her characters and descriptions as I sit on the shore of Orange Lake.

 

She simply is spot on about the culture of this area. When you visit, stop by "The Yearling" restaurant and have some fried 'gator.

 

dan :(

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