Less vampires, more New Orleans
We didn't have much in the way of plans for last weekend, so I pinged my siblings, who told me last minute they were going to the Hester Street Fair, which was a food festival guess where. It was like Smorgasburg, this past summer's obsession I failed to write about during the interregnum, except with more Asian food. When I got there, my siblings were queued for short ribs cooked with marrow, which is the opposite of surprising. (I'd had it at Smorgasburg and it was okay: if it were served with the right wine and the right sides, instead of trying to eat it standing up, it would probably be delicious.) There were two different vendors selling gumbo, next to someone selling fresh beignets and it made me realize I never wrote up my thoughts on books recommended/mentioned in my last New Orleans book post.
I'd heard Barbara Hambly's name before, apparently from TRQ, but I'd never read her Benjamin January books. They were perfect for what I wanted, a story that introduced the realities of early nineteenth century New Orleans and dealt with race relations and "commerce". Her writing is occasionally lyrical and better than I'd expect from a fantasy writer. The main character lived in Paris for a time, during roughly the same period as Alex Dumas, so it was fascinating to hear his musings on the differences between France of the time and Americanizing New Orleans. I liked them very much, but stopped after the second book, because the free man of color who is the series' protagonist put himself in so much danger in each one, my heart was in my mouth and I couldn't stand it any more. I know there are 13 books in the series, so it's unlikely he'll actually be sold down the river or killed, but still. The next one deals more with voodoo, which is one part of New Orleans I'm less into, but maybe I should give it another try. How many times can he get caught by unscrupulous slave dealers anyhow?
Poppy Z. Brite's Liquor series is at completely the other end of the spectrum, being about poor white chefs in the 21st century. It was also so amazingly what I wanted to read, I shoveled them up as fast as I could and bought two books of short stories just so I could strain out a little more time with the characters. (Almost every book I read comes from the library or borrowed from friends, so this is actually huge.) I so want to go to the restaurant featured in the book, with the gimmick that every dish is made with alcohol. PZB apparently also has a sordid history of writing vampire fiction and I wish she'd had the courage to avoid the mysteries in each of the novels, trusting that her insider's knowledge of restaurant kitchens - and yat life - would be enough to hold the reader's interest, because the mysteries were a bit over the top. The novellas and short stories suggested she had plenty of material to do so. Unfortunately, it seems that due to some issues with her publishers, there will be no more in this series, even if she hadn't retired. It was also interesting to read the short story collections because she calls out in the introduction that some of those stories are about an alternate universe her, one who is the coroner of New Orleans and also a dedicated foodie. It's also very interesting to read her take on a gay male relationship, given that she transitioned after writing the last of these books.
Intimate Enemies is on many lists of books to read before visiting New Orleans because it is the biography of the woman responsible for quite a bit of French Quarter architecture and probably gives quite the introduction to townie Creole society at its inflection point. I should be fascinated by it, because she lived in both France and New Orleans, and the first chapter was an interesting introduction to turn of the century New Orleans. Also, her father-in-law shot her multiple times and killed himself afterwards. Alas the book is over 400 pages - in part because the author wanted to show all her research - so after reading the last chapter, which includes the disposition of her will, which suggested the book would be about family squabbles, I gave up.
I'd heard Barbara Hambly's name before, apparently from TRQ, but I'd never read her Benjamin January books. They were perfect for what I wanted, a story that introduced the realities of early nineteenth century New Orleans and dealt with race relations and "commerce". Her writing is occasionally lyrical and better than I'd expect from a fantasy writer. The main character lived in Paris for a time, during roughly the same period as Alex Dumas, so it was fascinating to hear his musings on the differences between France of the time and Americanizing New Orleans. I liked them very much, but stopped after the second book, because the free man of color who is the series' protagonist put himself in so much danger in each one, my heart was in my mouth and I couldn't stand it any more. I know there are 13 books in the series, so it's unlikely he'll actually be sold down the river or killed, but still. The next one deals more with voodoo, which is one part of New Orleans I'm less into, but maybe I should give it another try. How many times can he get caught by unscrupulous slave dealers anyhow?
Poppy Z. Brite's Liquor series is at completely the other end of the spectrum, being about poor white chefs in the 21st century. It was also so amazingly what I wanted to read, I shoveled them up as fast as I could and bought two books of short stories just so I could strain out a little more time with the characters. (Almost every book I read comes from the library or borrowed from friends, so this is actually huge.) I so want to go to the restaurant featured in the book, with the gimmick that every dish is made with alcohol. PZB apparently also has a sordid history of writing vampire fiction and I wish she'd had the courage to avoid the mysteries in each of the novels, trusting that her insider's knowledge of restaurant kitchens - and yat life - would be enough to hold the reader's interest, because the mysteries were a bit over the top. The novellas and short stories suggested she had plenty of material to do so. Unfortunately, it seems that due to some issues with her publishers, there will be no more in this series, even if she hadn't retired. It was also interesting to read the short story collections because she calls out in the introduction that some of those stories are about an alternate universe her, one who is the coroner of New Orleans and also a dedicated foodie. It's also very interesting to read her take on a gay male relationship, given that she transitioned after writing the last of these books.
Intimate Enemies is on many lists of books to read before visiting New Orleans because it is the biography of the woman responsible for quite a bit of French Quarter architecture and probably gives quite the introduction to townie Creole society at its inflection point. I should be fascinated by it, because she lived in both France and New Orleans, and the first chapter was an interesting introduction to turn of the century New Orleans. Also, her father-in-law shot her multiple times and killed himself afterwards. Alas the book is over 400 pages - in part because the author wanted to show all her research - so after reading the last chapter, which includes the disposition of her will, which suggested the book would be about family squabbles, I gave up.