1 Dead in Attic

I bought this book after hearing Chris Rose talk about it on NPR. I was intrigued by the title and moved by his commentary. As I recall, he either read in its entirety or discussed "Despair," the account of a "New Orleans girl" who married a man from Atlanta who later committed suicide. Mr. Rose says in his introduction that these are most of the columns that he wrote for THE TIMES-PICAYUNE between August 29, 2005 and New Years Day, 2006. Photographs by Charlie Varley are included with the essays. Mr. Rose ably puts a face on the tragedy of Katrina and captures the sorrows but resilience of the locals, creating portraits of people you will not soon forget: the magnet man, an artist who now collects refrigerator magnets to cover his 1994 Chevy Blazer; the cat lady who never left the city and lives with thirty-four cats; Finis Shellnut who supplies fine frozen steaks from a freezer in the abandoned Antoine's to the California National Guard et al. In another corner is Rev. Bill Shanks who apparently believes that "God in his mercy" purged New Orleans of Mardi Gras, "Southern Decadence and the sodomites, the witchcraft workers, false religion." Mr. Rose reminds the reader (and Reverend Shanks if he read said column) that the French Quarter, where all these abominations took place, was left pretty much intact by Katrina.

In every essay both Mr. Rose's love of New Orleans and his humanity shine through. Don't you have to like a man who gets through airport security a satchel full of naked Barbie dolls for his daughter who is staying with relatives in Maryland; who pounces on someone who throws litter out of his truck window; and who under cover of darkness loads up a refrigerator that a yahoo has left on the street corner, fully aware that the dump trucks have already been by, and deposits said frig on the "offender's" front steps? Finally in the last essay in this collection, "Tears, Fears and a New Year," Mr. Rose tells of the first time he went back to a Winn-Dixie after it re-opened, where he had lifted a bottle of mouthwash "during the Days of Horror," when he attempted to explain to the cashier that he wanted to pay for a bottle of mouthwash but leave it in the store. "'I get it, baby,' she [the cashier] said, and she gently took the bottle from my hands and I gathered my groceries and walked sobbing from the store."

If Mr. Rose's columns are not now syndicated, we can only hope that they will be soon. He would make a welcome addition to any editorial page.

I liked Chris Rose's columns before Hurricane Katrina, but now I have a whole new level of respect for him. During my extended evacuation from New Orleans, I read his columns to remind myself that I wasn't losing my mind - or rather that if I was, I wasn't alone. Once he published "1 Dead in Attic" I immediately sent a copy to my family in the Northeast, who I knew felt for me but couldn't relate to how I was feeling. Chris Rose explained it so much better than I ever could.

One of my favorite articles is "Mad City". When it was published in the paper, I gave copies to everyone I worked with. Then I emailed it to everyone I knew (subject line: "It's not just me...")

If you really want to understand what day-to-day life has really been like for New Orleanians since the storm, get this book as soon as possible.

I myself am not a reader. In the last 17 years the only thing I have read is childrens books to my kids at bedtime, however I do purchase documentaries and bibliographies from time to time for my dad and husband but this one was for me. I was in New Orleans this week and happened into the gift shop at Ochsner Hospital and while checking out noticed the book laying on the counter and curiosity got the best of me. I had some time later that afternoon and decided to skim through the first few pages to see what it was about. I WAS CONSUMED. I literally read the book for 3 hours straight until my eyes were hurting me and I could hardly focus on the words. I went to supper and when I came back, picked it up again and finished it all.

Each page made me yearn for more. The reading is easy and the personal passion that he writes with is beyond description. My family too was affected by Hurricane Katrina, nothing like those of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, actually blessed is a more accurate term. Geraldo nor Anderson Cooper can hold a candle to the description and personal stories that Mr Rose shares in his book.

If you are even a little bit curious about what the people of New Orleans went through, buy this book. I assure you that you will see the tragedy of New Orleans in a whole new light.

"1 Dead in Attic" is a collection of post-Katrina columns from the "Times-Picayune" in New Orleans. The author's eye for the odd detail, the stark eloquence of his to-the-point prose, his gift for finding dire humor in dire times, and his amazing lack of self-pity create gripping dispatches from what Rose calls "the Big Uneasy." Rose's writing makes the devastation more real, more personal, than ever before, and his love for New Orleans -- a place I don't much know -- is infectious.

Perhaps the best way to convey my enthusiasm for the book is to share a few passages and let Rose speak for himself:

"I drive around and try to figure out those Byzantine markings and symbols that the cops and the National Guard spray-painted on all the houses around here, cryptic communications that tell the story of who or what was or wasn't inside the house when the floodwater rose to the ceiling. * In some cases, there's no interpretation needed. There's one I pass on St. Roch Avenue in the 8th Ward at least once a week. It says: '1 Dead in Attic.'"

"Katherine [the author's young daughter, staying with relatives in Maryland] asks me about the specific fate of two other friends, Julia and Nadia. I tell her that, truth is, I have no idea what happened to Julia and Nadia. Not a clue. Vanished. They're just gone and we don't know where to or for how long and maybe we'll see them again and maybe we won't."

"Refrigerator clusters have started appearing all over the area, as one guy dumps his fridge on a corner away from his house and then -- like iron shavings drawn to a magnet -- suddenly there are five appliances on the corner, then 10, then 15."

"Out in a Kenner neighborhood where I often take my kids to look at spectacular holiday light displays put on by the rich folks, many of the houses are gutted. But the FEMA trailers parked in the front yards are decorated with twinkling white lights instead. * It is both the saddest and most beautiful thing you ever saw."

"Today in New Orleans a traffic light worked. Someone watered flowers. And anyone with the means to get online could have heard Dr. John's voice wafting in the dry wind, a sound of grace comfort and familiarity here in the saddest and loneliest place in the world. * It's a start."

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Note: Part of the proceeds from the book will go to New Orleans charities.

I'm an advid reader of Chris Rose in the Times Picayune. First let me say this is not a depressing book! It is as if one is reading Mr.Rose's personal journal. It was everything I hoped it would be. If you want a daily account of life in this wonderful city after the levees broke PLEASE READ THIS BOOK FIRST. It is how they survived a nightmare in the days, weeks and months after the storm. It brings to light things we all take for granted in life, that the media could not cover. A personal account by a man who loves New Orleans and lived thru something terrible. This book is historical and I highly recommend it if you are interested in New Orleans.