New Orleans Stories: Great Writers on the City

Book Overview

Alive with jazz and tropical flowers, its streets an intoxicating 24-hour party, New Orleans exerts a hypnotic effect on virtually every visitor and resident, but perhaps none have been more susceptible to its exotic charm than the writers who have lived there. From Mark Twain to William Faulkner to Anne Rice; from Kate Chopin to Zora Neale Hurston to Ellen Gilchrist; from Tennessee Williams to Truman Capote to Walker Percy, the authors in this remarkable collection celebrate the city that stirs their imaginations as no other can. Third in our best-selling series of anthologies centered around America's great cities, New Orleans Stories includes not only "literature," but also interviews, ghost stories, and voodoo charms. Perfect for first-time visitors as well as longtime residents, it re-creates the heady, mesmerizing atmosphere of New Orleans itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811800598
• ISBN13: 9780811800594
• Release Date: March 1992
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 1.0" x 1.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A chance to feel the heartbeat of New Orleans through the ages

Andrei Codrescu has long lent his voice to the polyphonous and magnificent chorus of New Orleans writers. In this collection, he captures the mystique, the grandeur, the decay, the beauty & vibrance and the seamy underside of this exquisite city by tying together some of New Orleans' most famous voices in a string of testimonies to its heritage and unique character. Mark Twain and Louis Armstrong give their impressions of life in New Orleans; Anne Rice and John Kennedy Toole evoke fictional characters that could only thrive in this singular city; and historical accounts of its early days give a panoramic view painted in complementary tones. With a dash of voodoo and a heavy helping of the unexplained, this collection really delivers the essence of New Orleans to those already under her spell and those who have yet to be seduced.

Another strong anthology from John Miller.

John Miller has edited a number of anthologies that concern a particular city or region. I've read San Francisco and Cape Cod Stories, and the New Orleans tales are the best so far. The New Orleans stories begin with an explorer's log from 1699 and continue into the 1980s. Unlike the Cape Cod offering, New Orleans Stories doesn't focus too long on any one era or group. The offerings include not only fiction and essays, but journal entries, a selection from "A Streetcar Named Desire," and a list of folk remedies. The book provides a survey of "Southern" writers, without focusing too long on any one entry. Obviously, with this type of book, you will enjoy some entries enough that you will look for other books by that author; other selections will not impress you. Thus, while this book does its job well, it is hard for me to give it a five-star rating (which I reserve for my absolute favorite books). This collection captures the unique character of New Orleans. The voodoo theme crops up a little too often, but its hard to go to New Orleans and not see voodoo themes frequently. If you are one of those people who like to read about the places you vacation, this is an excellent choice.