House on Coliseum Street (Southern Writers Series)

By Shirley Ann Grau

Book Overview

Twenty-year-old Joan Mitchell has lived her entire life in the stately New Orleans house on Coliseum Street, where her mother and half sister have steadily undermined her self-regard. To Joan, her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380899396
• ISBN13: 9780380899395
• Release Date: April 1986
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Southern story of love and revenge (mostly revenge)

Joan Mitchell has been dating safe and boring Fred for quite a while, when she has a fling with the blunt and somewhat more dangerous Michael Kern. She becomes pregnant by Michael and her family rather matter-of-factly arranges an abortion for her. She never tells Fred and they get back together again, though she keeps him so at arms length he eventually gives up on her. Michael's indifference to her having the abortion soon unhinges her, and she seeks revenge against him by scandalizing him to his boss. Grau writes in a very spare style that moves the story (and the reader) along quickly; she avoids any histrionics on Joan's part, which places the emotional response to what she's up to totally on the shoulders of the reader. She does not rely on a lot of description and doesn't feel the need to inform the reader of every incident the characters engage in (the love-making, for example, between Joan and Michael is barely hinted at). Grau is a good storyteller with an interesting knack of keeping the reader focused on her narrative while carefully controlling the emotions of her characters. It's a good novel worth checking out.

Sad journey, psychological treat

Shirley Ann Grau's protagonist Joan Mitchell ventures into an eventful, observable passage after one date. Her loneliness and ongoing existence lead her to realize the essentials in life. The scene settings are done marvelously. A great read=)

A Real Treat to Read

If you like New Orleans and would have liked to be a fly on the wall of one of those decadent mansions in the 1960's, this is the book for you. The book takes you to a different era and may seem dated to some, but one must remember that this book deals with abortion before Roe Vs. Wade and causal sex before the sexual revolution. It is beautifully done and well thought out.