The Feast of All Saints

Rating:
Summary: Remembering the Gone and Forgotten
Review: Here - coincidently on this night of All Souls - floating through my brain are thoughts on this Anne Rice novel, which indeed is one of her best.

Before I mention all that this fine novel is, let me state precisely what it is not: It's not a book to be read quickly - for if you are used to reading through things briskly, with the urgent anticipation of the next read always at hand - then this one is sure to frustrate you; It's not an eventful or an adventurous storyline - though A.R. has written quite a few fast-moving tales, this one is slow and meticulous in both movement and detail; There is no absolute line drawn between the hero and adversary in this plot - every character is given a point of view in order to be understood, and elaborated upon until for certain it is understood.

This is a novel unlike most novels. Set in New Orleans before the Civil War, FEAST OF ALL SAINTS is the story of a distinct yet veritably unknown society of people - numbering approximately 18,000 at that time - they were the free people of color. Free people of color were individuals of white and black mixed blood. They were a fragile society made up of those hovering between the established white population and the slaves. The unique and complex city of New Orleans gave this well-educated and interesting group of people a place in which to flourish. In fact, Voodoo queen Marie Laveau was a free person of color. Inarguably, her life has already been explored in works of both fact and fiction. Yet in this well-researched novel, Anne Rice brings to life fictional characters and gives such insight into the lives of these fascinating people as has likely never been seen.

The protagonist, Marcel, is an adolescent whose parents are Phillipe, a wealthy & prominent plantation owner with a family outside New Orleans, and Cecil, his mistress, a free person of color. He is blond and blue-eyed, but with distinct African features - "combined in an unusual way that was extremely handsome and clearly undesirable." Marcel's younger sister Marie, however is dark-haired, beautiful, and could pass for a white person.

Marcel is growing up assured of the knowledge that his father will send him to Paris to be educated as soon he is of age. Christophe, an author and free person of color who has been educated in France, becomes his mentor when he returns to New Orleans to open up a school. He also has two close friends - Richard, son of a wealthy undertaker, and Anna Bella. With every person in his life, there is a uniquely complex relationship.

This, I must say, is very much a coming-of-age story. Yet - it rises above even that as it intertwines like a patient kind of poetry the feelings of isolation wrought from being misunderstood. It gives credence to the certainty that there can actually be drawn from within the soul of a person (and that all people possess certain qualities of the Saints) that which can overcome even the most intense adversity.

This was only her second novel - after INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. As in her first book, her characters are insatiable in their quest for meaning to their existence, yet are isolated from society. This novel differs in that Marcel is not left with feelings of desolation as was Louis. Marcel seems in all respects to be much more further evolved - which in so many ways reflects the spirit of this fine author - for this protagonist grows to be able to envision the many possibilities his future holds.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: The Feast of All Saints was an excellent book! It truly depicts the lifestyle of the Free People of Color in Louisiana. I am an avid Anne Rice reader, and in this novel she again demonstrates her amazing talent. Anne Rice uses such descriptive language in her writing, making you feel that you can almost see the action happening before your eyes as you read. She incorporates all of the senses into her writing. She describes taste and touch, sound and smell, along with what is seen. Anne Rice writes like a poet, and I believe that it is her flowery prose which has caused her to gain such a large following. This book is a bit different from others that Rice has written. She usually incorporates the supernatural into her tales, yet The Feast of All Saints is based upon actual events in history. One item that has remained consistant with Rice is the setting of her books. As with several of her previous stories, The Feast of All Saints takes place in New Orleans. This must be an area of particular interest for Rice, for it is the location of many novels she has written. The Feast of All Saints, in conclusion, is a superb work of art. A must read for those who love Anne Rice already and also for those who are interested in history.

Rating:
Summary: Anne Rice at her best
Review: I knew nothing about the topic before I read the book. I bought "The Feast of all Saints" because I enjoy the author. I was expecting to be entertained for a few hours & I ended up also learning some interesting history & sociology facts.
This is one of Rice's better researched & better written novels. I would highly recommend it.

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Summary: An old favorite of mine (and Rice's best, IMHO)
Review: This book, along with the Baroque Italian novel _Cry to Heaven_, are curiosities among Anne Rice's oeuvre-- straight-up historical novels without any supernatural elements. And despite the lack of vampires, despite the fact that the only "witch" in the book is a madam pretending to practice magic, I firmly believe that _Feast of All Saints_ is Rice's best work. I first read it six years ago, pulling an all-nighter because I couldn't bear to put it down, and I reread it every year or so.

_Feast of All Saints_ is set in antebellum New Orleans, among a subculture known as the Gens de Couleur Libre (Free People of Color). They were people of mixed race, descended from white planters and their black mistresses. While their lives are circumscribed by myriad rules, and they are forever considered second-class citizens, they have also grown complacent about the ways in which they are fortunate. Perhaps the most shocking thing I learned from this book was that the Free People, conveniently forgetting their own heritage, often kept slaves. Sometimes the slaves were even blood relatives of their owners. One of the best themes in the novel is the character Marcel's realization that he is luckier than he believes. It was an accident of birth that he was not born the legitimate heir to his rich white father. But it was also an accident that he was not born into the unsung ranks of the field hands. Rice paints a vivid portrait of this society, with its complex rules, strange bigotries, and dreams--a society where looking a little more black or a little more white than your peers might make all the difference in the world.

But lest you believe this is just a Stuffy Novel about Deep Social Issues, it's also a darn good story. Rice illuminates the society through the eyes of four young people growing up and coming to terms with it. Marcel, intellectual and arrogant, dreams of the artsy life in Paris--but must learn to come to terms with himself in New Orleans. Richard's parents have built an elegant, polite bourgeois dynasty--but Richard will have to give up his true love if he wants to inherit it. Anna Bella, pitied for her African features, is sold into a liaison with a white man who loves her but can never acknowledge her publicly. And quietly intense Marie, considered beautiful because she looks white, is pushed toward a career at the quadroon balls, where she can make her family's fortune--but lose her self-respect. These four engrossing characters, plus many more, struggle to find self-respect and love in the face of all the rules. Reviewer "odilon" is right--the line "You are coming with me. Now." is the finest moment of this book, the words thundering through the characters' world. You'll be pumping your fist in the air and cheering, or crying, or maybe both. (I seem to remember I accidentally woke my roommate up the first time I read that scene.)

Another reviewer complains of Anne Rice's misogyny. I'm tired of it too, but it isn't really evident in this book. The female characters, even the contemptible ones, are as well fleshed-out as the males. I don't really mind if some of the women are unsympathetic, as long as they're not cardboard. Some of the most fascinating characters in _Feast_ are women.

Rating:
Summary: stunning, a true glimpse into the lives of the free mullatto
Review: I have loved Ann Rice since my first encounter with her books. I read first Exit to Eden then Belinda, The Vampire Lestat and many more. I have not been touched by a book as I have been with this book. As a well read West Indian woman I was impressed not only with her acurate portrayal of New Orleans, I was blown away by her extensive knowledge and reference to the Haitian revolution the time period and the effects on the Mulatto class in New Orleans. I honestly could not put this book down and devoured it in two days. I tend to read at least 5 books at once but this I had to give exclusivity to.

Again Anne Rice has out-done herself, I'm now reading the Pandora series but I know that I will re-read Feast of All Saints over and over. Bravo Anne again you have blown me a way with your talent. RDC

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Summary: No vampires. A tale of New Orleans Creoles
Review: When I visited New Orleans for the first time a few years ago, I took a walking tour of the Garden District that included Ann Rice's house (complete with black limo outside). I also noticed small outbuildings that were referred to as 'garconierres.' When I questioned their purpose, I was told that boys were housed away from the main house in order to sow their wild oats in private. They were encouraged to eat, drink, be merry, take mistresses, and generally get the devilment out of their systems before adulthood and the need to marry, begin a family, and take over their fathers' businesses became expected of them.
The Creoles played a large part in this aspect of New Orleans society, and our tour guide said the best novel detailing all the permutations of Creole life was this one, Ann Rice's The Feast of all Saints. So I bought it.
Like all of Rice's books, it's overly long and wordy: I understand it's part of her contract with her publishing house that they will not edit out or change one single word of her manuscript as submitted. That's a shame, because I feel this would have been a better book if it had been a shorter book. I found myself skimming whole pages in places.
Nonetheless, it's a terrific 19th Century story of the gens de couleur libre, or the Free People of Color who were destined to be a distinct race caught between two worlds: slaves and owners. It was the Creole women who frequently became the mistresses of the white men. Descended from a mixture of races including African, French, and Spanish, they played (and continue to play) a unique role in the history of New Orleans.
At its heart, The Feast of All Saints is a coming-of-age story of Marcel, the child of a Creole woman and a wealthy, white plantation owner who has promised to send him to Paris to complete his education when he comes of age. It's also the story of Marcel's younger sister, who could pass for white; his mentor Christophe, another free person of color, and a few others of his friends. It's a story of struggle against alienation and of complex, intertwined relationships.
It deserves slow and careful reading, for it's rich with detail and passion - but man, it sure is loooong and repetitive in many places.

Rating:
Summary: Anne Rice at her best
Review: I knew nothing about the topic before I read the book. I bought "The Feast of all Saints" because I enjoy the author. I was expecting to be entertained for a few hours & I ended up also learning some interesting history & sociology facts.
This is one of Rice's better researched & better written novels. I would highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming!!!
Review: Once I started reading the Saints of All Feast I kept waiting for a Vampire to enter, but to my amazemet, this story unfolded a lot of unanswered questions about myself and my family. Coming from a great grandfather(who I now know to be a gens de coulerur libres)and my great grandmother who was considered a Negro,I understand their reasoning for migrating from Lousiana to Oklahoma, where I have generations and generations of Creole relations.I also now know why my mother was called the Black Sheep. This is a Beautiful Story. I recommend anyone that has any French Creole in their Blood read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great reading for long winter nights
Review: Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice has almost too much descriptive detail, and made the beginning slow reading, yet it was these details that made me feel I was actually there in the story. The character's physical descriptions were so vivid I could see them in my mind. Their thoughts and emotions were so well described I felt their dreams, their triumphs and their despair as my own. This book was written so that I lived through each of the characters.

This book is written about the "gens de colour" in New Orleans before the Civil War. Though descended from African slaves, they were also descended from the French and Spanish who enslaved them and then set them free. They could own property and pay taxes but couldn`t vote. The laws made them inferior to the whites but they could and did own slaves. They were considered socially inferior by their own relations yet in turn they felt superior to the slaves. It was a complex world and Anne Rice lets us see it through the eyes of the people living it.

Through her characters I also learned to look at things differently. Through Jean Jacques, who taught himself everything he knew, the term "self made man" has more meaning to me now. When Marcel explains the spiritual and material, how he felt all things are alive, I look at material things differently.

I enjoyed this book and while at times it seemed wordy and hard to read it was this wordiness that made it worthwhile. I could read it a second time and get even more out of it. This is what I consider a good book. Every time you read it you learn something new from it.

Rating:
Summary: 600 pages long, but worth every word.
Review: This is a remarkable book. Not exactly an evenful novel, but still facinating to read. I like it because, unlike other Anne Rice books - full of adventure yet often disorganized and unfulfilling - this book recreates a world and simply follows the characters through a segment of the most important part in life - adolescence. Really, just a great great great book!