Lives of the Saints: A Novel (Voices of the South)

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous read about New Orleans characters
Review: Great writing made the pages of this book fly by! A slim novel with a fast, almost talkative pace, the book was as much about New Orleans and its eccentricities as it was about the two main characters. The Fiery Pantheon (her latest book) is a great read too. Long live (and long write) Nancy Lemann.

Rating:
Summary: It charmed me
Review: I loved this book (though did have to take a leap of faith and not just get irritated by her beginning words with CAPITAL letters to give them intensity...). It reminded me of the joy I felt as an adolescent reading all the Glass stories by Salinger.

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Summary: Poetic entry into the uniquely bizarre world of New Orleans
Review: Nancy Lemann captures the rythmn and cadence of New Orleans in a marvelous first book. The dawlin' flawed hero and characters come to life with a drama that can barely be borne without your heart breaking or your stomach hurting from laughter. A delight to read and a must for anyone who has fallen in love with the French Quarter or intends to have their heart broken into a million pieces on the floor. I'm stilling searching for a novel to take its place.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: There is more packed into this short novel than many writers pack into a lifetime of writing. Nancy Lehman has created a mini-masterpiece in this tale of yearning for a love that, ultimately, is never expressed to the beloved. This novel is set in New Orleans and, like the Confederacy of Dunces before it, Lives of the Saints draws the reader into a city that is so real it swirls around like the room after a good drunk. Lives of the Saints will make you gasp with delight. Read this book.

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Summary: Life in New Orleans
Review: This book is beautifully written. It clearly favors slice of life scenes over linear plot. She does a wonderful job of portraying the lives of the eccentric upper class in an eccentric city (New Orleans).

Rating:
Summary: Life in New Orleans
Review: This book is beautifully written. It clearly favors slice of life scenes over linear plot. She does a wonderful job of portraying the lives of the eccentric upper class in an eccentric city (New Orleans).

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommend, but not as a romantic tale of lost love.
Review: This is an odd little book. While I was not "blown away" or captivated by the characters, I have been thinking about LIVES OF THE SAINTS a great deal since I finished it. Perhaps I am too practical (or too northern), but I kept wishing that Claude would get professional help. The secondary characters were fascinating and the book is well-written. I felt that Louise was a good narrator but a weak character. Byron and Mary Grace, however, were personal favorites. I highly recommend this book, but don't expect a romantic tale of lost love because I don't think that that's what this gin-soaked book was really about. Rather, I see Claude as a metaphor for the lost dreams/opportunities of the "South" wrapped in the mannerisms and odd brilliance of a gentleman. A good, thought-provoking read.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommend, but not as a romantic tale of lost love.
Review: This is an odd little book. While I was not "blown away" or captivated by the characters, I have been thinking about LIVES OF THE SAINTS a great deal since I finished it. Perhaps I am too practical (or too northern), but I kept wishing that Claude would get professional help. The secondary characters were fascinating and the book is well-written. I felt that Louise was a good narrator but a weak character. Byron and Mary Grace, however, were personal favorites. I highly recommend this book, but don't expect a romantic tale of lost love because I don't think that that's what this gin-soaked book was really about. Rather, I see Claude as a metaphor for the lost dreams/opportunities of the "South" wrapped in the mannerisms and odd brilliance of a gentleman. A good, thought-provoking read.