The Year Before the Flood : : a Story of New Orleans
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REVIEWS & SUMMARIES
Publishers Weekly ReviewSummary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Fiction Profile
Author Notes
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
Nice read about NOLA
submitted by celesteh on May 4, 2010, 10:56am
I'd give it more stars for the content, but it remains at three for rating as a whole. It's been slow going with this one, a long read, and I was finally able to finish it on my way back home on a plane. Great reading about New Orleans' history and music - and this guy really knows his music. I also really enjoyed reading about the history of Mardi Gras, and there are a few detailed chapters. It was fun to read about the author's personal experiences (most of the time), but I didn't really identify with him much.
Back to the book. It could have used a little editing. Sometimes, there was JUST TOO MUCH information. I like reading about NOLA music history, but I don't need to know the entire history of hip hop. Things like that. Going beyond the expected scope of the book...and just making it longer. Still, even when I felt like I was getting lost in a sea of information, Sublette kept it pretty enjoyable.
The book is set up in three parts. The first part contains Sublette's experience growing up in rural Louisiana (not New Orleans) throughout grade school. He falls in love with black music and early rock and roll, and gives us a history lesson in southern culture/race relations. The second part and bulk of the book follows the author's experience living in NOLA the year before Katrina (he received a fellowship at Tulane). He also discusses the more current music scene in NOLA, Mardi Gras, jazz funerals, and crime. This is all interspersed with his experiences while living there that year, in a shotgun house off Tchoupitoulas with his wife Constance. The third and final part discusses the aftermath of Katrina. Sublette reminisces and gives us updates on his friends, and gives us his personal thoughts on how the disaster was handled, etc.
Worthwhile read, I'd recommend to someone who had an interest in the subject matter.
PUBLISHED
Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, 2009.
Year Published: 2009
Description: xii, 452 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book
ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9781556528248
1556528248
SUBJECTS
Popular music -- New Orleans -- History and criticism.
Musicology -- New Orleans.
Musicians -- New Orleans.
Music -- History. -- New Orleans
Music -- History. -- New Orleans
New Orleans (La.) -- Social conditions.