French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia

Wow! What a great book about my favorite city - and it steers far away from the usual tourist B.S. that is written about New Orleans. All the stories are set in the Big Easy, but that is the only thing they have in common. There are vampires, gay owners of a restaurant, murder mystery, a little voodoo. Now that I think about it, this book is exactly like a good Gumbo. It has many different ingredients and some of them are secret, but this book is guaranteed to fill you up. Most Highly Recommended.

The array of writing styles, perspectives, insights, and entertainment make this book an absolute treasure. As an outsider looking into the ghostly history of the Crescent City, research for my book could take me only so far. Joshua Clark gathered up so much that is mystical, ethereal, and nearly transparent that would otherwise escape the notice of those of us who have limited time in New Orleans. In the aftermath of Katrina, this book becomes a greater treasure, enlivening the fadding echoes of the old neighborhoods, bars, back streets, and the lives of people we would otherwise never encounter.

Reading this book is like savoring a box of very expensive chocolates. Each story is its own wonderous delight. Much like a Whitman's Sampler, there is something here for everyone. Up and coming writers like John Verlenden and Joe Longo more than hold their own alongside the great ones...and, no doubt, will join them one day soon. A perfect bedside companion...timeless and compelling.

Tenessee Williams' previously unpublished piece, a thing of incomparable beauty, is the most harrowing autobiographical account I have ever read of him, providing unparalleled insight to his soul. Ellen Gilchrist's piece is joyful as an angel's whisper. This collection is one one to be savored time and again.

I've never even been to New Orleans and yet love thisanthology. These are astounding stories, plain andsimple. And will leave you with a better sense of thatfamous neighborhood than if you'd spent every MardiGras there for the last 20 years.

This fiction collection is a jam session of impressions and emotions with the rhythm and mystique of the French Quarter as the background. The established authors, Ford, Gilchrist, Tennessee Williams, et.al., stories are predictably wonderful, but most interesting are the new writers, notably Jason Wiese's "The Dive", with his fresh perspective on the uniquely "light/dark" aspects of the Quarter.