There are several books out now, and a couple of documentary films, about New Orleans; I will be reading Dave Eggers' Zeitoun soon; it might be a good way into this history and a nice follow up to Skloot because it's about a single family and what happened to them.
Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro
I think others here were interested in Zeitoun, too. Not sure if I'll have time with all my other commitments but will see if I can find a copy just in case. It is a good time to look back at that horrendous event.
ReplyDeleteNice interview with Spike Lee here:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/spike-lee-returns-to-new-orleans-for-if-god-is-willing-and-da-creek-dont-rise/
I read Zeitoun a few months back and found it very interesting. Eggers pretty much sticks with the family, following the harrowing situation that ensued with Zeitoun lost in the Lousiana penal system following the hurricane. One of the threads in Treme seemed to parallel this situation, but I imagine many persons were lost in the shuffle that ensued. Look back in the archives, carol, for comments.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't brought myself to read Brinkley's The Great Deluge.
I received it for Christmas last year and read it soon after. Zeitoun and his family went through hell!
ReplyDeleteHere you go Carol,
ReplyDeletehttp://am-perspectives.blogspot.com/2009/12/zeitoun.html#comments
Thanks, Gintaras. Zeitoun is going to be the "One City, One Book" in SF this Fall. (The choice always seems to be some Bay area author; we have a lot of them, although perhaps not in the first rank, except perhaps in genre fiction.)
ReplyDeleteMarti, it seems that many books are about people going through hell of one sort or another; could it be that it is more interesting than heaven?
Rachel Maddow did a great show from New Orleans on Friday that you can watch here -- at least until Monday p.m.:
ReplyDeleterachel.msnbc.com
I guess it depends on where you want to go with New Orleans, but The Year Before the Flood is getting rave reviews. Ned Sublette is a musicologist and loves cultural history. He also wrote a previous overall history of the city entitled The World That Made New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteCampenella's Bienville's Dilemma also sounds very interesting,
http://blog.nola.com/susanlarson/2008/11/richard_campanella_chronicles.html
"Zeitoun" keeps the suspense/tension level up and zips right along--trying not to grind my teeth too loudly when reading on the train to/from work.
ReplyDeleteGintaras" Hope you'll post when/if you get a chance to see "When the Levees Broke." Am putting "Treme" DVD on my C'mas list (but not planning on going back to HBO for the Scorsese 1920's Atlantic City venture with Steve Buscemi, though a co-worker says they paid particular attention to the period music in it.)