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The Marie Laveau Mystery #0
Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau
The story of Marie Laveau, the character featured on American Horror Story: Coven.
New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century: a potent mix of whites, Creoles, free blacks, and African slaves, a city pulsing with crowds, commerce, and an undercurrent of secret power. The source of this power is the voodoo religion, and its queen is Marie Laveau, the notorious voodooienne, worshipped and feared by blacks and whites alike.
New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century: a potent mix of whites, Creoles, free blacks, and African slaves, a city pulsing with crowds, commerce, and an undercurrent of secret power. The source of this power is the voodoo religion, and its queen is Marie Laveau, the notorious voodooienne, worshipped and feared by blacks and whites alike.
436 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
136 people are currently reading
3248 people want to read
About the author
Jewell Parker Rhodes
36 books1,546 followersJewell Parker Rhodes has always loved reading and writing stories. Born and raised in Manchester, a largely African-American neighborhood on the North Side of Pittsburgh, she was a voracious reader as a child. She began college as a dance major, but when she discovered there were novels by African Americans, she knew she wanted to be an author. She wrote six novels for adults, two writing guides, and a memoir, but writing for children remained her dream.
Now she is the author of eleven books for youth including the New York Times bestsellers Will's Race for Home, Ghost Boys and Black Brother, Black Brother. Her other books include Soul Step, Treasure Island: Runaway Gold, Paradise on Fire, Towers Falling, and the Louisiana Girls Trilogy: Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic. She has also published six adult novels, two writing guides, and a memoir.
She is the recipient of numerous awards including the American Book Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Award for Literary Excellence, a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, an NAACP Image Award nomination, and the Octavia E. Butler Award.
When she’s not writing, she’s visiting schools to talk about her books with the kids who read them, or teaching writing at Arizona State University, where she is the Piper Endowed Chair and Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.
Now she is the author of eleven books for youth including the New York Times bestsellers Will's Race for Home, Ghost Boys and Black Brother, Black Brother. Her other books include Soul Step, Treasure Island: Runaway Gold, Paradise on Fire, Towers Falling, and the Louisiana Girls Trilogy: Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic. She has also published six adult novels, two writing guides, and a memoir.
She is the recipient of numerous awards including the American Book Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Award for Literary Excellence, a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, an NAACP Image Award nomination, and the Octavia E. Butler Award.
When she’s not writing, she’s visiting schools to talk about her books with the kids who read them, or teaching writing at Arizona State University, where she is the Piper Endowed Chair and Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.
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June 20, 2020In the category of Books I Forgot I Had.
August 6, 2008
Okay, I give up! I really really gave this one a good try. Between two libraries all they had was an unabridged audio book; no printed versions. I've been listening and telling myself it will get better, but it's not happening. Extremely bad writing!
I wanted to read this because I thought it would be interesting to learn something about Marie Laveau and her voodoo legend. I think I'd be better off seeking out a nonfiction account.
I wanted to read this because I thought it would be interesting to learn something about Marie Laveau and her voodoo legend. I think I'd be better off seeking out a nonfiction account.
June 23, 2011
Marie Laveau was a powerful, legendary figure in 19th Century New Orleans--despite being a "woman of color" in that day and age in the South. A fascinating figure, but not a fascinating book, I think because Marie never comes into focus for me or feels convincing. This Marie is too passive, too much a victim whose fate is determined by others, and the story doesn't fit with what I know of Laveau, the daughter of a white planter and free Creole born in the French Quarter who married Jacques Paris at twenty-five--not sixteen. I think something in the style also put me off. The prose is often sensuous and the setting rendered vividly, but she bounces around perspectives, "head-hopping" and has way too much fondness for the rhetorical question. But I think that's rather minor compared to my feeling that the character Rhodes created bears no resemblance at all to a historical figure in what is supposed to be a biographical novel.
October 13, 2009
There is a legend that the infamous New Orleans native and Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau never died, that, in fact, her spirit lives on in selected female descendents, each a namesake, and Laveau's faithful are awaiting her return. Jewell Parker Rhodes (Voodoo Dreams, Douglass's Women, Magic City) births a modern day Marie in the second book of the Marie Laveau/Voodoo trilogy, Voodoo Season: a Marie Laveau Mystery.
The novel centers on first year medical resident, Marie Levant, a cum laude graduate from the school of hard knocks. As a child living in Chicago, she discovered her mother's lifeless body on the kitchen floor and was whisked away only to be abused in the foster care system. She defies the odds by excelling academically and winning scholarships to medical school, which she views as a natural progression to her inherent life-long healing abilities. She is an animal lover, empathetic to her patients, and acts rather impulsively on her rather sensuous nature. The novel opens with her relocating to New Orleans, after being drawn there by unknown forces. She battles disturbing dreams that contain vivid images of ritual ceremonies, childbirth, and a woman being persecuted. The tale is largely told from Levant's perspective and uses flashbacks/memories to show her immediate past as a forlorn child and haunting dreams to reveal her spiritual past as Laveau, the Voodoo Queen. As you can guess, Levant is the chosen one, and it seems everyone knows it but her.
Rhodes sprinkles elements of suspense and foreboding in lines such as, "Summer. Sin season. Fever season. Anything could happen. Even the undead," and emphasizes Levant's confusion and struggles as she comes into her "season" or her reckoning with her destiny. She initially rejects her increasing power of healing, insight and intuition and balks at the awareness of herself as a Marie Laveau reincarnate; a powerful Voodooienne. However, along the way, she begrudgingly embraces her fate as she discovers painful family secrets and the truth behind her mother's death and its eerie similarity with the murders of the young, unclaimed girls who keep showing up in her wake.
Although not a strong mystery (more so filled with anticipation), the book does a wonderful job clarifying and dispelling misconceptions about the Vodun religion and the origin of Voodoo as the merging of African beliefs and Christianity. One character explains, "Religions from the African Diaspora all value the snake as knowledge, all-knowing, an infinity and fertility symbol. White Christians bemoan that a snake tempted Eve in the Garden. But in voodoo, the same myth is a cause for celebration. Snakes represent knowledge. `Knowing is what keeps you safe, strong.' What good is Eden with ignorance?" Going a step further, she parallels spiritual icons. In one example, Legba is akin to St. Peter and serves as a gatekeeper.
Rhodes masterfully blends in the historical decadence of the New Orleans of old - the true purpose of the Quadroon Balls with hints of the La Placage lifestyle, lessons on racism/colorism (New Orleans style), complete with beguiling glimpses into another world complete with ghosts, zombies, spirit gods, and ritual sacrifices.
The novel centers on first year medical resident, Marie Levant, a cum laude graduate from the school of hard knocks. As a child living in Chicago, she discovered her mother's lifeless body on the kitchen floor and was whisked away only to be abused in the foster care system. She defies the odds by excelling academically and winning scholarships to medical school, which she views as a natural progression to her inherent life-long healing abilities. She is an animal lover, empathetic to her patients, and acts rather impulsively on her rather sensuous nature. The novel opens with her relocating to New Orleans, after being drawn there by unknown forces. She battles disturbing dreams that contain vivid images of ritual ceremonies, childbirth, and a woman being persecuted. The tale is largely told from Levant's perspective and uses flashbacks/memories to show her immediate past as a forlorn child and haunting dreams to reveal her spiritual past as Laveau, the Voodoo Queen. As you can guess, Levant is the chosen one, and it seems everyone knows it but her.
Rhodes sprinkles elements of suspense and foreboding in lines such as, "Summer. Sin season. Fever season. Anything could happen. Even the undead," and emphasizes Levant's confusion and struggles as she comes into her "season" or her reckoning with her destiny. She initially rejects her increasing power of healing, insight and intuition and balks at the awareness of herself as a Marie Laveau reincarnate; a powerful Voodooienne. However, along the way, she begrudgingly embraces her fate as she discovers painful family secrets and the truth behind her mother's death and its eerie similarity with the murders of the young, unclaimed girls who keep showing up in her wake.
Although not a strong mystery (more so filled with anticipation), the book does a wonderful job clarifying and dispelling misconceptions about the Vodun religion and the origin of Voodoo as the merging of African beliefs and Christianity. One character explains, "Religions from the African Diaspora all value the snake as knowledge, all-knowing, an infinity and fertility symbol. White Christians bemoan that a snake tempted Eve in the Garden. But in voodoo, the same myth is a cause for celebration. Snakes represent knowledge. `Knowing is what keeps you safe, strong.' What good is Eden with ignorance?" Going a step further, she parallels spiritual icons. In one example, Legba is akin to St. Peter and serves as a gatekeeper.
Rhodes masterfully blends in the historical decadence of the New Orleans of old - the true purpose of the Quadroon Balls with hints of the La Placage lifestyle, lessons on racism/colorism (New Orleans style), complete with beguiling glimpses into another world complete with ghosts, zombies, spirit gods, and ritual sacrifices.
January 5, 2016
First things first, this is not a horror novel. While it has elements of the supernatural certainly, it is not chills and gore.
What it is, is a superb historical novel (reminding me a lot of the works of Phillipa Gregory). The author has taken what little we know of Marie Laveau and weaved a complex story of belief, womanhood & power. Because I was expecting a darker tale (my bad), it took me a while to really bed down with this book. However it was totally worth it.
I've already got Voodoo Season lined up in my tbr pile & am looking forwards to it.
What it is, is a superb historical novel (reminding me a lot of the works of Phillipa Gregory). The author has taken what little we know of Marie Laveau and weaved a complex story of belief, womanhood & power. Because I was expecting a darker tale (my bad), it took me a while to really bed down with this book. However it was totally worth it.
I've already got Voodoo Season lined up in my tbr pile & am looking forwards to it.
December 17, 2011
Voodoo Dreams is the story of Marie Laveau, but it's also the story of Maman Marie, Grandmere, and the Voudon Queen. It is about legacy, fate, and bloodline.
When we first meet Marie, she is the Voodoo Queen and through the strength of Damballah, has murdered John, her baby's father in the midst of a ritual performance in New Orleans. We get the sense that she was held prisoner by his unrelenting desire for power.
When we first meet her, she speaks out that sometimes the beginnings must start from the middle.
And that's exactly how this novel becomes a storytelling of the Marie Laveau, Voudon Queen. Not quite linear, not quite accurate, but haunting and chilling none the less.
Next we see Marie as a young child growing up in Tethe, an isolated home by the bayou with Grandmere. The young Marie wants to find her identity, the same identity that Grandmere is protecting her from. "Who is Maman?" young Marie begs Grandmere over and over again. The only conversation to ever put Grandmere in a foul mood. Then, on Marie's twelfth birthday, after yet another fight with Grandmere, she storms out and has a sexually stimulating vision of a mysterious man beckoning her. Confused by the vision, young Marie feels even more isolated than before. The years that follow Grandmere anxiously awaits Marie to begin her menstrual cycle so that she might marry and Marie, curious about the man in her vision, knows that she must marry to meet him.
Marie's marriage to Jacques will set her destiny in motion. On her wedding night, John, the man from her vision, comes to her and she becomes his lover. He makes promises of showing Marie her past and making her Queen of the Voudon. Marie, unable to deny John anything, abandons her newly wedded husband and Grandmere.
What follows is Marie losing her soul in order to find out who she truly is. Her insecurities cause her to hurt those she loves and perpetuate a cycle of half truths and hidden shadows. Voodoo Dreams is not just about the imagined life of Laveau, but of a young girl becoming Woman. A young girl losing herself in Man and fighting to find Voice.
The reading of the book was much more intellectually and emotionally driven than what I would expect (I was able to even suspend my disbelief by the one flaw that I spotted, the dialogue seemed a bit traditional rather than 19th century).
Voodoo Dreams haunted me. Truly and deeply. I cannot remember ever being taken aback by a book that I would find myself having consecutive nightmares. (Luckily I read this book in three days; my unsettled evenings were beginning to dampen my daily energy). And yet, I want to expand more on "nightmares". They weren't in the ghastly sense. They weren't gory, tragic, heart pounding. No. Rather, they were soft and subtle. A dark shadow creeping into my sleep. Slow and haunting.
When we first meet Marie, she is the Voodoo Queen and through the strength of Damballah, has murdered John, her baby's father in the midst of a ritual performance in New Orleans. We get the sense that she was held prisoner by his unrelenting desire for power.
When we first meet her, she speaks out that sometimes the beginnings must start from the middle.
And that's exactly how this novel becomes a storytelling of the Marie Laveau, Voudon Queen. Not quite linear, not quite accurate, but haunting and chilling none the less.
Next we see Marie as a young child growing up in Tethe, an isolated home by the bayou with Grandmere. The young Marie wants to find her identity, the same identity that Grandmere is protecting her from. "Who is Maman?" young Marie begs Grandmere over and over again. The only conversation to ever put Grandmere in a foul mood. Then, on Marie's twelfth birthday, after yet another fight with Grandmere, she storms out and has a sexually stimulating vision of a mysterious man beckoning her. Confused by the vision, young Marie feels even more isolated than before. The years that follow Grandmere anxiously awaits Marie to begin her menstrual cycle so that she might marry and Marie, curious about the man in her vision, knows that she must marry to meet him.
Marie's marriage to Jacques will set her destiny in motion. On her wedding night, John, the man from her vision, comes to her and she becomes his lover. He makes promises of showing Marie her past and making her Queen of the Voudon. Marie, unable to deny John anything, abandons her newly wedded husband and Grandmere.
What follows is Marie losing her soul in order to find out who she truly is. Her insecurities cause her to hurt those she loves and perpetuate a cycle of half truths and hidden shadows. Voodoo Dreams is not just about the imagined life of Laveau, but of a young girl becoming Woman. A young girl losing herself in Man and fighting to find Voice.
The reading of the book was much more intellectually and emotionally driven than what I would expect (I was able to even suspend my disbelief by the one flaw that I spotted, the dialogue seemed a bit traditional rather than 19th century).
Voodoo Dreams haunted me. Truly and deeply. I cannot remember ever being taken aback by a book that I would find myself having consecutive nightmares. (Luckily I read this book in three days; my unsettled evenings were beginning to dampen my daily energy). And yet, I want to expand more on "nightmares". They weren't in the ghastly sense. They weren't gory, tragic, heart pounding. No. Rather, they were soft and subtle. A dark shadow creeping into my sleep. Slow and haunting.
July 27, 2025
(1.5)
This was a rough one. It think it had potential to be a really interesting story, but it was not executed well at all. The pacing was bizarre, none of the characters were particularly likable, and it was consistently trashy in a various disturbing ways. Can’t win em all.
This was a rough one. It think it had potential to be a really interesting story, but it was not executed well at all. The pacing was bizarre, none of the characters were particularly likable, and it was consistently trashy in a various disturbing ways. Can’t win em all.
December 11, 2018
This was the author's first novel and it shows in places. None the less this was well researched and really interesting
October 26, 2009
I enjoyed reading this mystery. It’s a quick read. The momentum of the story picked up after the initial hospital scene. Marie Laveau may be a better detective than a doctor. She has a great gift, but is in denial about it. I love the setting in Southern Louisiana.
January 3, 2015
I listened to this on audio and it was interesting but as it was a novel I'm not sure how much was based on fact. I think I would like to read a book on Marie Laveau that is more non fiction.
February 4, 2022
Wow, I guess I finished the book??? The audio version did this wierd thing where it says I finished the epilogue but there’s still 3 hours left???
Firstly. I was shocked to see the author’s idea of this badass woman to be so…insecure/unknowledgeable/subservient… Just shocked.
Secondly, for a 20+ hour book claiming to span decades, I didn’t learn that much more about her (yes, I know, it is a work of fiction, I am not meant to “learn” more about her necessarily). It briefly covers her life from maybe 16 to 19, with a touch of the pre-teen years. It only mentions the birth of one child and doesn’t go any further than when she was an infant, which leaves out a couple to several of her other children (depending on which version of history is accurate). I honestly have so many more questions coming out of it than when I went in!
Thirdly, I try not to be too prude with my reading, but this book had a lot of sex. There is a major incest theme that I’m not sure really had an important role in the story, and I don’t know if it’s historically accurate either (there’s another, more minor incest theme that should have played a bigger role in the story and may actually have historical context, not sure why the author just scrolled on by it). There is a lot of sexual trauma and abuse too. I get that those are things that would have happened to people of color back then, and I understand that it may have shaped Marie in real life. I just didn’t feel that most of the sex tied into the story really. Like, it was gratuitous. The author focused on certain scenes that were very intense yet did not show me anything about this amazing woman.
I’m kind of meh about this book because I really wanted to get to know the main character better, but I feel like I was not given a chance to do so. I was also very uncomfortable with the author depicting Marie as being utterly without her own agency. Sure, she likely relied on other people to build her queendom, but this book made her seem incapable, ignorant, and weak. I find it hard to believe that she was so dependent or that she played such a small role in her own life. The continuation of the series doesn’t even cover the parts of her life that this book didn’t (they take place in a completely different time period and feature characters that have very little to do with her), so I’m not sure I even want to read them. I think the author probably did conduct extensive research to make this book, but it really didn’t shine through while reading it. I’m not sure what happened here.
Firstly. I was shocked to see the author’s idea of this badass woman to be so…insecure/unknowledgeable/subservient… Just shocked.
Secondly, for a 20+ hour book claiming to span decades, I didn’t learn that much more about her (yes, I know, it is a work of fiction, I am not meant to “learn” more about her necessarily). It briefly covers her life from maybe 16 to 19, with a touch of the pre-teen years. It only mentions the birth of one child and doesn’t go any further than when she was an infant, which leaves out a couple to several of her other children (depending on which version of history is accurate). I honestly have so many more questions coming out of it than when I went in!
Thirdly, I try not to be too prude with my reading, but this book had a lot of sex. There is a major incest theme that I’m not sure really had an important role in the story, and I don’t know if it’s historically accurate either (there’s another, more minor incest theme that should have played a bigger role in the story and may actually have historical context, not sure why the author just scrolled on by it). There is a lot of sexual trauma and abuse too. I get that those are things that would have happened to people of color back then, and I understand that it may have shaped Marie in real life. I just didn’t feel that most of the sex tied into the story really. Like, it was gratuitous. The author focused on certain scenes that were very intense yet did not show me anything about this amazing woman.
I’m kind of meh about this book because I really wanted to get to know the main character better, but I feel like I was not given a chance to do so. I was also very uncomfortable with the author depicting Marie as being utterly without her own agency. Sure, she likely relied on other people to build her queendom, but this book made her seem incapable, ignorant, and weak. I find it hard to believe that she was so dependent or that she played such a small role in her own life. The continuation of the series doesn’t even cover the parts of her life that this book didn’t (they take place in a completely different time period and feature characters that have very little to do with her), so I’m not sure I even want to read them. I think the author probably did conduct extensive research to make this book, but it really didn’t shine through while reading it. I’m not sure what happened here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2021
When I finished this book I gave it 4 stars, but two days later I have to change it to 2 stars. It took me longer than usual to read this book. The writing style is dull and boring. Also, it’s very repetitive. I found myself just gliding over entire pages and reading one or two paragraphs (if that).
I’ve read a lot about Marie Laveau over the years, and watched many documentaries that feature here. I’ve made pilgrimage to her tomb in St Louis Cemetery #1, and to the site of her home on St. Anne. I have a deep appreciation for the woman who would become Queen of the Voodoos.
This book completely disrespects Marie Laveau as a spiritual leader, and as a woman. She never has agency over her own life. She is constantly abused, kidnapped, and raped. And it is repeated constantly through the book.
The treatment of Dr. John (who in history doesn’t seem to have ever been connected to Marie Laveau) is horrendous as well. He’s an opportunistic misogynist and a pedophile to boot in this novel. I honestly have to wonder if the author had any love or respect for the real people or faith she fictionalized in the writing of this book. I also have to question her own infatuation with pedophilia. Her description of the fourth Marie being held by Dr John near the end of the book made my stomach sick. I actually had to skim over it once I realized how in detail and romanticized the author was describing the abuse.
Honestly, do yourself a favor and skip this book. It’s a disgrace to Marie Laveau, Marie II, Dr. John, and anyone who follows New Orleans style Voodoo or Hoodoo for that manner.
I’ve read a lot about Marie Laveau over the years, and watched many documentaries that feature here. I’ve made pilgrimage to her tomb in St Louis Cemetery #1, and to the site of her home on St. Anne. I have a deep appreciation for the woman who would become Queen of the Voodoos.
This book completely disrespects Marie Laveau as a spiritual leader, and as a woman. She never has agency over her own life. She is constantly abused, kidnapped, and raped. And it is repeated constantly through the book.
The treatment of Dr. John (who in history doesn’t seem to have ever been connected to Marie Laveau) is horrendous as well. He’s an opportunistic misogynist and a pedophile to boot in this novel. I honestly have to wonder if the author had any love or respect for the real people or faith she fictionalized in the writing of this book. I also have to question her own infatuation with pedophilia. Her description of the fourth Marie being held by Dr John near the end of the book made my stomach sick. I actually had to skim over it once I realized how in detail and romanticized the author was describing the abuse.
Honestly, do yourself a favor and skip this book. It’s a disgrace to Marie Laveau, Marie II, Dr. John, and anyone who follows New Orleans style Voodoo or Hoodoo for that manner.
March 10, 2008
This book fed nicely into my longtime love affair with New Orleans.
January 7, 2012
Great story! I think this was a wonderful historical novel; and I learned alot about Voodoo. I can't wait to read more from Jewell Parker Rhodes.
dnf
June 15, 2021DNF @ pg. 220. Not the historical fiction I was hoping for. Lots of disturbing sex and rape and men trying desparately to control women in violent ways. Nope!
June 6, 2021
Voodoo Dreams is a fictionalized biography of the life of Marie Laveau, the famous Voodooienne of New Orleans. Set in the pre-civil war New Orleans, Rhodes captures the feel of the city when slavery was still legal, but there were also a number of free Blacks. The exploration of that alone would have made this worth picking up. When the story opens, Marie is a young girl living in the bayou with her Grandmere. Eventually, her Grandmere takes her to New Orleans, putting her on a course to become a Voodoo Queen, even though her Grandmere had converted to Catholicism. (The exploration of the way these two faiths intersected in New Orleans would also be worth reading an entire book about) I enjoyed this work of historical fiction, although I felt it could have been edited a bit more so that the story was more tightly constructed. Some of the content in here was graphic (rape, incest, sexual assault of a child).
July 20, 2016
Does not have reread value for me, but I think it is a must read. New Orleans is historically romanticized as a wonderful carnival, but that is not the case. It has a dark and complex history revolving around slave culture that the author portrays. I called the book sexually perverse, but even the bad guys are victims of the institution. Throw in the loss of culture and religion for imported slaves and the unfortunate relationships of the women of the Laveau family. Many readers will not like the book, but they will understand more of the US's history with slavery and why it should be the vilified institution it is.
September 3, 2011
This one was a page turner, but I think it just barely makes its classification as historical fiction. Four or five of the six main characters didn't exist. One did, but has no historical connection to Marie Laveau. I don't know enough about the genre to know if that is unusual. But there was a Marie and Voudou and 19-century New Orleans--all of which made for a very compelling story. It was hard to put down at times. Next I'm reading a nonfiction about Marie Laveau to put it into perspective.
May 17, 2008
One of my former students came into the room as I was finishing Rhodes's fictional biography of Marie Laveau, VooDoo Queen of New Orleans. When he saw the tears on my face, at first he was alarmed; then he remembered. I cry. Jewell Parker Rhodes has combined the atmosphere of my favorite city in the US with a story of strong women whose heritage reaches back to Africa. Another student read this first and recommended it.
January 27, 2009
I started this book thinking I was going to love it, but never did finish. I felt the author's modern viewpoint stuffed Marie's. When I read historical fiction, I prefer the illusion of going back in time, not having the author on my back, pointing out the sights over my shoulder.
The book has some things going for it: the subject is fascinating, it has some feel for voodoo, and it's not bad at all for a first novel. I have a feeling this is an author who will age well.
The book has some things going for it: the subject is fascinating, it has some feel for voodoo, and it's not bad at all for a first novel. I have a feeling this is an author who will age well.
December 30, 2014
I can't really say I enjoyed this novel, well written though it was. Even though in the end Marie Laveau , I still didn't understand why the author chose to take one of the most powerful witchy figures in American history and portray her as primarily a victim. Also, there was a lot of violence, including domestic and sexual violence in this book - relevant but not enjoyable.
February 11, 2008
Jewell Parker Rhodes has a decent writing style, but I hated the story. Not only was it totally inaccurate with what is known about Marie Laveau's life, it paints her in a very unflatterring light.
November 17, 2008
I wanted this book to be so much better than it was. The storytelling was okay, but something about it was flat.
It was a quick read and nice introduction to New Orleans vodun culture.
It was a quick read and nice introduction to New Orleans vodun culture.
July 19, 2016
Cried uncontrollably.
September 14, 2010
Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes has a distinguished background. She is the Artistic Director for Global Engagement and the Piper Endowed Chair of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. As an African-American woman of considerable accomplishment her perspective on Marie Laveau is considerably different from that of Francine Prose but both are equally fascinating. Rhodes' Marie Laveau is very much a woman of her times, a free black woman raised by a grandmother who was once a slave. She may be a free woman in the sense of not being owned by a white master but freedom in her time was nothing we would call freedom.
As a child young Marie longs to be reunited with her beautiful Maman. Growing up on Bayou Teché (the scene of so many James Lee Burke novels) she knows nothing of her past and very little about the world. Her Grandmere was once a voodooienne but left that world, became a Catholic, and moved from New Orleans to Bayou Teché after the execution of her daughter Marie, young Marie's Maman. By the time Marie is 12 Grandmere reluctantly agrees to return to New Orleans and in short order Marie meets three men who will determine the course of her life: Jacques Paris, her future husband; John, the voodoo practitioner, and Louis, a white Yankee journalist who loves Marie despite her rejection of him.
Very little is known about Jacques Paris and Voodoo John (Louis, as far as I can tell, is a totally fictional character) but in Rhodes' recreation of the story both become irresistible characters. Jacques is a handsome sailor who rescues Marie from the wrath of a brutal white aristocrat and marries her. John is a controlling, manipulative, power-hungry voodoo practitioner who enslaves her sexually, just as he did her beautiful mother, and her own grandmother before her.
Set against the turbulent era of pre-Civil War slavery the story unfolds with Marie beginning to understand the scope of her own power and the desperation of the people --- free blacks, slaves, and former slaves --- who come to her desperate for a little bit of hope and dreaming of a tiny bit of power, if only the power to own their own lives. Freedom might sound wonderful but the reality of it is very different when even free blacks can be beaten, abused, and murdered with no consequences. As Marie's power and reputation grows she realizes that her powers are not what are important, it is her appearance of power that is a source of comfort and hope to the people who follow her.
Though John controls Marie and uses her beauty and growing reputation to put on spectacular shows for the increasing number of followers, he also resents her. He resents her power and he resents the love people have for her. To me it was entirely believable that, while protecting Marie from the desires and manipulation of the white aristocrats who desired her, John was every bit as cruel, demanding, and enslaving as they were. Rhodes creates hims as a sort of 19th century Ike Turner and it works.
But Marie is growing up. As she comes into her own power and realizes that she has grown past John's power to contain her she becomes the powerful, fascinating symbol of feminine strength and self-determination the blacks of New Orleans longed for to look up to and draw courage from.
Though no one knows the true story of Marie Laveau I found Jewell Parker Rhodes' vision of her entirely believable. There is much color and ceremony in her tale and some intriguing touches of mysticism but overall it is a well-crafted depiction of a regrettable time in American history and of one woman who rose to a degree of power despite the limitations of the times. Excellent reading.
I see Rhodes has written two more novels, contemporary ones, that imagine a modern day descendent of Marie Laveau who is now a doctor in a New Orleans hospital. I ordered them from Amazon and look forward to reading them.
As a child young Marie longs to be reunited with her beautiful Maman. Growing up on Bayou Teché (the scene of so many James Lee Burke novels) she knows nothing of her past and very little about the world. Her Grandmere was once a voodooienne but left that world, became a Catholic, and moved from New Orleans to Bayou Teché after the execution of her daughter Marie, young Marie's Maman. By the time Marie is 12 Grandmere reluctantly agrees to return to New Orleans and in short order Marie meets three men who will determine the course of her life: Jacques Paris, her future husband; John, the voodoo practitioner, and Louis, a white Yankee journalist who loves Marie despite her rejection of him.
Very little is known about Jacques Paris and Voodoo John (Louis, as far as I can tell, is a totally fictional character) but in Rhodes' recreation of the story both become irresistible characters. Jacques is a handsome sailor who rescues Marie from the wrath of a brutal white aristocrat and marries her. John is a controlling, manipulative, power-hungry voodoo practitioner who enslaves her sexually, just as he did her beautiful mother, and her own grandmother before her.
Set against the turbulent era of pre-Civil War slavery the story unfolds with Marie beginning to understand the scope of her own power and the desperation of the people --- free blacks, slaves, and former slaves --- who come to her desperate for a little bit of hope and dreaming of a tiny bit of power, if only the power to own their own lives. Freedom might sound wonderful but the reality of it is very different when even free blacks can be beaten, abused, and murdered with no consequences. As Marie's power and reputation grows she realizes that her powers are not what are important, it is her appearance of power that is a source of comfort and hope to the people who follow her.
Though John controls Marie and uses her beauty and growing reputation to put on spectacular shows for the increasing number of followers, he also resents her. He resents her power and he resents the love people have for her. To me it was entirely believable that, while protecting Marie from the desires and manipulation of the white aristocrats who desired her, John was every bit as cruel, demanding, and enslaving as they were. Rhodes creates hims as a sort of 19th century Ike Turner and it works.
But Marie is growing up. As she comes into her own power and realizes that she has grown past John's power to contain her she becomes the powerful, fascinating symbol of feminine strength and self-determination the blacks of New Orleans longed for to look up to and draw courage from.
Though no one knows the true story of Marie Laveau I found Jewell Parker Rhodes' vision of her entirely believable. There is much color and ceremony in her tale and some intriguing touches of mysticism but overall it is a well-crafted depiction of a regrettable time in American history and of one woman who rose to a degree of power despite the limitations of the times. Excellent reading.
I see Rhodes has written two more novels, contemporary ones, that imagine a modern day descendent of Marie Laveau who is now a doctor in a New Orleans hospital. I ordered them from Amazon and look forward to reading them.
May 7, 2008
This novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes is another excellent snapshot of life in New Orleans. This book takes place before the Civil War and paints a vivid picture of the city at that time. Voodoo Dreams is a coming-of-age story wrapped up in spicy Creole Louisiana, slavery, and - of course - voodoo. It's also a self-awakening story as Marie tries to find out who she is and what her purpose in life is - which is something all of us can relate to.
I cannot stress enough what a gifted storyteller Jewell Parker Rhodes is! There is something for everyone in this book, but the story belongs to Marie. Rhodes draws a part of the soul into this story. Very well-written! I suspect that Voodoo Dreams will appeal more to women than to men, but men with an interest in voodoo, New Orleans history, or who have read Interview With the Vampire will probably enjoy this book also. Readers interested in African American authors, but who are tired of the usual romance/Drama fare will also find this refreshing.
Very highly recommended for all readers! Not overly violent or sexual, but this is not a "gentle" read.
I cannot stress enough what a gifted storyteller Jewell Parker Rhodes is! There is something for everyone in this book, but the story belongs to Marie. Rhodes draws a part of the soul into this story. Very well-written! I suspect that Voodoo Dreams will appeal more to women than to men, but men with an interest in voodoo, New Orleans history, or who have read Interview With the Vampire will probably enjoy this book also. Readers interested in African American authors, but who are tired of the usual romance/Drama fare will also find this refreshing.
Very highly recommended for all readers! Not overly violent or sexual, but this is not a "gentle" read.
December 15, 2018
This was an interesting take on Marie Laveau's life. By the author's own admission, it is highly fictionalized. However, the author posits the voodoo queen as an early feminist in many ways, determined to make her own way in the world regardless of those who are determined to stop her.
One of the characters in the book is clearly based on a voodoo priest called Doctor John, who was one of Marie Laveau's contemporaries. While there is no historical record of the two having a relationship, Rhodes puts Doctor John into the picture as Marie's lover and rival. This creates an interesting dichotomy in Marie's life and allows us to see her tendencies toward a matrifocal belief system in clear relief.
This is not an easy book. There are depictions of violence that are not for the faint of heart. I am not entirely certain of the historicity of how voodoo was portrayed because, frankly, I don't know enough -- despite studying Marie Laveau's life as research for Bayou Fire. Still, those who are curious about New Orleans life during the early 19th century will find much to consider and perhaps study further.
One of the characters in the book is clearly based on a voodoo priest called Doctor John, who was one of Marie Laveau's contemporaries. While there is no historical record of the two having a relationship, Rhodes puts Doctor John into the picture as Marie's lover and rival. This creates an interesting dichotomy in Marie's life and allows us to see her tendencies toward a matrifocal belief system in clear relief.
This is not an easy book. There are depictions of violence that are not for the faint of heart. I am not entirely certain of the historicity of how voodoo was portrayed because, frankly, I don't know enough -- despite studying Marie Laveau's life as research for Bayou Fire. Still, those who are curious about New Orleans life during the early 19th century will find much to consider and perhaps study further.
December 10, 2012
Today I finished reading Voodoo Dreams: A Marie Laveau Novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes. It was her first novel. Her writing is very poetic. She use a lot of description and details, as I read Voodoo Dreams, I traveled to the 1800’s and walked down the streets of New Orleans. I visited one of Marie’s rituals and was able to see the sadness and frustration in her heart. I watched her become possessed by Damballah and drop to the floor slithering like a snake. I listened to the drum man and let the music of his beats sway my body. Then I closed the book to awaken to reality. For a first novel J. Rhodes did an exceptional job plotting Voodoo Dreams. It is a non-fictional account of the life of Marie Laveau (a real voodoo queen from New Orleans). It goes from Marie’s childhood to her death. When I begin reading I expected the character to be a strong woman with great power but instead J. Rhodes’ Marie Laveau, is weak and always trying to gain the acceptance of others but by the end of the book, she gain strength and begin to fight for what she wants.
November 1, 2012
I wanted to love this book...but it was hard to get through and took me forever. I couldn't at all identify with the characters. Probably because i'm a middle aged white woman in the year 2012, but still, there should be some humanity to the characters everyone can relate to. You will not find this here. It was pretty graphic sexually and violently. The author made the book hard to read simply because the chapters all felt the same. It was redundant and sad. I wanted to feel something for Marie Laveau, since I have heard so much about her in New Orleans history. This book is a fictitious account of her, of course, which is good...Otherwise I would give up on trying to learn more about her. This book was strange. I'm sure others will enjoy it though.
April 9, 2013
I love books about Voodoo and other traditions of folk magic. This book was a decent attempt to fill in the gaps of the history of Marie Laveau the Elder, legendary queen of Voodoo. Like any work of historical fiction, it has its moments of extreme prejudice. Marie and Doctor may have been friends/ lovers/ colleagues/ adversaries. It is easy to romanticize the past, especially New Orleans in the 1800s. Nonetheless, it was obvious that JPR did her research. I had this nagging feeling, though, that she really wanted this to be Laveau's true history and perhaps could not imagine any other possibilities. The result is a caricature that is as elusive as the woman herself.
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