Crawfish Dreams

by Nancy Rawles

For forty years Camille Broussard has cooked for other people. As a young bride she moved from Louisiana to Los Angeles and settled in the thriving community of Watts; but many of her hopes went up in the flames of the 1965 riots. Now it’s 1984--and she’s determined to cook for herself. She’ll pickle okra, sell meatpies at church, peddle pralines--whatever it takes to revive her scattered family, her neighborhood, and herself. Her grandson Nicholas has just been released from prison and takes up residence in her backyard, and her sons want her to move away. But with support from her talented if unemployed neighbor Lester Pep and her eager but hapless lesbian daughter Grace, she tries to start a business. By serving up recipes from her childhood, she hopes to rekindle her crawfish dreams.

Gracefully written, with a wonderful sense of humor, Crawfish Dreams is a high-spirited novel about family, responsibility, and the pursuit of personal happiness.

Genres: Fiction, African American, Cooking

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2003

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, delightful story of a proud Creole family in Los Angeles. Really good wisdom, kids and all relatives are all over the place with their problems...Camille is the matriarch of this large family. A novel about family responsibility and the wonderful home grown wisdom of the mom...and her devotion to her God. (I love this; (one of Camille's prayers...) "Most sweet Jesus, in you I have confidence. May your Spirit penetrate my thoughts and desires, my words, and my works. Grant me to know you better, to love you more, to serve you without faltering. Spare me the hunger of the dead and the cruel indulgences of the living."

[JaDell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got it and read it because it was a story I thought would be fun to read since my family was one of many from (Southern) Louisiana who migrated to Los Angeles around the mid 20th century. There are a lot of recipes and proverbs (Haitian), places and sayings that are familiar to me from both Louisiana and Los Angeles. An alright story, exposing lots of issues I have with LA culture (ha! BOTH LAs...).

[JayBee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book "grabbed" my attention, and then I was intrigued by the synopsis. This book is an excellent read for all ages, and and awesome suggestion for a book club. The author invited the reader to her world, and we came inside, took a seat, and enjoyed the ride!! Kudos to Nancy Rawles, Kudos!!

[Anne Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't savor or linger over this book like it deserved because I was on a race to meet deadline before. I noted that I needed to let this book sit for a while to see if the story stays with me. It didn't. That is too bad because it was about the Watts Riots, which I know very little about.

(Catching up on reviews for books read before blogging/Goodreads days, made from notes made at the time the book was read. Written on 7/27/21.)

[cat! · Rating 2 out of 5]

the dialect was well captured, and the description of the Watts riots were decent, but i did not otherwise care for this book. there were too many unmotivated characters, relatively unrealistic (without being fantastic) action, and a number of internal inconsistencies (for example, a big deal about what someone is drinking would be made, and then the beverage was different the next page. annoying.) also, i didn't really care of the la-la everything works out happy ending. but that's just my personal taste.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to 'Love Like Gumbo' but I actually found it more engrossing because the characters were better drawn. This one focuses on the mother of the family. It tells her history as well as the current day story of her revolt against being labled an old lady and sent to live with one fo her children. I loved her gutsy attitude.

[D LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very charming

Very charming

Down to earth good writing. Good story about family and friends. The author included recipes in the chapters which included the dish. Good till the end.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book about resiliency.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the Broussards.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the story, but it seemed to drag out near the end.