Legends of the Bywater

by R. Kay

A collection of short stories about some of the colorful character types who inhabit the Bywater, an old offbeat neighborhood in New Orleans. Zookeepers, winos, clowns, gangsters, coffin makers, drug addicts, danglers, vigilantes, schizophrenics, second-liners, ragamuffins, rats, mambos and tallbikers lurk in the back alleys, street corners and railroad tracks of this anthology. (Fiction.)

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mac Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a ‘classic’ Nola book, with cast-iron balconies, secrets or vampires. It’s gritty, street-level and harsh. But there is romanticism, too. The kind of youthful recklessness that fuels tragedy. The writing is poetic, reflective, casting a mythical light on the players in the stories.

The book has range and keeps playing with format, length, style:

‘A Love Story’ tumbles forward like a Kerouac Novel, surreal and chaotic and larger than life like some punk myth.

‘The Black Spot’ reads like a dark thriller, like a Bradbury tale or a twilight zone.

‘Pit Club’ goes for full, nihilistic decadence, skirting the edge Palanuck-ism.

It’s a page turner, short enough to swallow whole but deep enough to reread choice passages and go ‘that’s-a-some good prose!’

A solid recommendation, and I will be checking out more of R. Kay’s writing.