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Le Secret du bayou
1957, côte de Louisiane. Dans le monde impitoyable des pêcheurs d’huîtres à la drague en haute mer, une flamboyante saga familiale tissée de haine, de violence, d’amour et de souffrance, aussi inexorable qu’une tragédie grecque. Fidèle à la tradition des grands romans du Sud profond aux accents faulkneriens, le superbe portrait d’une femme indomptable et farouche.
John Biguenet sait nouer ses intrigues sur les eaux troubles des bayous, dont il réinvente la diabolique magie. André Clavel, Lire.
John Biguenet sait nouer ses intrigues sur les eaux troubles des bayous, dont il réinvente la diabolique magie. André Clavel, Lire.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 9, 2008
I must've been getting nostalgic, but I finally dug into this in the days leading up and immediately following our move from Baton Rouge to Atlanta. Biguenet, I believe, is a voice to be reckoned with: his recent play, Rising Water, was the first substantial literary attempt to deal with the flooding of New Orleans, and it's how I first came to know him and his work. Oyster is the natural antecedent to Rising Water: it takes presents the struggles of two fishing families in Plaquemines Parish in 1957.
The downside is this: the fates of these two, the Petitjeans and the Bruneaus, are bound up so tragically that its just too much....it's one thing to write this sort of swamp-Gothic stuff if your name is Caldwell, Faulkner, or O'Connor, but when you pump it out in 2002, as Biguenet did, it just feels used up. There's nothing lurid or scintillating or even saddening about all this humidity and sex and tragedy.
Ok, now that that's out of the way: Biguenet is an amazing stylist, and his prose is adequate to the sizable task of rendering the mysteries of the natural world and the rhythms of a life attuned to its natural context without slipping getting all purpley or romanticizing the community he presents (see my entry on Tidwell's Bayou Farewell). The language just pops. And the joy of this book is learning about oystering (far more concise and lyric than Melville's disquisitions on cetology). The real tragedy at the heart of the narrative has less to do with the fate of the family than the impending changes that their landscape faces.
The downside is this: the fates of these two, the Petitjeans and the Bruneaus, are bound up so tragically that its just too much....it's one thing to write this sort of swamp-Gothic stuff if your name is Caldwell, Faulkner, or O'Connor, but when you pump it out in 2002, as Biguenet did, it just feels used up. There's nothing lurid or scintillating or even saddening about all this humidity and sex and tragedy.
Ok, now that that's out of the way: Biguenet is an amazing stylist, and his prose is adequate to the sizable task of rendering the mysteries of the natural world and the rhythms of a life attuned to its natural context without slipping getting all purpley or romanticizing the community he presents (see my entry on Tidwell's Bayou Farewell). The language just pops. And the joy of this book is learning about oystering (far more concise and lyric than Melville's disquisitions on cetology). The real tragedy at the heart of the narrative has less to do with the fate of the family than the impending changes that their landscape faces.
August 16, 2018
I picked up this book and read the blurb on the inside cover. Generally this is how I decide on getting a book or not. Lots of times I put the book down because its the same old rehash of a writer trying to make up for lack of story by throwing in international mystery, government coo, the world on the brink of disaster. The world ending can only come to the aid of limp-wristed stories so many times.
Oyster was different. It is a deceptively simple primes but one with a world of emotional possibilities.
"This could be good," I said to my self and made the purchase. It turns out it was good. I was soon engrossed in the story and flew through the pages.
The good things about this book. It paints the picture of oyster fishing expertly, there is a real feeling of small community living here, where good and evil are not highbrow ideals but everyday occurrences. There is still something of the wild west about this story, where people do what they have to do, an accepted facet of life in the times. The twists are good and nothing is so far fetched that I could not imagine it happening.
The things that let me down about the book. There is a fair bit of head-hopping going on, not something I expected to find in a big budget book like this. How the editors passed on it mystifies me. There is also the inconsistency of these tract holders being referred to as the richest people in the county only to be left feeling they were on the breadline five minutes later. Small things but enough to knock it down a star.
All in all a good book and an enjoyable read.
Oyster was different. It is a deceptively simple primes but one with a world of emotional possibilities.
"This could be good," I said to my self and made the purchase. It turns out it was good. I was soon engrossed in the story and flew through the pages.
The good things about this book. It paints the picture of oyster fishing expertly, there is a real feeling of small community living here, where good and evil are not highbrow ideals but everyday occurrences. There is still something of the wild west about this story, where people do what they have to do, an accepted facet of life in the times. The twists are good and nothing is so far fetched that I could not imagine it happening.
The things that let me down about the book. There is a fair bit of head-hopping going on, not something I expected to find in a big budget book like this. How the editors passed on it mystifies me. There is also the inconsistency of these tract holders being referred to as the richest people in the county only to be left feeling they were on the breadline five minutes later. Small things but enough to knock it down a star.
All in all a good book and an enjoyable read.
March 20, 2016
While finishing this book, I was only miles away from Louisiana, and it made me want to slip down to the coast to enhale the bayous, humidity, oyster beds. The setting is really a character in this story, and I could envision sitting on the bayou edge on a hot summer night. The story, with great character development, especially of Therese and Mathilde, is really rather a Hatfield and McCoy setting, with 2 families vying for the top oyster trade, with murders and illicit passion, familial loss and fidelity, buried secrets, love.
May 16, 2017
Meh. I love dark and twisty and this WAS pretty dark and twisty, opening with a rather shocking scene. But it was still meh for me. The writing was okay, but the short, punchy sentences didn't do much for me. Characters seemed a bit flat and they didn't really grow any over the course of the story. There's a major info dump around the part where Mathilde is revealing to Therese the back story of her relationships with Therese's father and Horse Bruneau, along with her past courtship with the county sheriff. The ending was rather...interesting. No spoilers here, but if I were Therese and Rusty, I'd be sleeping with a knife under my pillow as protection.
October 2, 2014
I had forgotten to include this in my list. I read it several years ago, recognizing someone from college on the bookstore shelves.
I'm not sure I should relegate it to a three; maybe it's a four.
Given the current state of the delta in lower Louisiana, which has everything to do with the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, I may just reread it, since it's the first place I heard of the destruction of the ecology there.
You may also have read John's writing in the NY Times after the hurricane, since he lived (lives?) in New Orleans.
I'm not sure I should relegate it to a three; maybe it's a four.
Given the current state of the delta in lower Louisiana, which has everything to do with the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, I may just reread it, since it's the first place I heard of the destruction of the ecology there.
You may also have read John's writing in the NY Times after the hurricane, since he lived (lives?) in New Orleans.
February 8, 2024
But the nets of the Squall that dredged up thousands of shrimp, each curling around a tiny black heart that frantically pulsed beneath its transparent skin, hardened him soon enough. The baskets full of still twitching shrimp, the sacks of oysters frothing from their corroded shells, the traps heavy with crabs desperately clambering over one another offered him the same lesson. Every living thing in the water that fell onto the deck of a boat cried out for its mother, the sea; and as he watched each wither in the harsh light of his world, he finally learned--almost by rote--how to let things die without flinching, without indulging in what he began to think a girlish sentimentality. Eventually, even his brothers relented in their taunts about his squeamishness.
John Biguenet's Oyster is a fascinating train-wreck of a novel. Biguenet is a gifted writer, no doubt--just look at that paragraph above. The novel, however, cannot rely solely on great prose. We require believable characters emerging from an engaging setting. And here Biguenet fails miserably.
First, Biguenet employs too many stereotypes borrowed from too many second-rate thrillers and films noir. There's the dastardly "Darryl," a big hick who holds another family financially hostage, salivating on getting a hold of "old man Petitjean's" lucrative oyster beds. We immediately begin the novel with Petitjean's daughter, Therese, luring big Darryl out his clothes and pirogue into the dark waters of the bayou after midnight. And the novel is off. But the plot creaks as it plods along. There's no real surprises and I was unable to suspend my disbelief in this tale long enough to give it credence. At the end of the book, it's really rather silly and trite.
Secondly, Biguenet tries too hard to establish that this novel takes place in Louisiana and not the piney hills of Mississippi or the ozarks of Arkansas or the mining shafts of West Virginia. Every character eats "jambalaya," "stuffed mirlitons," etc. They drink "Jax" beer instead of "beer" (when they order in a bar, they say, "Hey bartender, give me two Jax Beers!") and the only soda mentioned is "Barq's rootbeer." For the record, I was raised in the marshes in the parish next door and have spent time on fishing boats and in fishing camps. Generally, we lived on vienna sausages, potted meat, generic moon pies, and Shasta cola. When it was time for a meal, we had spaghetti far more frequently than jambalaya.
Biguenet has a house full of young men who NEVER eat takeout or spaghetti or sandwiches. It's an amazing world, really. And he takes such pains to describe how these dishes are prepared, the "cinnamon-colored roux" accepting the onions and bell peppers into its warm embrace.
Puh-lease. People down the bayou do not all eat like this all the time. Nor do they act like these characters, either. The author years to be literary (the allusions are fast and frequent) but yet wants gritty realism, too. The result teeters between Faulkner and Carl Hiaasen, which is not a good combination.
In the end, stereotypes and local color spotlights drag the novel down. It could have been better by far. But it isn't.
I'll leave you with what I believe--even though it's only February--the most laughable line of dialogue I will likely read this year:
"You take that rake out your pants, I bet you find yourself an oyster right here in this bed. Sweet, too, and salty."
"You something, girl," he said with a sigh and let his pants fall around his ankles.
John Biguenet's Oyster is a fascinating train-wreck of a novel. Biguenet is a gifted writer, no doubt--just look at that paragraph above. The novel, however, cannot rely solely on great prose. We require believable characters emerging from an engaging setting. And here Biguenet fails miserably.
First, Biguenet employs too many stereotypes borrowed from too many second-rate thrillers and films noir. There's the dastardly "Darryl," a big hick who holds another family financially hostage, salivating on getting a hold of "old man Petitjean's" lucrative oyster beds. We immediately begin the novel with Petitjean's daughter, Therese, luring big Darryl out his clothes and pirogue into the dark waters of the bayou after midnight. And the novel is off. But the plot creaks as it plods along. There's no real surprises and I was unable to suspend my disbelief in this tale long enough to give it credence. At the end of the book, it's really rather silly and trite.
Secondly, Biguenet tries too hard to establish that this novel takes place in Louisiana and not the piney hills of Mississippi or the ozarks of Arkansas or the mining shafts of West Virginia. Every character eats "jambalaya," "stuffed mirlitons," etc. They drink "Jax" beer instead of "beer" (when they order in a bar, they say, "Hey bartender, give me two Jax Beers!") and the only soda mentioned is "Barq's rootbeer." For the record, I was raised in the marshes in the parish next door and have spent time on fishing boats and in fishing camps. Generally, we lived on vienna sausages, potted meat, generic moon pies, and Shasta cola. When it was time for a meal, we had spaghetti far more frequently than jambalaya.
Biguenet has a house full of young men who NEVER eat takeout or spaghetti or sandwiches. It's an amazing world, really. And he takes such pains to describe how these dishes are prepared, the "cinnamon-colored roux" accepting the onions and bell peppers into its warm embrace.
Puh-lease. People down the bayou do not all eat like this all the time. Nor do they act like these characters, either. The author years to be literary (the allusions are fast and frequent) but yet wants gritty realism, too. The result teeters between Faulkner and Carl Hiaasen, which is not a good combination.
In the end, stereotypes and local color spotlights drag the novel down. It could have been better by far. But it isn't.
I'll leave you with what I believe--even though it's only February--the most laughable line of dialogue I will likely read this year:
"You take that rake out your pants, I bet you find yourself an oyster right here in this bed. Sweet, too, and salty."
"You something, girl," he said with a sigh and let his pants fall around his ankles.
December 27, 2024
Overall, a great book. I had only ever read Biguenet's plays before this, so when I saw this one on the free books table at my local restaurant/local and organic grocery store/junk and antique store/coffee roaster, I knew I had to grab it. I'm terrible at writing reviews in a coherent flow, so here's some thoughts in no particular order.
- In many ways it reminded me of a Southern-fried 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' without the magical realism but all the fated, cyclical, tragic family dynamics.
- Occasionally the momentum slows too much in a section about boat parts or oyster fishing or the bayous or cooking. However, almost all of that is slyly reincorporated into the plot.
- Sometimes I couldn't tell what the point of view was. It can feel like it jumps between third and first.
- The main character--a fierce, ferocious, complex woman who could rival Medea--"plays lazily with her nipple" in one of the early chapters. Hello??? Her self-gratifying sexuality (as opposed to her sexuality as tool) is *barely* discussed in the whole book, so why this offhand detail when nothing like that ever comes up again?
- The landscape is painted in such a way that I often could really feel myself there.
It's really violent and haunting and terribly compelling. I do recommend it.
- In many ways it reminded me of a Southern-fried 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' without the magical realism but all the fated, cyclical, tragic family dynamics.
- Occasionally the momentum slows too much in a section about boat parts or oyster fishing or the bayous or cooking. However, almost all of that is slyly reincorporated into the plot.
- Sometimes I couldn't tell what the point of view was. It can feel like it jumps between third and first.
- The main character--a fierce, ferocious, complex woman who could rival Medea--"plays lazily with her nipple" in one of the early chapters. Hello??? Her self-gratifying sexuality (as opposed to her sexuality as tool) is *barely* discussed in the whole book, so why this offhand detail when nothing like that ever comes up again?
- The landscape is painted in such a way that I often could really feel myself there.
It's really violent and haunting and terribly compelling. I do recommend it.
November 4, 2023
"Yeah, well sometimes," the girl bitterly mused, "people don't leave you no choice."
"...you just can't tell whether love is the bait dangling over your head, the hook in your gut, or the slug buried right between your eyes."
"Who's the truth good for anyway but the guilty?"
Picture "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba McEntire in book form! I couldn't help but think of that song the whole time I was reading. It's not exactly the same, but the general concept is very similar! The book was really good, a great plot driven book that also has lots of descriptive and figurative language. I found at times, the use of such language, slowed the book down a lot. To be fair though, I am definitely a more plot-driven reader and don't always appreciate the descriptive settings and characters. It just took me a while to get through the book at certain points, while at other times I was speeding through it. A fun read that I'd recommend.
"...you just can't tell whether love is the bait dangling over your head, the hook in your gut, or the slug buried right between your eyes."
"Who's the truth good for anyway but the guilty?"
Picture "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba McEntire in book form! I couldn't help but think of that song the whole time I was reading. It's not exactly the same, but the general concept is very similar! The book was really good, a great plot driven book that also has lots of descriptive and figurative language. I found at times, the use of such language, slowed the book down a lot. To be fair though, I am definitely a more plot-driven reader and don't always appreciate the descriptive settings and characters. It just took me a while to get through the book at certain points, while at other times I was speeding through it. A fun read that I'd recommend.
January 12, 2020
My favourite read of the year so far. There is a special magic in Louisana that I have not felt in any of the other states I have visited and this book captures it beautifully. I felt very connected to the people and places that I was reading about. The descriptive words were eloquent without being too much. The storyline was nothing unexpected or intricate, but because of how well it was written, I didnt wish for it to be anymore complicated than it was. Well worth a read.
December 15, 2018
Compelling read if you don't pay too much attention to the characters who are stereotyped and extreme in behavior.
January 16, 2013
The story opens with a murder and concludes with two more. Throw in one more in the meantime and you've the making of one of the most unconventional love stories this reader has encountered! Terese Pettijean is the feisty daughter of an aging oysterman and his wife, who has dark secrets in her past. The Pettijeans have fallen on hard times, brought on by a dwindling supply of oysters and the encroaching oil companies drilling rigs. Their chief rivals, the Bruneaus, hold the note on their boat and their house and the principle is soon due. When the paterfamilias Bruneau winds up dead, the bloodletting has only just begun. The characters were well drawn, with enough backstory to help the reader understand the currents directing the narrative flow. The sense of place in southern Louisiana is firmly established with picturesque descriptions that aid the visualization. A master story teller has given us a tale full of memorable characters and nefarious deeds. One only hopes the "happily ever after" ending is more than an illusion, but don't bet on it.
November 17, 2016
Outstanding! I love that Biguenet took his time telling this tale of murder and relationships. He did it in a masterful way that seemed neither protracted nor melancholy. It moved calmly like the indolent Mississippi. The characters seemed true to the Bayou. I could hear the sing-song accents as I read. I can honestly say that this is the best book I've read all year and one of only three that I've ever given 5 stars.
July 17, 2018
One of my favorite books this year -- so good that I finished it and then immediately read it again :)
June 23, 2007
Jason wrote "good, not great."
That's probably where I am on this novel. I did like the rich imagery it created of South Louisiana, a place where there's no clear line dividing water and land.
But I became annoyed what felt like cliches. All those references to etouffee and what have you were pretty banal.
That's probably where I am on this novel. I did like the rich imagery it created of South Louisiana, a place where there's no clear line dividing water and land.
But I became annoyed what felt like cliches. All those references to etouffee and what have you were pretty banal.
July 26, 2007
It's Cajun Southern Gothic, see. The spanish moss is replaced by cypress trees and 'y'all' becomes 'cherie'. It begins with a murder and ends with a wedding--hard to go wrong there. Not a deep novel--it's no Blood Meridian--though deeper than, say, Stephen King (i.e. there's more than just character and plot going on). A quick read, and worth the time spent.
January 25, 2019
The plot of this book is a classic one, two warring families picking each other off for various reasons. I wasn't super surprised by much of it, but it still kept me turning the pages. What I appreciated more was the book's atmosphere and some of the carefully depicted scenes. There was a funeral scene that I thought was really well done-- it stirred up some old familiar emotions in me that I hadn't felt in awhile. And some of the descriptions of the oystermen tending their beds were really nice as well.
Unfortunately, the book was way more "beach read-y" than I'd expected considering the accolades on the cover. (The goodreads blurb compared this guy to Faulker.) One reviewer on here mentioned that it was no Blood Meridian, which I can only assume to be true since I haven't tackled that one yet. But the comment must have stuck with me as I read, because at times this book felt like what might happen if someone like Nicholas Sparks had tried to write a Cormac McCarthy novel-- or maybe a Patricia Highsmith novel. Would have loved to see what Highsmith could have done with these characters and this plot. There was one scene in particular, where Rusty was sleeping in Alton's bed fantasizing about Therese, that made me think, Man I really wish someone with teeth had written this scene. (Jim Thompson could have written the hell out of that scene.) It would have also been nice to see some sort of character nuance or development in anybody, but that didn't happen. I guess this was just a lighter-weight, flatter, less gritty murder/revenge book than I had hoped.
Spoiler section:
Unfortunately, the book was way more "beach read-y" than I'd expected considering the accolades on the cover. (The goodreads blurb compared this guy to Faulker.) One reviewer on here mentioned that it was no Blood Meridian, which I can only assume to be true since I haven't tackled that one yet. But the comment must have stuck with me as I read, because at times this book felt like what might happen if someone like Nicholas Sparks had tried to write a Cormac McCarthy novel-- or maybe a Patricia Highsmith novel. Would have loved to see what Highsmith could have done with these characters and this plot. There was one scene in particular, where Rusty was sleeping in Alton's bed fantasizing about Therese, that made me think, Man I really wish someone with teeth had written this scene. (Jim Thompson could have written the hell out of that scene.) It would have also been nice to see some sort of character nuance or development in anybody, but that didn't happen. I guess this was just a lighter-weight, flatter, less gritty murder/revenge book than I had hoped.
Spoiler section:
March 3, 2021
3/10
The Good:
Part 1 was an excellent setup- the description of place vivid. I learned much more about harvesting Oysters in this relatively short book than I thought I would ever want to know. The scene of Rusty nearly capsizing in a pirogue caught in a sudden thunderstorm was excellent.
The Not so Good:
Part 2- an extended confessional between Mother and Daughter, which has accurately been described by other reviewers as an info dump.
The Bad:
Parts 3 through End:
The boy did this...
The girl did this...
The boy said this to the girl...
Then everybody did stupid shit, and some of them lived happily ever after.
=========================================
The sheriff touched Horse's throat. "Could it be an accident?"
"Sure. The son of a bitch could've got his neck tangled in the rope if he was drunk enough I suppose. You can't imagine all the damn fool ways people manage to wind up dead."
=========================================
"Love," Therese laughed. "That was Horse's idea of falling in love."
"Yeah." Her mother nodded. "Only thing is, according to Darryl, you just can't tell whether love is the bait dangling over your head, the hook in your gut, or the slug right between your eyes."
=========================================
The Good:
Part 1 was an excellent setup- the description of place vivid. I learned much more about harvesting Oysters in this relatively short book than I thought I would ever want to know. The scene of Rusty nearly capsizing in a pirogue caught in a sudden thunderstorm was excellent.
The Not so Good:
Part 2- an extended confessional between Mother and Daughter, which has accurately been described by other reviewers as an info dump.
The Bad:
Parts 3 through End:
The boy did this...
The girl did this...
The boy said this to the girl...
Then everybody did stupid shit, and some of them lived happily ever after.
=========================================
The sheriff touched Horse's throat. "Could it be an accident?"
"Sure. The son of a bitch could've got his neck tangled in the rope if he was drunk enough I suppose. You can't imagine all the damn fool ways people manage to wind up dead."
=========================================
"Love," Therese laughed. "That was Horse's idea of falling in love."
"Yeah." Her mother nodded. "Only thing is, according to Darryl, you just can't tell whether love is the bait dangling over your head, the hook in your gut, or the slug right between your eyes."
=========================================
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 22, 2021Wow! Loved this one.
Takes off with a bang and doesn't stop.
It's all here... sex, murder, jealousy, envy, revenge.
All in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in the tainted oyster leases in 1957. The oil industry is ruining the oysters and affecting the families who depend on their oyster beds for their living.
One family has the best leases, but has had a rough few years, and the bank will not loan them money...but a rival will, of course with their boat and home as collateral... it is time to pay up, or lose everything when another deal is made. Marry off the beautiful youngest daughter to the elder widow of the rich family, or renegotiate for one more year with the oyster lease rights...
They opt to marry off the beautiful and enchanting Therese, but the teenage won't have anything to do with this and murders her intended ... and that is in the first chapter!
Shortly thereafter, the eldest son of the poor family is accused of the murder, and is killed by the sons of the rival family.
Oh but there are many secrets to be found in this tale as the rivaling families seek revenge.
Fans of southern lit... this is a must read! The Hatfields and the McCoys have nothing on the Pettijeans and the Bruneaus.
Takes off with a bang and doesn't stop.
It's all here... sex, murder, jealousy, envy, revenge.
All in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in the tainted oyster leases in 1957. The oil industry is ruining the oysters and affecting the families who depend on their oyster beds for their living.
One family has the best leases, but has had a rough few years, and the bank will not loan them money...but a rival will, of course with their boat and home as collateral... it is time to pay up, or lose everything when another deal is made. Marry off the beautiful youngest daughter to the elder widow of the rich family, or renegotiate for one more year with the oyster lease rights...
They opt to marry off the beautiful and enchanting Therese, but the teenage won't have anything to do with this and murders her intended ... and that is in the first chapter!
Shortly thereafter, the eldest son of the poor family is accused of the murder, and is killed by the sons of the rival family.
Oh but there are many secrets to be found in this tale as the rivaling families seek revenge.
Fans of southern lit... this is a must read! The Hatfields and the McCoys have nothing on the Pettijeans and the Bruneaus.
June 13, 2024
Une belle histoire courte d’un meurtre et de vengeances qui suivent. Facile à Lire mais je trouve que beaucoup de trucs manquent. Le suspense, par exemple, est quasi inexistant. Sur un ton monotone, l’auteur nous raconte comment les éventuels se déroulent (trop vite à mon goût) d’une façon très simple. Il n’essaie même pas de nous faire réfléchir pour essayer de deviner qui a tué qui. En effet, j’ai pu savoir à fur et à mesure savoir les événements qui suivent. En plus, les caractères manquent un développement profond. On ne sent pas vraiment que les personnages sont émues à la mort de leurs proches!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2021
A volatile, yet rather formulaic read about two dueling oyster families in the Louisiana bayou. It has a Shakespeare meets TV’s Ozark vibe without the couplets or drug cartel. There are murders, revenge killings, strategic courtships and the mournful but shrewd, local sheriff. The mood and landscape are dark. Two watery murders, the sounds of boats slipping through reeds, wheels crunching gravel roads in the night. One of the best things about it is they are always cooking something deliciously Cajun and Biguenet describes each meal prep with cookbook clarity.
August 8, 2019
A thrilling debut novel created by an outstanding Louisiana poet and creative writer. It's set in 1957 in the bottomless bayous of Louisiana where two families feud. A young girl, and old man, lust and money. And violence. Pirogues and oysters.
January 16, 2024
Beautiful and tragic. I’m from California but this book made me wanna visit Louisiana. I was SO invested in it, I rehashed it to my friend as if it was drama happening in our real lives😭. I loved the main character Therese and her big personality. DEFINITELY will read again!
February 21, 2025
I've had this book on my TBR for years and finally had a chance to read it. I don't regret the time spent with this book, a Godfather style thriller set in the Louisiana bayou, with plenty of murder and intrigue to keep the pages turning. It's more of a fun read than anything truly memorable, though.
I learned a bit but not a lot about the oyster industry, and didn't get to indulge a truly decadent immersion within the swamp setting. It's a fairly common tale of two powerful families set on destroying the other, told in an entertaining narrative of sex and violence, with a touch of oyster fishing (cultivating?) in between.
I learned a bit but not a lot about the oyster industry, and didn't get to indulge a truly decadent immersion within the swamp setting. It's a fairly common tale of two powerful families set on destroying the other, told in an entertaining narrative of sex and violence, with a touch of oyster fishing (cultivating?) in between.
July 9, 2019
Great southern thriller!
December 9, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. Detailed and textured characters, apparently authentic cultural references and a mystery that wasn't annoyingly mysterious. An easy, light read.
July 15, 2022
A true southern novel with family rivalries, tragedy, murder and secrets.
January 17, 2023
A little predictable but still very good.
March 17, 2025
The book got better in the last half, but the first half I couldn't get in to. There were too many references to boating/oyster harvesting and I got lost in all the lingo.
January 1, 2008
Someone down the line wrote "good, but not great," and I think a few others agreed with it. Inclined to lean that way, myself. On the one hand it surpasses a lot of the random novels I come across (even if it's somewhat less than random, since I had a class under the author), on the other it's surpassed by several other writers (albeit these are the same writers who surpass almost everyone in the past two hundred years).
I like the idea of rustic story that deals with Southeast Louisiana, mostly because such a setting necessitates the use of a language familiar to me and because it's not all that often that anyone manages to do it right. (For instance, he doesn't make the mistake of calling folks down that way Cajuns, Cajuns are something different.) I like the idea of oyster farmers, of the individual people who have to struggle against salt water incursions, increased traffic, and other problems that arise from what the way the oil companies have been carving up the land down there.
For me the heart of this, reason for sticking with it and enjoying it, was Therese Petitjean. She reminds me a lot of Raskalnikov, the kind of character governed by two principles, one a playful tomboy and hick and the other a calculating monster. I think he may have fallen a tad short of where he was aiming. In the case of Raskalnikov the twins bleed into each other to such an extreme that the question of who's the real Rodion Romanovich is a thought provoking one. I don't think you can apply the same end to Therese, she's the tomboy in one scene and the monster in another, her name's the most solid point linking the two. At root I think the past reviewers who said it's good but not great are right, it's like the novel needs a certain what's-it, a certain kick that would drive to the two Thereses into one and push the whole thing into a really great novel.
I like the idea of rustic story that deals with Southeast Louisiana, mostly because such a setting necessitates the use of a language familiar to me and because it's not all that often that anyone manages to do it right. (For instance, he doesn't make the mistake of calling folks down that way Cajuns, Cajuns are something different.) I like the idea of oyster farmers, of the individual people who have to struggle against salt water incursions, increased traffic, and other problems that arise from what the way the oil companies have been carving up the land down there.
For me the heart of this, reason for sticking with it and enjoying it, was Therese Petitjean. She reminds me a lot of Raskalnikov, the kind of character governed by two principles, one a playful tomboy and hick and the other a calculating monster. I think he may have fallen a tad short of where he was aiming. In the case of Raskalnikov the twins bleed into each other to such an extreme that the question of who's the real Rodion Romanovich is a thought provoking one. I don't think you can apply the same end to Therese, she's the tomboy in one scene and the monster in another, her name's the most solid point linking the two. At root I think the past reviewers who said it's good but not great are right, it's like the novel needs a certain what's-it, a certain kick that would drive to the two Thereses into one and push the whole thing into a really great novel.
July 20, 2013
This is the story of two families in Louisiana, the Petitjeans and the Bruneaus, who are rivals in love and in business. Felix Petitjean, whose family has owned oyster beds for more than a hundred years, is in debt to Darryl "Horse" Bruneau, who covets Felix' wife as well as his oyster beds. When they arrange a marriage of convenience to settle the score, murderous rage unleashes a series of violent acts that will forever change the lives of both families. Excellent writing and character development provide a glimpse into the culture of Louisiana during the 1950's, and reveal the unfortunate effect of oil drilling rigs on the delicate ecological balance in the gulf waters where their oyster beds lie.
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