The Pelican State
As a native of Louisiana, I know that books and other media often get it wrong. Plus tourists and locals alike enjoy New Orleans but most Louisianans live elsewhere. Let’s look at some contemporary authors who have made a home of this state and their book.
If you think one of the books listed below doesn’t belong here, let me know your thoughts. Or if you’d like to add a book of your own, submit your suggestion. The book doesn’t need to be explicitly about the state, only clearly set in it and written by someone who actually lived there — ideally someone still living so we get a feel for the contemporary state of things.
Books are in no order of preference. That they are on this list is not a reflection of my personal taste or even that I’ve read them — I want you to find what works for you.
Can Everybody Swim? A Survival Story from Katrina's Superdome by Bruce Snow, memoir
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, fiction / chick-lit
If We Were Electric: Stories by Patrick Earl Ryan, short stories
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life by Rod Dreher, memoir
The Marauders by Tom Cooper, mystery
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh, mystery
The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, fiction / historical fiction
The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros, historical fiction / magical realism
The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, a Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken by Wendell Pierce, Rod Dreher, non-fiction
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom, memoir
Purchase via Bookshop to support independent bookstores.
Purchase via Amazon? Links coming soon.
Photo credit: Erick Zajac