Lives of the Saints

Nancy Lemann is one of the treasures of contemporary American literature and I re-read many passages in this book out loud to my wife, out of amusement and as a sort of personal honorific. Honestly, I found myself reading much of this book out loud, even alone, as does the Southern lilt of her writing punch through the page.

But that merely surprised me. The story is engrossing on both levels–micro/macro in the common parlance. A lot of writers drop hints about how to do what they are doing right into the text of their work. Tolstoy, for one, is… show more.

It’s unusual to read a novel that doesn’t feel like anything else you’ve ever read, but Nancy Lemann’s voice is so original and arresting, this book stands alone among reading experiences for me.

It’s a love story between Louise and her wealthy wastrel paramour, Claude Collier, all set against the backdrop of humid, overgrown New Orleans. Lemann’s sentences are so atmospheric, I felt drugged by them.

Even now, I have a hard time distinguishing my memories of having been to New Orleans from the descriptions of it in the novel. I reread it every year or two, not for the… show more.