The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans by Denise Alvarado

Reviewed by Jeanne

Marie Laveau is a near mythic figure in New Orleans. Her name appears in songs, in stories, and even in movies as a mysterious woman of power and magic.  Did she really exist? If so, who was she?

Alvarado, a Creole scholar and Voudou practitioner, examines the historical records and comes up with answers.  She traces what is known about the life of the real Laveau, and offers informed speculation in places.  For example, there were actually two women known as Marie Laveau; most believe that one of her daughters took her place after her death, but she had several daughters. 

Laveau was born in 1801 in New Orleans, a free woman of color.  Her husband, Jacques Paris, was a free man of color, but after his death in 1820 she became the domestic partner of a Frenchman, Dominick Duminy de Glapion (depending on the record, the spelling varies). Only two of her fifteen children lived to adulthood, both daughters; and in following French Catholic tradition, both had the first name of Marie.

More interesting to me was the discussion of the history of voodoo/voudou/voodun.  With roots in Africa, there are several variations; arguably the best known are Haitian voodoo and the New Orleans/Louisiana.  Laveau was a staunch Catholic, and melded Catholic practices and beliefs into her brand of voodoo. In some cases certain saints seem to be identified with African counterparts, reminding me of the way that the Romans adapted local religions into their own belief system.

I appreciated the way that Alvarado addressed other researchers and reports in her book. Insofar as possible, she used original records and the earliest reports available to try to form a picture of Laveau, including sometimes sensational newspaper accounts.  She looked for the earliest possible accounts, including material gathered by Zora Neale Hurston who was an anthropologist and folklorist as well as an author. I liked the way that Alvarado acknowledged others’ work in the field, even when she disagreed with their conclusions.

The book has a wonderful bibliography at the end, giving a wealth of sources for an interested reader to check.

However, the history of Laveau takes up only part of the book.  The rest is devoted to describing how to set up an altar and how to perform various rites and rituals.  She informs readers that if they have trouble acquiring some of the ingredients to contact her through her website and also refers them to her other books, which are more about the practice and less about the history.

My quibbles with the book include the lack of an index and a glossary.  Alvarado seems to assume the reader already has some knowledge of the religion and sometimes introduces terms without a thorough explanation.  She will also use alternate spellings for the same concept, depending on which version of the religion is being referenced (Haitian, New Orleans, African) which I found confusing.  And I must admit I still don’t have a clear understanding of some of the differences, especially how Laveau voudou differs from New Orleans.  I also kept getting confused as to which spelling went with which version (voodoo/voudou/voodun) and the difference between Voodoo and Hoodoo. The fault is probably with me; I felt it would have helped if I could have referred back to a particular section at times but without an index that proved a bit time consuming.

If you are looking for a non-sensational, well researched treatment about the life and faith of Marie Laveau, this would be a good choice.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Reviewed by Laurie

Note:  If you are easily offended, you may want to skip this review.  You would certainly want to skip the book.

Why did I pick this book up?  I was shelving and I saw the title: Confederacy (which make me think Civil War) and then Dunces, which made me laugh.  I can’t help it that I’m a Yankee, according to my very Southern husband.  I couldn’t imagine what this book was about.  The cover blurb says, “The Pulitzer Prize winning novel featuring Ignatius Reilly and his marvelous, madcap adventures in New Orleans.”  Well, New Orleans isn’t the “True South,” it’s in a class of its own.

The reviews all sounded good.  There were quotes from Newsweek, The Washington Post, and the New York Times Book Review all saying that this book is a great comedy. I could use some good laughs, and it would be a change from all my murder mysteries.  Maybe I’ll read it.  I ask Jeanne about it first and she tells me of the strange way the book was published.  It was written in the 1960s and the author committed suicide.  His mother found the manuscript and worked for sixteen years to get it published.  When it finally does come out as a book, it wins the Pulitzer Prize. 

I’m intrigued so I start reading.  Oh, my goodness!  The main character, Ignatius Reilly, is totally obnoxious.  He constantly rambles on about sex, orgies, old sodomites, and other things.  He writes all these things down in Big Chief notebooks. In the preface, Southern writer Walker Percy (who helped to get the book published) says that Ignatius is “"slob extraordinary, a mad Oliver Hardy, a fat Don Quixote, a perverse Thomas Aquinas rolled into one.”  He really is, and more.  The storyline is that he has been living with his mother and doing pretty much nothing but then he has to go out and look for a job.  This is the way he meets all these priceless characters.  I can picture each one, especially Burma Jones,  who has an Afro, wears sunglasses, and has a cloud of cigarette smoke around his head at all times. There’s also Miss Trixie, who is as old as dirt and senile. She’s a secretary at Levy Pants, and Ignatius thinks she is the Medusa of Capitalism. 

Do I like the book?  I’m not sure.  It’s so bizarre and different from what I usually read.  Am I glad I read it?  I think I am.  There’s something about it; it stays with you.  Ignatius is so weird yet I’m envious that he can make the biggest scene in the world and never think of it as his fault.  How freeing is that? My favorite part is the ending, and that’s not because it’s over with.  This is one of the best endings to a book that I’ve ever read.  The author doesn’t leave anything hanging and everything ends in a wonderful place.

Nevermore: John Green, Dave Eggers, Michael Connelly, R.B. Chesterton, Upton Sinclair, & even more!

Nevermore June 10, 2014

Reported by Kristin

The Nevermore table was full today but there is always room for more; newcomers are welcome!

With the newly released movie The Fault in our Stars (based on the book by John Green,) Jud brought up an interview that he had read about Green.  One of Green’s first jobs was at Booklist, and they recently had an article interviewing some of his former co-workers and supervisors.  Evidently Green was a bit scattered as an employee.  Nevertheless, his unique way of marketing his books and interacting with his fans has drawn quite a bit of attention.  In 2007, brothers John and Hank Green, tired of text communication, launched a project where they communicated with each other by video blog every week.  Now known as the VlogBrothers, their fans are known as Nerdfighters.  Collectively, Nerdfighteria embraces the concept of being different, and promotes doing positive things in the world.  Along with their 2,137,240 youtube subscribers, Jud is enthralled by the Green phenomenon.  (In the couple of minutes it took me to watch the latest VlogBrothers video, the numbers of subscribers to their youtube channel went up to 2,137,280.)

The first book up for discussion was Upton Sinclair by Lauren Coodley.  Perhaps most famous for writing The Jungle in 1906 about the meat-packing industry, Sinclair wrote about social issues that came to his attention.  Prohibition, labor, and quality food for a healthy life were but a few of the issues for which Sinclair cared about passionately.  Additionally, this is the first biography on Sinclair written by a woman, providing a different perspective on the author and activist so concerned with fairness and equality.  Sinclair may have fallen out of style in the United States, but is very well respected as an American author in other countries.

Next up was Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas by Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker.  This entire book is made of essays on different topics which are related to maps of New Orleans.  Some examples:  Map of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.  Important places in the banana industry.  Importance of bass instruments in New Orleans.  Hurricane Katrina—what stayed up and what fell down.  This book sparked a huge discussion on the good and bad in New Orleans, including tourism, crime, water, and how they manage burial of bodies.  This book was praised as very compelling.  A similar publication exists for San Francisco: Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas, also by Rebecca Solnit.

Our next reader praised Michael Connelly’s new book The Gods of Guilt.  A follow up to the earlier novel Lincoln Lawyer, criminal defense lawyer Mickey Haller continues to run his office from the back seat of a limousine.  This outing has Mickey in the middle of a murder case with a prostitute as the victim, one who was his own client years ago.  Our reader says that Michael Connelly is an excellent author.

A few different readers have read or are about to read The Seeker by R. B. Chesterton.  Recently reviewed by Jeanne here, this is a novel that keeps the reader guessing to the very end, and perhaps even beyond.  Aine Cahill is a doctoral student, researching Henry David Thoreau and hoping to discover clues to expand the scholarship around his two years at Walden Pond.  Nevermore readers are appreciating the many layers involved in this complex story of a young woman, her family history, and something that may or may not be lurking in the woods.

Another reader promoted the library gift shop once again.  She recently picked up My Antonia by Willa Cather for 50 cents, and after thoroughly enjoying the classic has re-donated the book to further benefit the library.

Our next reader has enjoyed Innocence by Dean Koontz.  Addison Goodheart avoids people, knowing that his appearance would be frightening.  He can see “ghosts” that other people cannot, called fogs and clears.  This is a very different kind of fantasy book, perhaps a fairy tale, or a murder mystery, or a horror story, or a love story.  Our reader was rather intrigued, although he did point out that the book had a very strange ending.

Last mentioned was What is the What by Dave Eggers.  The novel is based on Valentino Achak Deng who was forced to leave his Sudanese village at age seven.  Separated from his family, he and the thousands of other children, the “Lost Boys”, endured great difficulties as they were marched for hundreds of miles to refugee camps.  Our reader thought that the story was great, but the writing was a little boring.  He said he couldn’t believe the author had taken this incredible story and made it “ho-hum”.

The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 am in the Frances E. Kegley Meeting Room, with doughnuts courtesy of the Blackbird Bakery!

Five Days At Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

 Reviewed by William Wade

This is not a fun book to read.  Not by a long shot.  But it’s important, and a great many of us need to know this story and to consider the consequences of the events unfolded here.  Five Days at Memorial is the graphic account of what happened to a major hospital in New Orleans during the Katrina hurricane in September and October, 2005.

The first part of the book deals with the immediate aftermath of Katrina.  Initially the staff of Memorial Hospital thought they had survived the hurricane reasonably well – some blown-out windows, but they could be repaired.  City electricity was off because of downed power lines, but their own auxiliary generators were working well.  Then came the ominous news that a far worse disaster was upon them. The streets of downtown New Orleans were filling with water!  The main levees protecting the city had been breached!  City services such as water, sewerage, and electricity would all be disrupted for an indeterminable time.  Unfortunately, the auxiliary generators at Memorial were located on the first floor, and the rising water would put them out of operation.  The entire building would become dark, life-giving machines for patients would cease to work, elevators would be out of operation, and the water supply would be contaminated.  Clearly, Memorial Hospital had to be evacuated and the sooner the better.

Telephone service was also non-existent, and the staff had to communicate through internet and cell phones.   Emergency messages went out immediately, but all New Orleans was in a crisis no one could have imagined.  City and state authorities had no contingency plans for such a catastrophic emergency.  A call went out to the parent company in Texas which owned Memorial, but they had little to offer, and the hospital seemed to be on its own.  Memorial did have a helipad on the roof, but this rusted structure had not been used for a decade, and no one knew whether it was safe.  And so the staff acted on their own, triaging the patients and deciding to try to evacuate the least desperate cases first.  Over the next several days the National Guard sent some helicopters, and the landing pad did hold.  But it was an onerous task carrying each patient  through narrow dark stairwells to the roof, and the process was exceedingly slow.  Pilots complained that they could work much more efficiently by plucking  individuals from rooftops all over the city.  Finally a fleet of small boats was sent to take away those who were walking patients and could be deposited on a roadside beyond the flooded area.  This left the sickest patients, generally elderly and on life support.  Many were in a vegetative state and near death; they could probably not survive any kind of transportation.  Could the medical staff remain behind, waiting until they died?  And so a decision was apparently made, led by Dr. Anna Maria Pou, a prominent physician on the staff, that these last patients would be administered a lethal dose of morphine.  Was it an act of mercy, or was it murder?  One of the doctors asked the question: “Should we be doing this?”  Those words would come back later to be remembered again and again.  Finally all of the staff departed, and Memorial Hospital was left vacant and empty.

Part Two of Five Days at Memorial is a full and detailed account of the tangled aftermath that would ensue for weeks, months, and even years.  As the waters gradually abated, curious persons, chiefly the news media, approached Memorial Hospital and ventured inside.  The structure was unbelievably fetid from days of accumulating human waste and decaying bodies.  Some individuals fainted.  Others took pictures, and the grisly scenes were soon displayed on local television.  Authorities entered and carried away forty-five human bodies.  Questions soon arose: what happened at Memorial Hospital?  How did this come about?  Accusations were made; it became a major theme of the local news media, and before long questions were being asked nationally.  It was a feature on “Sixty Minutes.”  Relatives of the deceased wanted explanations.  Inevitably the authorities were brought into the picture and an official investigations was underway. The leading members of the staff, including Dr. Anna Marie Pou, were subpoenaed and their testimony taken.  Local citizens began to take sides.  In general Dr. Pou and her colleagues gave a similar response to questions: “ you were not there and cannot believe how horrible the situation was.  We acted in what we thought was best for our patients.”  But was it murder?  Finally it came down to the decision of a grand jury which had to decide whether Dr. Pou and others should be formally charged and tried for a criminal act.  By then most of the public was sympathetic to Dr. Pou, and the jury refused to indict.  Ultimately the whole matter was dropped, although fears lingered that it might resurface.

One of the most valuable parts of the book is a concluding Epilogue in which author Sheri Fink asks what lessons are to be learned from this episode.  After Katrina, did authorities throughout the United States take steps to prevent the repetition of Memorial.  For her answer she considers the actions of authorities when superstorm Sandy struck major Northeastern metropolitan areas and also the response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.  Much has been done, but Fink finds our governmental authorities, our institutions, and our people in general remain unprepared for any kind of major catastrophe, whether caused by nature or through human design.  This is a book for all of us to read and to consider: how can we best prepare for the unthinkable?