George
Bishop pens this coming-of-age tale in “The Night of the Comet,” his follow-up
novel to his impressing debut, “Letter to My Daughter.” In addition to father
and son’s hope for exciting possibilities, both of which may be painfully
crushed, there’s Alan’s wife, Lydia, also bored with her life and her tedious
husband. She dreams of more, much like her daughter, Meagan, itching to leave
home and seek out broader horizons.
The
Broussard family lingers in limbo until the comet arrives, but its presence and
the events surrounding its arrival may not be the answer to their prayers.
As
in his previous novel, Bishop offers a delicate look inside a breaking family,
examines the hopes and dreams of youth that stale as people head through life
and the expectations we sometimes attach to stars.
Bishop
earned an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he won
the Award of Excellence for a collection of stories. He has lived and taught in
Slovakia, Turkey, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, India and Japan. He now lives in New
Orleans.
New releases
Bennett
Sims of Baton Rouge has penned a zombie novel titled “A Questionable Shape” in
which his character Mazoch returns home to find his father’s home a mess and
his father missing. In the midst of a zombie epidemic, he creates a list of his
father's haunts and enlists help in tracking him down. However, hurricane
season threatens to wipe out any undead not already contained, and eliminate
all hope of finding Mazoch’s father. Sims is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’
Workshop, and has had stories published in A Public Space, Tin House and Zoetrope:
All-Story. He currently teaches at the University of Iowa, where he is Provost
Postgraduate Visiting Writer in Fiction.
Now in paperback
Last
year on Aug. 23 a book was published that marked the 100th
anniversary of the alleged kidnapping of Louisiana toddler Bobby Dunbar, a
story that fascinated America at the time and riveted recent listeners when an
episode aired on National Public Radio’s “This American Life.” The case became
a book, “A Case for Solomon,” by Tal McThenia and Bobby's granddaughter,
Margaret Dunbar Cutright, and the paperback version is out now.
The
story follows 4-year-old Dunbar, who disappeared after enjoying an afternoon at
the family camp on Swayze Lake near Opelousas. The parents believed the boy had
been kidnapped and eight months later were certain a boy fitting Bobby’s
description was found in Mississippi. What followed was and still is one of the
most fascinating cases in America history, one in which DNA finally solved the
100-year-old mystery.
If
you haven’t read the hardback, now’s your chance to get a copy.
Also
out in paperback is Nathalie Dupree’s “Comfortable Entertaining: At Home with
Ease and Grace” (University of Georgia Press), with photography by Tom Eckerle.
The cookbook won a James Beard award years ago for best cookbook and is now
being reissued in paperback.
Acadian Day
Acadian
Culture Day will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at Vermilionville, focusing on
family folklore and including a genealogy station, table Francaise, cooking
demonstrations, boat tours and canoeing, artist demonstrations, games and
crafts for children, film screenings, music in the Performance Center by
Recolte Band and Al Berard Family Band, and more. Admission is free. For
information, visit Vermilionville.org.
Book events
Lolis
Eric Elie signs “Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans” from
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at 9 Le Musée de f.p.c. and Community Books, 2336
Esplanade in New Orleans.
Cheré Coen is the author
of “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic
Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding
Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing
Education. Write her at chere@louisianabooknews.com.
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