In
a tranquil suburb of Baton Rouge a young girl experiences a horrible crime.
There are four suspects, one of which is the narrator of “My Sunshine Away,”
the impressive debut novel of M.O. Walsh.
It’s
the summer of 1989 and kids are riding bikes, exploring the woods behind their
houses and falling in love. Outside of a couple of kids acting out, it appears
to be an idyllic American neighborhood until 15-year-old Lindy Simpson is
sexually assaulted coming home from track practice. The folks living on Piney
Creek Road will never be the same.
As
the narrator explains his long infatuation with Lindy, which eventually makes
him a suspect, he also details the characters most likely to have committed the
crime — a threatening giant of a neighbor abusive to his family, his tortured
delinquent son and the local bully no one wishes to cross. As the narrator
recounts that summer and the two years following, he also experiences his
parents’ divorce and the death of a sister, all events that disrupt what was
once an innocent childhood.
The
mystery is solved by book’s end but the character’s introspection at its
conclusion will stay with readers long after that last page is read. Walsh has
penned a marvelous story.
In
addition to the plotline, the book is filled with exquisite passages such as
the narrator’s heartfelt reflections that veer from childhood and teenage
apathy to rabid infatuation. His explanations of South Louisiana climate,
customs and our love affair with food are also right on, as well as
descriptions of Baton Rouge residents after Katrina, another moment when
innocence was swept away. “My Sunshine Away” is both rivating as a novel and
enjoyable for its accuracy of Louisiana life, although it’s understandable
since Walsh grew up in a Baton Rouge neighborhood much like his fictional one,
and witnessed a crime against a young neighbor as well.
“I
thought back to my childhood days, about the joy in them, and since I was now
old enough to think about parenting and about children, I could no longer
suppress this other neighborhood story that I’d buried in my memory,” he wrote
in the press materials that arrived with my review copy. His goal in writing
the novel was “to try and highlight the importance of family and memory, and
find ways to illustrate how these things, when viewed as gifts instead of
burdens, can help a person value their life and those whose lives they are part
of.”
Walsh’s
essays have appeared in numerous national magazines. He is a graduate of the
MFA program at Ole Miss and is now director of the Creative Writing Workshop at
UNO.
Walsh
will sign copies of “My Sunshine Away” at the book’s launch at 6 p.m. Tuesday
at Chelsea’s Café, 2857 Perkins Road in Baton Rouge.
Mardi Gras books
If
you’re looking to get into the Carnival spirit, there are several new books out
just in time.
Lynn
Shurr of New Iberia has published a romance titled “Courir de Mardi Gras” and
following in the series is “Mardi Gras Madness,” due out Feb. 13, and “Queen of
the Mardi Gras Ball” on March 15. Those
are only three novels in this prolific author’s career. Check out all her books
at www.lynnshurr.com.
New
Orleans author Colleen Mooney presents the first in her “To Go Cup Chronicle”
series, another romantic romp. “Rescued By a Kiss” is the first novel, where a
New Orleans girl receives a mysterious kiss at a Mardi Gras parade which gets
her in a whole lot of trouble. The book was the winner of two Southern
Louisiana Romance Writers awards and proceeds from the book will benefit animal
shelter rescue. The book is available at
Amazon.com
or local bookstores.
One
of Allemand Parish’s wealthiest men staggers and falls following a Mardi Gras
parade, only to be found murdered with a gris gris bag tied to the knife in his
chest in A.C. Mason’s “Mardi Gras Gris Gris.” The Baton Rouge author’s full
name is Anne Clayre Mason and she’s written several romantic suspense and
mysteries. Visit her web site at
www.anneclayremason.com.
A
fun Mardi Gras book for this time of year has been created by Lafayette artist
Vergie Banks. “The Journey of the Little Red Tricycle, Zoe Meets Gumbo,” for
ages 3 and up, centers around a young girl named Zoe who can speak three
languages, English, French and Spanish. Zoe dresses in costumes and enjoys a
country Mardi Gras with zydeco music, chasing chickens and a gumbo at day’s end,
even though the chicken she brings home becomes a pet. Banks’s little red
tricycle is part of her most popular body of artwork that portrays a little
Creole girl with pigtails on her three-wheeler.
New releases
Neal
Bertrand of Lafayette has published a book containing more than 600 photos his
father took while serving in World War II, plus portions of his battalion’s
daily journals, in “Dad’s War Photos: Adventures in the South Pacific.”
According to Bertrand, the book contains 14 types of airplanes, Bob Hope
signing autographs and photos from captured Japanese cameras, plus 21 maps that
trace his father’s steps from country to country. “Dad’s War Photos” is on sale
at Champagne’s Supermarket in the Oil Center or by sending $25 to Cypress Cove
Publishing, P.O. Box 91195, Lafayette, LA 70509-1195.
Bertrand
will speak at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Imperial St. Landry Genealogical and
Historical Society meeting at the Opelousas Library. He will display his
father’s artifacts and speak about the book.
Annmarie
Sartor of Monroe has published “We met in September,” a romantic suspense that
chronicles the rise and disappearance of an international sailing magnet and
the wife who takes on a frantic search to find him. The book is available at
online bookstores. For information, visit
http://annmariesartor.com/.
Three
generations of the Sandoz family investigate the spooky happenings inside the
100-year-old family home of Opelousas in “The Presence Within,” written by Jeff
and Jane Simmons Sandoz with illustrations by John Sandoz. The book is available
at The Cuttery, J.B. Sandoz and the Sandoz Law Office in Opelousas and at
Amazon.com.
Rachel
N. Stewart of Baton Rouge has published “Take It & Laugh,” about a young
girl who becomes a single parent but finds her purpose through Jesus and
receiving an education. The book is available at online bookstores.
Ashley
Blake of Nashville, a native of Louisiana, has published a suspense titled
“Dark Bayou” in which main character Freddy Tango’s grandfather insists he was
attacked by a long-dead outlaw. Someone is searching for the outlaw’s treasure
and they believe Cecil Tango has it.
Book events
The
Lafayette Public Library will screen the documentary “Lost Boys of Sudan” at 6
p.m. Tuesday with a discussion at 7:45 p.m. at South Regional Library as part
of the program called Lafayette Reads Together. The inaugural program focuses on
the New York Times bestseller “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, a
survivor’s tale inspired by the real story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan,
who not only saved himself, but improved the quality of life for many. For a
list of events, visit
LafayettePublicLibrary.org.
Warren
and Mary Perrin, editors of “Acadie Then and Now: A People’s History,” will
speak about their new book at 6 p.m. Thursday as part of the Center for
Louisiana Studies’ “Bayou State Book Talks” at South
Regional
Library. For more information, call 233-5832, or email
perrin@plddo.com.
Cheré Coen is the author
of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “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.” Write
her at cherecoen@gmail.com.
The Writers and Readers Symposium will be Saturday, Feb. 17, at Hemingbough in St. Francisville and will include poet Catharine Savage Brosman, art writer John R. Kemp, award-winning thriller novelist Michael Rubin, critically acclaimed author Genaro Ky Ly Smith and New York Times best-selling author M.O. Walsh. Ernest J. Gaines will also be on hand to discuss his new book The Tragedy of Brady Sims. 
