Julia Reed (1) (1960–2020)

This is the story of how Julia Reed found a husband and a house and a home in New Orleans, and what happened during and after Katrina. She is a fine writer, engaging and witty, and the subject matter should be compelling. So why didn't I like this book?

Perhaps it's a flaw in my character, but when someone has the regular services of a maid, and said maid's extended family when throwing cocktail parties for 100, and has a handyman (however drug-addicted) on call, when that person can buy a show more mansion in the Garden District that has a dining room which holds a table seating twenty-four and proceeds to renovate that mansion with extravagantly expensive materials, I find it difficult to summon up much sympathy when she complains about the costs she's incurring. Nor, when the house is left nearly unscathed by Katrina, can I empathize with her worries about her jewelry and whether her champagne will be ruined by the heat.

It's very odd, because Reed seems like a generous, warm-hearted, fun-loving person, the kind of woman I'd probably like to hang out with. But there's a disconnect that I can't quite fathom between that person and the one who has to keep bending over to pick up the names she's dropping. And that irritated me to the point where I simply could not enjoy her book. show less

Highly engaging combination of home renovation saga, food writing, and Katrina memoir. The author is a clearly wealthy contributing editor for Vogue and Newsweek whose historic home survives the storm and its aftermath. The focus is on the food industry in the wake of the storm. This proves to be a truly unique perspective. There is plenty of grit and graphic bits to represent the abundance of horrors the Crescent City endured. While the availability of fresh oysters and lump crabmeat cannot show more possibly compare with the carnage, there is merit in the notion that life, and the party (in New Orleans, anyway), must go on. The author also repeatedly acknowledges with great wonder at her good fortune as well as her immense guilt at having same. I truly enjoyed this book. show less

She comes off as a slightly left-leaning country club Southern belle. But that's not a 100% bad thing at all. She has some humor and wit. She seems to be trying to explain Southern culture to readers of things like New York Times and Vogue, which are some of the zines that these essays originally appeared in. I am probably NOT the audience for this kind of thing, but having grown up as a middle class fella in medium-sized North Carolina towns, I get what she's speaking of. My favorite parts show more are when she's talking about getting sloshed. It's getting to be pretty non-PC to openly talk about boozing and this is...refreshing. The problem is how much she gives off an air of privilege. But hey--people born into privilege can voice their thoughts. show less

She comes off as a slightly left-leaning country club Southern belle. But that's not a 100% bad thing at all. She has some humor and wit. She seems to be trying to explain Southern culture to readers of things like New York Times and Vogue, which are some of the zines that these essays originally appeared in. I am probably NOT the audience for this kind of thing, but having grown up as a middle class fella in medium-sized North Carolina towns, I get what she's speaking of. My favorite parts show more are when she's talking about getting sloshed. It's getting to be pretty non-PC to openly talk about boozing and this is...refreshing. The problem is how much she gives off an air of privilege. But hey--people born into privilege can voice their thoughts. show less