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16th out of 37 books
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Jesus Out To Sea
In this moving collection of short stories, James Lee Burke elegantly marries his flair for gripping storytelling with his lyrical writing style and complex, fascinating character portraits. The backdrop of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast is a versatile setting for Burke's stories, which cover the scope of the human experience -- from love and sex to domestic abuse t...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
June 5th 2007
by Simon & Schuster
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‘I don’t care to revisit moments like that.’
This book contains eleven short stories, spanning seven decades and set in two continents. The themes are dark, touching on much that is unpleasant but offering, too, the hope of redemption.
‘I look at him and feel ashamed of both of us.’
What makes these stories work is the extraordinarily vivid characters that Mr Burke creates in each story. Some of the stories are linked through their characters; others share the...more
This book contains eleven short stories, spanning seven decades and set in two continents. The themes are dark, touching on much that is unpleasant but offering, too, the hope of redemption.
‘I look at him and feel ashamed of both of us.’
What makes these stories work is the extraordinarily vivid characters that Mr Burke creates in each story. Some of the stories are linked through their characters; others share the...more
For a variety of reasons, Burke is one of my favorite writers.
His Dave Robicheaux series of crime thrillers are true page turners.
Burke is a master in his descriptions of people, places and
things in those books.
This book is a series of short stories that have been published between
1990 and 2007. The title story is about the devastation that covered
New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The stories are not page turners like the crime nove...more
His Dave Robicheaux series of crime thrillers are true page turners.
Burke is a master in his descriptions of people, places and
things in those books.
This book is a series of short stories that have been published between
1990 and 2007. The title story is about the devastation that covered
New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The stories are not page turners like the crime nove...more
The majority of these stories are set on the Texas/Louisiana coast, and I've been tempted to read this author because he writes in that setting a lot. This collection is not an encouragement to seek his other material.
Someone on this website has already typed up a random passage for me to show you:
"Sometimes he comes to me in my dreams, and I wonder if ironically all our stories were written on his skin back there in Texas City in 1947. Or maybe that's just poetic i...more
Someone on this website has already typed up a random passage for me to show you:
"Sometimes he comes to me in my dreams, and I wonder if ironically all our stories were written on his skin back there in Texas City in 1947. Or maybe that's just poetic i...more
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This is a book of containing eleven short stories. A few of them have the same characters and all but two are set in the South. They are all very well written. The author uses understatement to portray the world with a blue collar point of view; realistically hard and painful with enough humor and humanity to make life worthwhile. I particularly like the details in his descriptions of the scenery and the world around the characters such as the crackle of lightning and its course across the sky o...more
I find Burke to be really hit-or-miss in his novels; I love the way he writes and I love Dave Robicheaux as a character, but I'm not always engaged by or interested in the stories that Burke chooses to tell. This collection hits the things that I loved about Burke -- his language, his narrative characters -- and also eliminates what bothers me, because every single story was engaging, completely.
I read Burke just for the beauty of his prose. The atmospheres he builds are intensely involving and his descriptions can bring tears to a statue. This brief collection of short stories, previously published in several different sources, are far ranging at times, but several are tales of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. I found these the most powerful, but enjoyed them all.
This is one of those books that I'm glad I've read, given my liking for the author, but also wouldn't have bought (thanks, library system!) because I've yet to come across any collection of short stories that holds my attention the same way as a novel.
I've long been a fan of James Lee Burke's crime novels, which I recommend like crazy to anyone who hasn't come across him. He's essentially a novellist who happens to write crime, with a deft touch and lyrical language describing both t...more
I've long been a fan of James Lee Burke's crime novels, which I recommend like crazy to anyone who hasn't come across him. He's essentially a novellist who happens to write crime, with a deft touch and lyrical language describing both t...more
Only Elmore Leonard, James Lee Burke, Stephen King, and Lawrence Block seem to have the ability to make me yearn for the dying art of the short story. It's a format that's fallen out of step with the times. They're too long to be read safely in the span of a television commercial, yet too short to occupy a bedside stand for a week. It' the light lunch of literature and we live in polarized times when folks opt for gluttony or ascetics, Atkins or Grapefruit. The short story fills that beautif...more
SERIES: Short story collection
RATING: 3.75
WHY: I'm not a big fan of short stories. This is a collection of 11 stories by Burke written since the 1990s. Some of the stories are exceelleht; some left me cold. A lot of them were set in the past, as in the 40s. My main complaint was that many of the stories just ended with no real resolution. Burke always writes well, and it's interesting to see him away from his series work.
RATING: 3.75
WHY: I'm not a big fan of short stories. This is a collection of 11 stories by Burke written since the 1990s. Some of the stories are exceelleht; some left me cold. A lot of them were set in the past, as in the 40s. My main complaint was that many of the stories just ended with no real resolution. Burke always writes well, and it's interesting to see him away from his series work.
For the reader who is a fan of Burke, or familiar with his work, these stories will feel comfortable even as they startle. I didn't read the two sections from previos books, and I skipped over "The Molester" (just didn't feel like tackling that one), but the rest were very good, especially the one about a woman trying to deal with AA and the short title work.
There's a lot of pleasure to be had in these short stories from James Lee Burke. What sticks in the mind mostly are the settings, the oil rig towns, flooded New Orleans. Burke isn't of the macho school of crime writing – in fact, some of these are not really typical crime yarns. But his themes here are of broken families, aging and lost souls.
A small volume of short stories. These stories were very gritty and down to how folks think when they live hard and learn hard. If you haven't read JLB this would be a good starter to show you how gritty his stories are. Except of course you would miss the grand and exciting hero James Robichoux! Now that's a man you'd want on your side.
Fran
rated it
Recommends it for:
any James Lee Burke fan, any literate reader
Recommended to Fran by:
my sister Jeannette
Shelves:
short-stories
I am a big fan of James Lee Burke, but I had never read any of his short stories before. Some of these are haunting, especially the Katrina ones and the ones that seem touchingly autobiographical. It makes me wish I knew more about JLB the man, not just the author. Definitely a "must read" if you are a fan of Burke.
Beautifully written short stories: texas noir; one tale after another of moral struggles between fragile and faltering individuals engulfed in sudden evil, and grasping at whatever hope is available. The first James Lee Burke i've read, but now I want to read everything he's written.
Love the Dave Robicheaux novels--I will read anything by James Lee Burke--you can feel and smell the bayou when you read his work--and they're more a study of the human condition than just detective novels---right and wrong are very complicated here.
James Lee Burke is an excellent writer who explores the human condition in depth and with clarity. His settings are generally in the South. These stories leave the reader with lots to think about.
I love James Lee Burke's writing style. His prose is as good as anyone's out there right now. The stories in this book range from good to great. There are no stinkers here. I especially loved the stories that seems somewhat autobiographical.
I don't like reading short stories, normally; I much prefer a longer format. But this was a fine collection of JLB's work, and would make a fine introduction to his style.
this is my 2nd attempt at reading Burke. I'm sorry but his writing just does not engage me. I read two or three of the stories and now I'm ready to take it back to the library...
I love this writer. unabashadly. with abandon. this collection should be read by all as not only a comment on Katrina, but as an example of how tp craft a story.
Hi
I am not a great short story reader. Some of the tales are very good. Yet, some are very,dare I say americany(is there such a word)
However I am a big fan of JLB
I am not a great short story reader. Some of the tales are very good. Yet, some are very,dare I say americany(is there such a word)
However I am a big fan of JLB
I'm a huge fan of Burke, but this collection of short stories was so so. His prose is still poetic and powerful, I just didn't "get" some of the stories.
One of the best short story collections I have ever read! James Lee Burke is a master of the langauge, setting the tone and scene with beautiful prose.
Quite like this Author. Gives you a look into hard times in US way back when.
Makes you appreciate your own life a bit more, that's for sure.
Makes you appreciate your own life a bit more, that's for sure.
A stunning collection of stories. Burke is one of the best living American writers. Please read this collection.
Collection of Short stories that seem to explain the impact of Burke's environment on his life and his writing.
Selection of short stories by the author of Dave Robicheau mysteries. I prefer his Louisiana stories over the Montana stories. Could be because of family ties to Louisiana.
Short stories are not my fave, but some of these were very good.
I don't like shot stories...... wish I'd not bothered with this one
Only read the first two chapters. A bit too violent for my taste.
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James Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for Black Cherry Blues in 1990 and Cimarron Rose in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, re...more
More about James Lee Burke...
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, re...more
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“Then the sun broke above the crest of the hills and the entire countryside looked soaked in blood, the arroyos deep in shadow, the cones of dead volcanoes stark and biscuit-colored against the sky. I could smell pinion trees, wet sage, woodsmoke, cattle in the pastures, and creek water that had melted from snow. I could smell the way the country probably was when it was only a dream in the mind of God.”
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1 person liked it
“Sometimes he comes to me in my dreams, and I wonder if ironically all our stories were written on his skin back there in Texas City in 1947. Or maybe that's just poetic illusion purchased by time. But even in the middle of an Indian summer's day, when the sugarcane is beaten with purple and gold light in the fields and the sun is both warm and cool on your skin at the same time, when I know that the earth is a fine place after all, I have to mourn just a moment for those people of years ago who lived lives they did not choose, who carried burdens that were not their own, whose invisible scars were as private as the scarlet beads of Sister Roberta's rosary wrapped across the back of her small hand, as bright as drops of blood ringed round the souls of little people.”
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1 person liked it
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