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16th out of 159 books
—
109 voters
New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City
For two decades "NPR" commentator Andrei Codrescu has been living in and writing about his adopted city, where, as he puts it, the official language is dreams. How apt that a refugee born in Transylvania found his home in a place where vampires roam the streets and voodoo queens live around the corner; where cemeteries are the most popular picnic spots, the ghosts of poets...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
January 31st 2006
by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
(first published January 31st 2001)
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Short essays by Codrescu, a Romanian born in Transylvania who has lived and written in New Orleans for the last twenty plus years. Codrescu is a good writer, so his romanticizing of the city, although sentimental, is poetic. A few good quotes:
"This is a city of night, fog, and mud, the three elements agains which all the might of America is mobilized."
"A summer afternoon in New Orleans can stretch to infinity over a few beers."
"New Orleans is Blanche Dubois, and that mix of knowledge, denial, hu...more
"This is a city of night, fog, and mud, the three elements agains which all the might of America is mobilized."
"A summer afternoon in New Orleans can stretch to infinity over a few beers."
"New Orleans is Blanche Dubois, and that mix of knowledge, denial, hu...more
After reading this collection of essays, it has officially made my "to-buy" list. If you're not familiar with Codrescu from his work on NPR, this is a fantastic introduction. He is originally from Romania but has called New Orleans his home since 1981. And it's his stalwart love of this city with all its flaws that fills this book with beautifully descriptive pieces of N.O.L.A. life.
It's an easy read with most of the essays two pages long, with the last few written after Katrina. I'd recommend i...more
It's an easy read with most of the essays two pages long, with the last few written after Katrina. I'd recommend i...more
May 04, 2013
Mike
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
pimps, because pimps don't commit suicide
This book is a charming collection of vignettes about New Orleans. The author clearly loves his adopted city, though he does not attempt to gloss over the poverty and corruption ... to do so would be unfair as they have lived there much longer than he.
New Orleans is dead. Like most dead things it decomposes, or in other words is eaten by things much smaller than itself. These tiny feasts are a parade, the decadent formula by which the burden of pain and loss become something we can bear. All of...more
New Orleans is dead. Like most dead things it decomposes, or in other words is eaten by things much smaller than itself. These tiny feasts are a parade, the decadent formula by which the burden of pain and loss become something we can bear. All of...more
My fondness for New Orleans is great. I lived in southeast Louisiana for six years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and I visited the Crescent City, ate at its great restaurants, and listened to its music many times. Despite moving away from the state in 1981, I almost yearly visit my mother, brother, and sister in Baton Rouge with side trips to New Orleans, an hour away.
Thus I looked forward to reading the impressions of the city by the Romanian-born writer and NPR commentator Andrei Codres...more
Thus I looked forward to reading the impressions of the city by the Romanian-born writer and NPR commentator Andrei Codres...more
This book is the best description of New Orleans that I have ever found. If you know New Orleans, every word of this will ring true. If you do not know New Orleans - this might help - but you may think Codrescu is making things up or exagerating - which he is not. It is perfect that a poet should write about New Orleans - becuase mere prose cannot do justice to this amazing, mess of a city. (This is not s book of poetry - but his turn of phrase is so beuatiful and spot on time and again.) It wil...more
Oct 22, 2009
Matt Amott
added it
short essays about the city that i love called new orleans. some dating back to the mid 80's when andrei moved there. funny stories about the people and places that make up this incredible town. and the author is a contributor to npr, so some of these chapters have been read on the radio. if you are familar with the city then you know of most of the places that he talks about. and if not, then you want to go visit them. it also helps that his favorite places in the city are also mine, like lafay...more
Since I was heading to Nola for Mardi Gras I wanted to read something topical about the city. New Orleans, Mon Amour, was written by fellow Romanian and poet Andrei Codrescu, and is a compilation of all the writing he has done over the years about his adopted home. The longer essays were excellent. Through entertaining anecdotes and poetic prose Codrescu provides a surrealist picture of a surreal city. The stories seem too wild to be true, but after being there, I realized that nothing is too wi...more
Even though I grew up in Louisiana and lived most of my life there, I never really had any love for or desire to visit New Orleans. For the first time, I've read a book that makes me think I might have been missing out. However, it should be noted that Andrei Codrescu (LA's Transylvanian poet-in-residence & NPR commentator) has the luxury of living the Bohemian life, at least according to his writing. If I had ever moved to New Orleans, I have no doubt that I would have spent most of my time...more
Finished New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings From The City by Andrei Codrescu. Each story engages me to some new idea; ideas of description, ideas of place, ideas of people and living. What a city! To take coffee with Codrescu in the cemetary, to share a story in bar or cafe, to smell the trees and food and history that makes New Orleans a place of mythology, a place were Dylan can call home, a place I hear on the radio’s morning news.
I read the majority of it when down in México. I...more
I read the majority of it when down in México. I...more
Jan 15, 2008
Tara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of NPR, good essays, people who love New Orleans
Recommended to Tara by:
NPR
For the record, Andrei Codrescu is a genius. In the deluge of New Orleans odes that sprang up after Katrina (if only there had been more before!), this was far and away the best. If you pick one book to read about that city (other than A Confederacy of Dunces, this should be the one. Some of these essays may seem familiar to you if you listen to All Things Considered with any frequency. Codrescu, a New Orleanian by way of Romania, presents a collection of twenty-five years of tales and musings f...more
From, Andrei Codrescu, a book best described by its title. Republished pieces mostly, all about New Orleans, the Ex-Romanian poet's adopted home, compiled after Hurricane Katrina and human shortsightedness ravaged the city. Most are pieces I'd read before in various other collections, but taken together in this context they form a love letter to a city perhaps on her deathbed...
Maybe not all that odd a poet from Transylvania can capture so well the culture and spirit of New Orleans. A very nice collection of essays capturing his love affair with the city, pre-Katrina. I live there a short time, have visited often. I am a carpetbagger. But until I read anything better, I will think often of this book when I periodically have that longing feeling to get back there. His work helps soften the small loss I feel that I ever left.
If you are familiar with Andrei Codrescu's work, then you will recognize much of this book. You read it before. But it's always nice to revisit essays and vignettes in one collection. There's something to reading selections from twenty years of writing that gives you a new perspective on things you've already read.
I could go on and on about New Orleans, etc. I really enjoyed this book and zipped through it quickly. One person's NOLA is never another person's NOLA and I immediately noticed that c...more
I could go on and on about New Orleans, etc. I really enjoyed this book and zipped through it quickly. One person's NOLA is never another person's NOLA and I immediately noticed that c...more
The author is an NPR commentator, though I have not heard him, a Romanian who has made New Orleans his home for over 20 years. This was a bunch of essays written over a long period of time gathered together here as a book, For the most part I enjoyed the book, as it was about New Orleans, my favorite city, but it did drag on at times and some ideas tended to repeat more than necessary, The last section about Katrina and life after is probably the part I liked the best.
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Quirky and quite accurate view from the inside out of life in New Orleans. Since English is not his first language, Andrei Codrescu comes up with unusual and carefully hewn expressions that, while not sounding "foreign," still shape and bend the language differently than a native speaker normally would. Love his writing.
I bought this book as a present for a friend from NOLA, now living in Boston. Turns out they had the book, so I decided to read it myself. I had just returned from the city, my first trip, and had fallen in love. This book is one man's love letter to the city he lives in. Although he was born in Romania and had seen much of the US, you can tell that New Orleans is not just his place of residence, but his home. Fascinating stuff that makes you laugh and shocks you all at the same time. I need to...more
Perhaps my affection of this book was affected by the fact that I read it -- in its entirety -- on a flight bound for New Orleans. A collection of short vignettes on NOLA's unique character, I tore through the stories in anticipation of Jazz Fest, the characters, the smells and flavors of my spiritual home. It's an interesting chronicle of the city through the two decades preceding Hurricane Katrina and its immediate aftermath. Though there is some redundancy, and Codescru plays on a lot of the...more
I read this on my way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras - it gives a very fun picture of the city through a number of essays. Some were only okay, others were brilliant - overall, a fun book to read before or after visiting the city!
This book was written by a guy known for National Public Radio. He lived in the
French Quarter and wrote short essays and stories about his life there. He appreciates all of the things that I love about New Orleans, the food, the music, the nightlife, the people, the essence of the city, all that. Its cool to see others see the same thing that I see about New Orleans. Awesome book for someone whose heart is always in New Orleans.
French Quarter and wrote short essays and stories about his life there. He appreciates all of the things that I love about New Orleans, the food, the music, the nightlife, the people, the essence of the city, all that. Its cool to see others see the same thing that I see about New Orleans. Awesome book for someone whose heart is always in New Orleans.
This is book is ideal for anyone who loves New Orleans, loves the idea of loving New Orleans, or thinks they might love New Orleans. It is a truly loving depiction of the city, its triumphs, and its flaws by Andrei Codrescu, a regular guest on NPRs All Things Considered. As his collected writings, it is also a good fit for anyone who like the memoir or travel writing style.
An interesting sidenote, the book was ready to be published right before Katrina, but the author added 3 passages to it in...more
An interesting sidenote, the book was ready to be published right before Katrina, but the author added 3 passages to it in...more
Jul 27, 2011
Cecelia
added it
I absolutly adore this book and I think everyone who is interested in a funny and time spanning account of a wonderful city should read this.
Jun 01, 2007
Juli
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants to understand pre levee failure life in the quarter
Shelves:
haveread
Andrei lives here not only because he loves it here, but because he belongs here. He once told me that the great tragedy of his life was that he could not hire a "scribe" to follow him around and record his life for him, so that one part of him always had to remain separate from his actions so that he could record it later.
Reading this book is a lot like having the privilege of Andrei Codrescu as your personal scribe whilst you shamble through life in the quarter; it's messy, dirty, literate an...more
Reading this book is a lot like having the privilege of Andrei Codrescu as your personal scribe whilst you shamble through life in the quarter; it's messy, dirty, literate an...more
A little "high school" - but very much New Orleans. Funny, for me, they were the same thing!
Beautiful writing, but towards the end Codrescu bordered on elitism. I get that New Orleans has a rich culture all its own, but Codrescu treated New Orleans as the greatest place on earth and anyone who doesn't live there is seen as a boring, uncultured zombie.
I really liked the book - beautiful writing; funny; sentimental. I got the book prior to a vacation in New Orleans. I was looking for a book *about* New Orleans, not a travel guide - and that's what this is - a series of stories about New Orleans.
One chapter, "My City My Wilderness", which consisted of only one essay was a bit boring and rambling. My favorite essays were those where he describes the characters of New Orleans. I would recommend it to anyone who loves or wants to know about New O...more
One chapter, "My City My Wilderness", which consisted of only one essay was a bit boring and rambling. My favorite essays were those where he describes the characters of New Orleans. I would recommend it to anyone who loves or wants to know about New O...more
I remember when I first read this book. I couldn't just pick it up and read it. I felt as if I had to get into a certain kind of mood before I was allowed to open the pages. Each story reminded me of some scene in nature, like a sunset after a delicious meal, sitting with family. I had those same feelings when reading his work. I've never had an author create such feelings within me with his work. I'm so glad I own this book and I will recommend it to anyone who knows little to nothing about New...more
It was nice to learn about my future home, but the book probably is best consumed in small doses. I liked some of the essays, but others failed to stir me. I know that I'm excited to be eating New Orleans food rather than just reading about it...
Mar 23, 2011
Michelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Michelle by:
My worldy auntie
Shelves:
favorites
New Orleans, Mon Amour is a collection of short essays and writings by Andrei Codrescu. As an overview, it was like reading a blog. He jumped topics a lot, but they were all well-connected to New Orleans and larger ideas of government and individualism. I liked that each little section was only about 2 pages long.
Check out the rest of my review out our book club Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/aptsecr...
Check out the rest of my review out our book club Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/aptsecr...
Nice collections of essays.
Codrescu can be a bit arch for me, but, as my wife and I met in New Orleans, I'm cutting him a break.
I will say I enjoy him better in shorter pieces, and this collection (obviously centered thematically) is a good one.
When day is done, his words feel like a friend's hand on your shoulder, as you sit in the gutter that was Nawlins and wonder how we let this all happen.
I will say I enjoy him better in shorter pieces, and this collection (obviously centered thematically) is a good one.
When day is done, his words feel like a friend's hand on your shoulder, as you sit in the gutter that was Nawlins and wonder how we let this all happen.
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Andrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009.
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“Nostalgia is masochism and masochism is something masochists love to share.”
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28 people liked it
“There is a velvety sensuality here at the mouth of the Mississippi that you won't find anywhere else. Tell me what the air feels like at 3 A.M. on a Thursday night in August in Shaker Heights and I bet you won't be able to say because nobody stays up that late. But in New Orleans, I tell you, it's ink and honey passed through silver moonlight.”
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