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41st out of 61 books
—
17 voters
1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina
by
Chris Rose
1 Dead in Attic is a collection of stories by Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose, recounting the first harrowing year and a half of life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Celebrated as a local treasure and heaped with national praise, Rose provides a rollercoaster ride of observation, commentary, emotion, tragedy, and even humor—in a way that only he could find in a...more
Paperback, 364 pages
Published
August 21st 2007
by Simon & Schuster
(first published February 16th 2006)
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In the United States, there exists only 3 cities whose inhabitants actually love the cities in which they inhabit. They are: San Francisco, New Orleans and New York. If you have not lived in any of these, you probably aren't aware of the palpable affection and pride we have for these fabled places. We know our neighbors. We know the history of buildings and events that have been handed down through oral history.
So, when Katrina hit New Orleans and eviscerated it and then flooded it, it not only...more
So, when Katrina hit New Orleans and eviscerated it and then flooded it, it not only...more
But don't even try to read this without a box of Kleenex. In all honesty, I probably needed a few boxes. Waterworks 4.0.
"Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?" so the old song goes, and I can definitively answer, "Yes, I do." When Seth and I were breaking up it was after the first wave of Katrina horror stories, after the news had tired of this latest Bush tragedy, after I had exhausted my meager means of curtailing whatever Government-funded looting I could possibly curtail. But when Seth and I were breaking up it was the beginning of the longer recovery effort, and Homeland Security was hiring Jack-of-...more
4 likes · like · see review
Rose is a good, emotionally evocative writer, but I found it hard to get through this. Partly because the essays are not grouped chronologically, and partly because the nature of a collection of newspaper columns is that they will be disjointed, and I had trouble staying with them. I have the same problem with collections of short stories - I don't like changing tracks over and over, I need a continuous narrative. It was also hard for me to read these knowing that at the time of publication Rose...more
I had an odd experience while reading this book. It happened between pages 229 and 237. Rose transitions from playing basketball at Wisner Park on the redone Sprite court in the middle of a mess to having his hair cut at a salon on Oak Street. For over two hundred pages, he'd been talking about my city, but all of a sudden, he stepped onto my home turf and it hit, well, home.
Growing up, my surrogate aunts, those saviors of my awkward adolescence, lived by Wisner Park, so when my boyfriend and I...more
Growing up, my surrogate aunts, those saviors of my awkward adolescence, lived by Wisner Park, so when my boyfriend and I...more
Chris Rose has a wonderful eye for capturing all of the unique little brushstrokes that constitute the moving and complex portrait that is post-Katrina New Orleans. His stories are of comfortable lives suddenly thrust into a third-world existence by a natural disaster horribly mismanaged. The old rules and securities vanished, to be replaced by the heart-breaks, absurdities and small wonders of a community teetering on the margins, but refusing to topple.
While most journalists and books focused...more
While most journalists and books focused...more
A compelling and heartbreaking review of life in southern Lousiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This book restored my faith in the art of journalism. Chris Rose deals with pain and triumph in the face of adversity and equally serves those who lived through the tragedy and those who witnessed in only through the news media. As a helicopter pilot tasked with rescuing endangered citizens, putting out fires and bringing supplies to cutoff residents, this book helped bring me closer to the...more
This was a recommendation from our tour guide on the Treme tour that we took when I was at ALA in New Orleans. She said it would give you the best feel for how it really was. She was amazing! Take the tour with Sandy. She was there. So far I am crying and laughing and have to pause and read other things for while because it is overwhelming. Anyone who wants to really get a feel for what went on after Katrina should read this. It is not an easy read.
I used to live in Louisiana and have been searching for friends down there.
I used to hang out with the corps of engineers guy's responsible for not doing much, even when I knew them back in the late 70's.
I used to believe that if you could leave the Northwest and survive the road trip down to New Orleans with a man, with out killing each other it was true love.
I've been married four times.
I've met refugees right here in Washington. A group of jazz musicians were using drug rehabs as homes. Once...more
I used to hang out with the corps of engineers guy's responsible for not doing much, even when I knew them back in the late 70's.
I used to believe that if you could leave the Northwest and survive the road trip down to New Orleans with a man, with out killing each other it was true love.
I've been married four times.
I've met refugees right here in Washington. A group of jazz musicians were using drug rehabs as homes. Once...more
Nov 12, 2012
Hava
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
depressing-books,
nonfiction-books
NOTE: This review originally showed up on my (now defunct) nonfiction book review blog. I read and reviewed this book in August 2008.
*****
I’m not sure how to describe 1 Dead in the Attic: After Katrina by Chris Rose. It was very depressing, yet at times made me laugh and gave me hope for this world.
I guess I could start with the easy stuff: The author is a columnist at The Times-Picayune, the local newspaper for New Orleans. The book is a compilation of his daily columns, starting after Hurrican...more
*****
I’m not sure how to describe 1 Dead in the Attic: After Katrina by Chris Rose. It was very depressing, yet at times made me laugh and gave me hope for this world.
I guess I could start with the easy stuff: The author is a columnist at The Times-Picayune, the local newspaper for New Orleans. The book is a compilation of his daily columns, starting after Hurrican...more
1 Dead in Attic is another one of my collections that I was required to read a few years ago but picked back up when I was older and perhaps more enthused to read. The style of 1 Dead is a little bit like Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain in respect that both books are set up by putting a number of smaller articles or stories in chronological order to tell a story. I have hardly ever read books set up like this and find this style very interesting. The author, Chris Rose has the character ne...more
Feb 29, 2012
Linda Lipko
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hurricane-katrina
The title is taken from writing on a flood destroyed house, indicating yet another victim of the Hurricane Katrina New Orleans tragedy .
This book, written by an award-winning Times Picayune columnist, contains one-chapter short stories that are simply incredible.
Rather than outline what led to Katrina, Rose focuses on the aftermath of the hurricane. His heart rendering account of a year and a half after is so well written that at times I laughed and others I cried. His pithy, heart breaking an...more
This book, written by an award-winning Times Picayune columnist, contains one-chapter short stories that are simply incredible.
Rather than outline what led to Katrina, Rose focuses on the aftermath of the hurricane. His heart rendering account of a year and a half after is so well written that at times I laughed and others I cried. His pithy, heart breaking an...more
3 likes · like · see review
5 stars for New Orleaneans; 4 for those who have visited and love the city, and probably a 3 star rating for strangers to the Crescent City. The stories, legends, epic failings, and media hype completely fail to capture the spirit that is New Orleans, the physical and spiritual damage that Katrina and its aftermath (environmental and bureaucratic) did to one of the most vibrant cultural enclaves in America. The 'real' New Orleans is the people, the spirit, an approach to life and to people. It's...more
I read this book like 2 weeks ago while house sitting the dog and finished it in two days. It's a collection of newspaper articles written by a writer who writes for the Times-Picayune down in New Orleans. The collection of articles were written about everything from the time of "the storm" (as they call it) till after January 1st of the following year. I was there for the week between Christmas and New Years and could picture everything, which made it easier to read and more enjoyable (as most...more
Entertained by it but not a huge fan.
I will say that this may be due to the fact that I read it over 5 years after Katrina (and have been living here the entire time), and any feeling of "rebuilding" New Orleans is long gone... the city is back to normal as far as I'm concerned.
Not a huge fan of anything inspirational. Call me a pessimist (I am not); I hated Slumdog Millionare. Although the book deals with many depressing issues, it is backed with Rose's hope for New Orleans to return, but expla...more
I will say that this may be due to the fact that I read it over 5 years after Katrina (and have been living here the entire time), and any feeling of "rebuilding" New Orleans is long gone... the city is back to normal as far as I'm concerned.
Not a huge fan of anything inspirational. Call me a pessimist (I am not); I hated Slumdog Millionare. Although the book deals with many depressing issues, it is backed with Rose's hope for New Orleans to return, but expla...more
Utterly horrifying, depressing, exhilarating, and at times laugh out loud funny, this book takes you to the streets of New Orleans after it was ravished by Hurricane Katrina.
The book is a collection of short essays, or columns, that Chris Rose, the author, wrote as a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune in Katrina's aftermath. As a New Orleans resident, he shares the pain and helplessness he feels as he tours his city and sees her in ruins. He also shares the hope and positivity he and o...more
The book is a collection of short essays, or columns, that Chris Rose, the author, wrote as a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune in Katrina's aftermath. As a New Orleans resident, he shares the pain and helplessness he feels as he tours his city and sees her in ruins. He also shares the hope and positivity he and o...more
1 Dead in Attic - is a compilaton of the stories written by New Orleans Time Picayune feature write Chris Rose in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "1 Dead in Attic" is typical of the kind of messages first responders sprayed on houses in the areas worst affected.
I actually have two copies of this book. My sister-in-law (a NO native) sent me one a couple of years ago - I didn't want to read something depressing and put it on the shelf - then this spring it was chosen for my book club. I bought...more
I actually have two copies of this book. My sister-in-law (a NO native) sent me one a couple of years ago - I didn't want to read something depressing and put it on the shelf - then this spring it was chosen for my book club. I bought...more
If you're not from New Orleans I'm not sure you can truly understand what those months after Katrina where like for us. But this collection gives you the best chance at understanding. Rose has been a staple in local journalism for as long as I can remember and his voice is so true to us. 1 Dead in the Attic is a collection of his essays and articles detailing those days and months after Katrina. While many wondered why any of us would ever return, for those of us with the roux of New Orleans in...more
Every New Orleanian should read this book. Now.
I happened to request this book from my local library in Arizona because I saw some of Chris Rose's quotes pop up here on Goodreads. Many of them were line upon line of praises about my hometown, references to how culturally awesome Mardi Gras is or how individuals from New Orleans just have this unwavering optimistic spirit about them, and I told myself: I have to read this book.
I've been living in northern Arizona for about eight months now, and a...more
I happened to request this book from my local library in Arizona because I saw some of Chris Rose's quotes pop up here on Goodreads. Many of them were line upon line of praises about my hometown, references to how culturally awesome Mardi Gras is or how individuals from New Orleans just have this unwavering optimistic spirit about them, and I told myself: I have to read this book.
I've been living in northern Arizona for about eight months now, and a...more
Well before Katrina roared through New Orleans I had planned a trip there with friends. Tickets were bought, reservations were made. And then the deluge.
Our stay was scheduled for 7 months after the hurricane. So many people asked if we were still going and each time we responded yes. We would go, make the best of it, spend as much money as we could - our way of helping.
I am so incredibly glad I went. They say there are three cities in the U.S that the residents truly love. San Francisco, New Yo...more
I've been going to New Orleans ~ once a month for the last 8 months for work, and picked up this book for a flight home... aside from the occasional pause when it got a bit much and the drive back to the house, I read it in one go.
It's an incredibly vivid book, and while reading it isn't an act of witness like the writing of it, the city and the people deserve that much of your time at least. You don't have to go too far into east New Orleans or for that matter just skirt the perimeter of the L...more
It's an incredibly vivid book, and while reading it isn't an act of witness like the writing of it, the city and the people deserve that much of your time at least. You don't have to go too far into east New Orleans or for that matter just skirt the perimeter of the L...more
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I had a trip to New Orleans planned so I decided to go to the library and get some history books. I saw 1 Dead In Attic and remembered seeing Chris Rose on No Reservations talking to Anthony Bourdain. He was a slight mess and pretty emotional about Katrina and the aftermath, even years later. I got the book anyways.
This is basically a series of Rose's newspaper articles that he wrote, editorials pretty much. Very emotional, very raw and, sometimes, very upsetting. He left his wife and kids with...more
This is basically a series of Rose's newspaper articles that he wrote, editorials pretty much. Very emotional, very raw and, sometimes, very upsetting. He left his wife and kids with...more
"1 Dead in Attic" is a collection of Times-Picayune reporter Chris Rose's post-Katrina columns.
For the post part, Rose manages to avoid the trap of writing repetitive, formulaic pieces, which I think must be tough for columnists in any circumstance and tougher still for one facing aftermath of a hurricane.
Rose himself got off relatively easy, as his home, job and family survived the storm. Then again, his marriage and his mental health did not. It says something about journalism that a man woul...more
For the post part, Rose manages to avoid the trap of writing repetitive, formulaic pieces, which I think must be tough for columnists in any circumstance and tougher still for one facing aftermath of a hurricane.
Rose himself got off relatively easy, as his home, job and family survived the storm. Then again, his marriage and his mental health did not. It says something about journalism that a man woul...more
1 like · like · see review
What a powerful series of essays (columns from the Times-Picayune), written post-Katrina, 9/2/2005 through 2006. Journalist and columnist Chris Rose chronicles and reflects on the Katrina aftermath in New Orleans, while unintentionally (at first) also chronicling his descent into serious clinical depression. Mr. Rose writes wonderfully - prose just flows from the pen in a beautiful, raw, gritty, highly observant voice. I applaud his ability to continue to do so while, literally, slowly going mad...more
Okay, so this book is moreso a reminder of what was than something informative for me. I read most of the pieces that comprise this book in the Times-Pic in late 2005/early 2006. Chris Rose is an incredible writer who has the ability to connect to others in a very tangible and emotional way. I actually gave this book to my Mom in 2006 as a Christmas present, but never brought myself to read it until now. It was nostalgia at its worst: it brought back a lot of bad feelings, the feelings that part...more
Excerpt from What I've Been Reading - May 2008
"Rose’s Time-Picayune columns are at times raw, unbridled rage. At times, sarcastic humor. At times, longing reverence for what life was like before The Thing. It looks at the city from a perspective most of us can’t claim – a perspective born from tradition, fueled by witness, hardened by a knowledge of what’s right and frustration in the fact that “what’s right” wasn’t happening.
We’ve seen the footage. We’ve heard the stories. But we really haven’t...more
"Rose’s Time-Picayune columns are at times raw, unbridled rage. At times, sarcastic humor. At times, longing reverence for what life was like before The Thing. It looks at the city from a perspective most of us can’t claim – a perspective born from tradition, fueled by witness, hardened by a knowledge of what’s right and frustration in the fact that “what’s right” wasn’t happening.
We’ve seen the footage. We’ve heard the stories. But we really haven’t...more
Chris Rose is a reporter for the Times-Picayune in Louisiana. He continued to write his column for the paper after Katrina devastated New Orleans.
How this man was able to survive and forgo his devastation and continue to see the good and the bad during this disaster is the most striking part of these vignettes about life in the aftermath.
The stories of refigerators that line the roads, appliances being sunk into potholes big enough to do that in, how some people didn't experience any devastatio...more
How this man was able to survive and forgo his devastation and continue to see the good and the bad during this disaster is the most striking part of these vignettes about life in the aftermath.
The stories of refigerators that line the roads, appliances being sunk into potholes big enough to do that in, how some people didn't experience any devastatio...more
Apr 03, 2009
Andrea
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Americans
Shelves:
history,
nola-studies
Although I would categorize this as 'easy to read' because of Rose's writing style - the book is a compilation of his Times Picayune weekly columns - by no means would I imply the subject matter is glib or easy in its subject matter. I realized with each passing chapter that I had not fully appreciated everything that had transpired in NOLA with Hurricane Katrina. If you have any interest in the Big Easy, or just need to brush up on the humane side of current US history, read this book. I found...more
Nov 03, 2010
Caroline Alicia
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no -one
Halfway into the book. Not what I'd thought it'd be so, yeah. No thanks. I'd rather read something written by people who lived in the poorer areas who didn't have the means to grill steaks and drink cold beers. From people who stayed, not because they thought they'd ride this storm out, but who had no means of leaving. I guess that is to say, I wanted Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke -esque voice. Katrina showed, once again for those who think everything is honky dory, how very non-progessive A...more
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“To encapsulate the notion of Mardi Gras as nothing more than a big drunk is to take the simple and stupid way out, and I, for one, am getting tired of staying stuck on simple and stupid.
Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.
Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?
It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.
Now that part, more than ever.
It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.
It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.
Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”
—
30 people liked it
Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.
Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?
It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.
Now that part, more than ever.
It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.
It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.
Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”
“If there was no New Orleans, America would just be a bunch of free people dying of boredom." -Judy Deck in an e-mail sent to Chris Rose”
—
25 people liked it
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May 16, 2013 03:10pm