My Juliet

by John Ed Bradley

One of the South's best writers returns with a scorching tale of murder and sexual obsession in New Orleans

John Ed Bradley is a writer of great power and intensity whose early novels were ecstatically received by critics. It has been six years since Bradley has published a novel, and he has used that time to craft a noir tour de force that breathes new life into the Southern gothic tradition.

My Juliet tells the story of a struggling artist, Sonny LaMott, and his obsessive love for Juliet Beauvais, who is Thanatos and Eros all balled up into one nasty, irresistible package. Juliet returns to New Orleans after her years as an "actress" in California, thinking that her mother is about to die and that she will inherit the family mansion. But Juliet discovers she's been tricked by her mother, so this most fatale of femmes seeks out the damaged Sonny, who still can't resist her fifteen years after she crushed his heart. With ease, Juliet seduces him anew, nefarious purposes in mind.

Juliet is an unforgettable character, and the prose and dialogue drip with New Orleans atmosphere. The gothic elements--graveyards, kinky debauchery, decay, melodrama--are superbly rendered, yet the author's rich sense of humor and pity for his characters make it all vibrant and original. Bradley excels at stretching out an impending sense of doom that hovers over all the players, creating a delicious tension out of our expectation of the worst yet to come.

With My Juliet John Ed Bradley returns, triumphantly, to the literary scene.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kathleen Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love John Ed Bradley's writing and this book is a perfect example of his skill at taking you out of wherever you are and in to another time and place. The place for "My Juliet" is the French Quarter in New Orleans, a place that I love, pre-Katrina when the charm was interwoven with a considerable amount of dark, dangerous, dysfunctional stuff. This is a story about obsession and is a sad exploration of how a basically decent guy screws up his life over a woman who in no way deserves him.

I'll admit I was tempted to give the book 3 stars just because I found Juliet so obnoxious but that wouldn't be fair because the writing is superb. And it ended well --- I was enthralled all the way through even though I wanted to give Sonny a good swat upside the head. Which, ultimately, he gave himself.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I have read from John Ed Bradley. I almost gave up and stopped reading about about 50 pages, but continued on, and I am glad I did. I became intrigued by Sonny, the main character of the novel, and his attachment to Juliet, his father, his painting, his lifestyle. Very different from most books I read.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filthy. Depressing. Wonderful.