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James Lee Burke
created by
jodrell
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) by
jodrell
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1
C!
I like it!
Fri Mar 01 2002 at 15:54:18
When all's said and done, James Lee Burke will probably turn out to be my favourite writer. I discovered him during the summer of 1997, between my 2nd and 3rd year at university.
GQ
had put a free copy of
Dixie City Jam
and I just considered it a cool freebie. Just like a drug,
the first one is free
.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Burke's writing is his lyrical, intensely visual writing style - I've never visited the places where he sets his books
(almost always in the South of the
USA
, mainly
Louisiana
,
New Orleans
and
New Iberia
)
, but I feel like I'm a regular visitor. I can close my eyes and see the
levees
and
mangrove swamps
of
Baton Rouge
, the view of the
Gulf of Mexico
from
Dave Robicheaux
's bait shop in
New Iberia
. Burke can evoke the sights, sounds and smells of his locations so well that I don't think you could do better with a movie camera
(which would probably ruin his stories anyway)
.
This very romantic style of description is in stark contrast to the rest of his writing - Burke writes about
wounded
and
broken
people struggling against
prejudice
,
ignorance
and
brutality
. The Robicheaux novels are superficially just
detective novels
but Burke weaves in threads dealing with
Racism
, the
Klan
, the history of the
Deep South
,
corruption
in the
Police
and
politics
,
Vietnam
,
alcoholism
,
child abuse
, and deep psychological trauma. His heroes are often as volatile and violent as his villains.
Burke's most famous
(and most fully realised)
hero is
Dave Robicheaux
, a
Vietnam
vet,
alcoholic
ex-cop/P.I. struggling to find happiness with his family and friends in a world that won't let him. You get the impression that Dave is very auto-biographical - I've never found a more three dimensional character. Robicheaux struggles to lift himself out of the dark and hopeless world of
white trash
has was born into, sometimes he's lucky, often he isn't.
Either way, I haven't yet come across a more compelling writer than Burke, or a more interesting character than
Dave Robicheaux
.
http://www.jamesleeburke.com/
Bibliography:
The
Dave Robicheaux
Stories:
The Neon Rain
(1986)
Heaven's Prisoners
(1988, filmed in 1996, starring
Alec Baldwin
and
Teri Hatcher
)
Black Cherry Blues
(1989)
A Morning for Flamingos
(1990)
A Stained White Radiance
(1992)
In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead
(1993)
Dixie City Jam
(1994)
Burning Angel
(1995)
Cadillac Jukebox
(1996)
Sunset Limited
(1998)
Purple Cane Road
(2000)
Jolie Blon's Bounce
(2002)
Last Car to Elysian Fields
(2003)
The
Billy Bob Holland
Stories
are inspired by the history of his mother's family:
Cimarron Rose
(1997)
Heartwood
(1999)
Bitterroot
(2001)
In the Moon of Red Ponies
(2004)
Other Works:
Half of Paradise
(1965)
To the Bright and shining Sun
(1970)
Lay Down My Sword and Shield
(1971)
The Lost Get-Back Boogie
(1978, nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize
, after being rejected by publishers 111 times)
Two for Texas
(1982, filmed in 1998, starring
Kris Kristofferson
and
Tom Skerritt
)
The Convict
And Other Stories (1985)
White Doves at Morning
(2002)
printable version
chaos
James Burke
Kris Kristofferson
Edmund Burke
Robert B. Parker
White trash
Gulf of Mexico
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Iberia
New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Burke
Deep South
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