Rubiaux Rising is a short story about a double-amputee soldier who is being forced to detox in his aunts attic after returning from "New Babylon" (presumably somewhere in the Middle East). The story completely takes place in the attic, which is itself located in a house set in St. Louis. That's where he is when Hurricane Katrina (never called by its name) hits, the levies break and the house and attic are flooded.

There's way too much to talk about concerning the story, so what I'll mostly continue saying is - wow. I'm not one to do anything but sit quietly when lost in a story, usually. It only took me three sentences to gasp in shock for the first time with De Jarnatt's story. God, what an opener! Just a few pages later and I was grimacing as Rubiaux ripped the metal plate from the back of his head to set the roof on fire. It took me a second reading of that sentence to verify - yes, he has pried off a metal patch in his head with a rusty nail. Just seconds later I was making more disgusted faces as I read, "something sinister in the water brushes between his thighs, then comes back to nibble at his suturing" (39).

And I don't think I've ever felt so bad for anyone as I felt when Rubiaux, with his brain damage, was trying so hard to sing 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'.

What an amazing story. I really enjoyed it while being disgusted and creeped out.

Sebold, Alice, ed. The Best American Short Stories. 2009 ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt