Orange Words: Hurricane Katrina

Showing posts with label Hurricane Katrina. Show all posts

Hurricanes Anonymous by Adam Johnson

Yeah, I have no idea what to say about this short story. Other than that it might be the longest short story I've ever read. Or maybe it just seems that way because I really didn't like it. Basically, Hurricanes Anonymous is about a UPS driver living in Louisiana. His son is left mysteriously in his truck by his ex-girlfriend and the story begins after he has been taking care of the child for some time. The plot revolves around the main character, Nonc, and the relationships he has with his current girlfriend, his son, and his father after Hurricane Katrina.

While I'm pretty sure that my dislike of this story stems from a misunderstanding of the message, an unfortunate side - effect of this dislike is that I can't pull apart the story in very many ways.

There are some great instances of cajun culture in the narrative, including the origin of Nonc's name and something of his family. I always have to admire how great authors can so easily incorporate a whole culture into a few words dribbled into a handful of sentences. Johnson never went into a lot of depth, but he sketched in enough of a world to understand that Nonc comes from a different subculture than most. Doing that in a subtle way is a real skill.

I wish I had more to say as a writer. Maybe after a class discussion I'll have a greater respect for it.

Rubiaux Rising by Steve De Jarnatt

Wow. I'm not entirely sure what I just read, but the imagery was terrible. And wonderful. I'm overwhelmed by how heart breaking the story is and how grossed out I was at some points. It's not like De Jarnett spent a lot of time trying to make his story visually stimulating with lots of words. Maybe that's what made it so powerful - the lack of extra.

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

Company, 2009. Print.