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Flags on the Bayou
From New York Times-bestselling author James Lee Burke comes a novel set in Civil War-era Louisiana as the South transforms and a brilliant cast of characters – enslaved and free women, plantation gentry, and battle-weary Confederate and Union soldiers – are caught in the maelstrom
In the fall of 1863, the Union army is in control of the Mississippi river. Much of Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate army is in disarray, corrupt structures are falling apart, and enslaved men and women are beginning to glimpse freedom.
When Hannah Laveau, a formerly enslaved woman working on the Lufkin plantation, is accused of murder, she goes on the run with Florence Milton, an abolitionist schoolteacher, dodging the local constable and the slavecatchers that prowl the bayous. Wade Lufkin, haunted by what he observed—and did—as a surgeon on the battlefield, has returned to his uncle’s plantation to convalesce, where he becomes enraptured by Hannah. Flags on the Bayou is an engaging, action-packed narrative that includes a duel that ends in disaster, a brutal encounter with the local Union commander, repeated skirmishes with Confederate irregulars led by a diseased and probably deranged colonel, and a powerful story of love blossoming between an unlikely pair. As the story unfolds, it illuminates a past that reflects our present in sharp relief.
In the fall of 1863, the Union army is in control of the Mississippi river. Much of Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate army is in disarray, corrupt structures are falling apart, and enslaved men and women are beginning to glimpse freedom.
When Hannah Laveau, a formerly enslaved woman working on the Lufkin plantation, is accused of murder, she goes on the run with Florence Milton, an abolitionist schoolteacher, dodging the local constable and the slavecatchers that prowl the bayous. Wade Lufkin, haunted by what he observed—and did—as a surgeon on the battlefield, has returned to his uncle’s plantation to convalesce, where he becomes enraptured by Hannah. Flags on the Bayou is an engaging, action-packed narrative that includes a duel that ends in disaster, a brutal encounter with the local Union commander, repeated skirmishes with Confederate irregulars led by a diseased and probably deranged colonel, and a powerful story of love blossoming between an unlikely pair. As the story unfolds, it illuminates a past that reflects our present in sharp relief.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2023
About the author
James Lee Burke
166 books3,942 followersJames Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for
Black Cherry Blues
in 1990 and
Cimarron Rose
in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 563 reviews
August 27, 2023
JLB is legendary when it comes to delivering a southern gritty narrative.
This takes place during the civil war in 1863, Louisiana. We have a slave who is being hunted down because some say she’s a witch and a murderess. A nephew who has a crush on her and is disfigured by initiating a dual for her. A colonel who is cross eyed and quirky, and a local Constable trying to upright the law that has gone sideways.
The structure: sharp. The war -with poverty, violence, stench and disease contrasting the flawed characters boasting of sarcasm and humour as well as tenderness and compassion.
Themes of good vs evil; slavery vs freedom. The blurring of the war between the Blue Bellies and Grey backs.
A minor negative was the entire cast of characters. There were sidekicks who made it confusing as to who was thinking what when- so much so, I would have to flip back and check.
But Overall, another fine story delivered by JLB. 4⭐️
This takes place during the civil war in 1863, Louisiana. We have a slave who is being hunted down because some say she’s a witch and a murderess. A nephew who has a crush on her and is disfigured by initiating a dual for her. A colonel who is cross eyed and quirky, and a local Constable trying to upright the law that has gone sideways.
The structure: sharp. The war -with poverty, violence, stench and disease contrasting the flawed characters boasting of sarcasm and humour as well as tenderness and compassion.
Themes of good vs evil; slavery vs freedom. The blurring of the war between the Blue Bellies and Grey backs.
A minor negative was the entire cast of characters. There were sidekicks who made it confusing as to who was thinking what when- so much so, I would have to flip back and check.
But Overall, another fine story delivered by JLB. 4⭐️
July 30, 2023
4.5⭐
Wow, is this his first historical fiction novel? I've read one book in the Dave Robicheaux series and have The Neon Rain on my list when I saw Flags on the Bayou for the 2023 new release. You betcha I need to get my hands on this novel and the FULL CAST audiobook when I saw January LaVoy and Ray Porter, two of my favorite narrators on the list.
Flags on the Bayou is an outstanding book set during the Civil War. It's 1863 in Louisiana and the author did a magnificent job transporting the reader to the scene. This book isn't about the war. It's about life in America's South during that time period and the turmoils of war on ordinary people on both sides.
The novel is told from multiple perspectives through characters who are complex and unique. The voices are compelling. Their stories are dark and heartwrenching. The violence of war, the good vs evil even within oneself.
I've seen other reviewers who read ALL his books who agreed that this is his masterpiece. You'll need to check it out!
Thank you Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for my DRC.
Published July 11, 2023!
Wow, is this his first historical fiction novel? I've read one book in the Dave Robicheaux series and have The Neon Rain on my list when I saw Flags on the Bayou for the 2023 new release. You betcha I need to get my hands on this novel and the FULL CAST audiobook when I saw January LaVoy and Ray Porter, two of my favorite narrators on the list.
Flags on the Bayou is an outstanding book set during the Civil War. It's 1863 in Louisiana and the author did a magnificent job transporting the reader to the scene. This book isn't about the war. It's about life in America's South during that time period and the turmoils of war on ordinary people on both sides.
The novel is told from multiple perspectives through characters who are complex and unique. The voices are compelling. Their stories are dark and heartwrenching. The violence of war, the good vs evil even within oneself.
I've seen other reviewers who read ALL his books who agreed that this is his masterpiece. You'll need to check it out!
Thank you Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for my DRC.
Published July 11, 2023!
May 29, 2023
4.5 The Civil War, Louisiana has been taken and occupied by the Union army. The Mississippi river is also under Union control. Sherman has not yet started his march to the sea, has not yet burned Atlanta. There is now a diaspora of slaves, former slaves, plantation owners, abolitionists, and remnants of the Southern army, roaming widely and causing havoc. No one knows what the future holds, but some are determined to be in control.
If there is a better author at creating situations, creating diverse characters, where good and bad is sometimes mixed up, and the people are a mix of good and bad, often in the same character, I dont know who it is. He is the master. Yes, his books, including this one are often violent, showing the monster that lurks within, but his characters always have a choice. How will they act when presented with what could be a different alternative.
He can write, there is no doubt and in the middle of the violence, the ugly, the inhumane actions of desperate or evil characters, Burke writes of beauty. "Big storm clouds are gathering over the Gulf, but the sun is shining through the oak trees, the bayou wimpling in the breeze, a blue heron standing among the lily pads, as though it's painted on the air and God's handiwork is still in the making."
There is never only one choice, and the characters given to the reader by Burke are flawed beyond belief, but even they have a chance a redemption.
If there is a better author at creating situations, creating diverse characters, where good and bad is sometimes mixed up, and the people are a mix of good and bad, often in the same character, I dont know who it is. He is the master. Yes, his books, including this one are often violent, showing the monster that lurks within, but his characters always have a choice. How will they act when presented with what could be a different alternative.
He can write, there is no doubt and in the middle of the violence, the ugly, the inhumane actions of desperate or evil characters, Burke writes of beauty. "Big storm clouds are gathering over the Gulf, but the sun is shining through the oak trees, the bayou wimpling in the breeze, a blue heron standing among the lily pads, as though it's painted on the air and God's handiwork is still in the making."
There is never only one choice, and the characters given to the reader by Burke are flawed beyond belief, but even they have a chance a redemption.
July 8, 2024
Set in Louisiana midway through the American Civil War, Burke introduces us to a colourful band of characters, including: a beautiful enslaved woman who may have committed murder and might also be a practitioner of voodoo, a syphilitic commander of renegade Confederate troops who is suffering from cerebral atrophy, a brave and stout-hearted abolitionist schoolteacher, an ex-battlefield surgeon disfigured in a duel and a low ranking law officer who's had some of his toes chopped off by a careless wood splitter. Yes, Burke has a knack for dressing up his stories with the wild, the mad and the disfigured, but here he may just have surpassed himself.
I won’t attempt to summarise the plot here, but suffice to say there’s a lot going on. In fact, the tale is as magnificently colourful as the characters it features. It is brutal in its descriptions of the many violent acts perpetrated, occasionally graphic in a way that might make some readers flinch, but throughout the prose is rich beyond belief with a storyline that continuously bounces along at a lively pace. Some of the author’s sentences impact like a slap in the face, so brutal are they, but this is just JLB’s way. And to keep you on your toes, there are numerous references to historical events and literary figures, with even the odd Biblical citation being dropped in for good measure. The fact is, I spent a good deal of time dabbing the Wiki lookup feature on my Kindle just to ensure I wouldn’t get left behind.
The author has gone on record as stating that he believes this to be his best work. I think that’s a hard one to gauge. His Dave Robicheaux books are amongst the very best of crime fiction, and Clete Purcell, who features in these books, is perhaps my favourite literary character. Add to this his novels featuring various members of the Holland family and a number of stand-alone pieces. Given the exceptional quality of virtually all of these offerings, how do you judge whether or not this book stands above the others? What I can say is that this is an amazing tale, brilliantly told by a man who is undoubtedly one of the outstanding talents still writing today. With Burke now in his eighty seventh year, who is to say how many more opportunities there will be to pick up a new novel penned by this man. My tip is, enjoy the opportunity whilst you can.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic for supplying an early copy of this wonderful book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I won’t attempt to summarise the plot here, but suffice to say there’s a lot going on. In fact, the tale is as magnificently colourful as the characters it features. It is brutal in its descriptions of the many violent acts perpetrated, occasionally graphic in a way that might make some readers flinch, but throughout the prose is rich beyond belief with a storyline that continuously bounces along at a lively pace. Some of the author’s sentences impact like a slap in the face, so brutal are they, but this is just JLB’s way. And to keep you on your toes, there are numerous references to historical events and literary figures, with even the odd Biblical citation being dropped in for good measure. The fact is, I spent a good deal of time dabbing the Wiki lookup feature on my Kindle just to ensure I wouldn’t get left behind.
The author has gone on record as stating that he believes this to be his best work. I think that’s a hard one to gauge. His Dave Robicheaux books are amongst the very best of crime fiction, and Clete Purcell, who features in these books, is perhaps my favourite literary character. Add to this his novels featuring various members of the Holland family and a number of stand-alone pieces. Given the exceptional quality of virtually all of these offerings, how do you judge whether or not this book stands above the others? What I can say is that this is an amazing tale, brilliantly told by a man who is undoubtedly one of the outstanding talents still writing today. With Burke now in his eighty seventh year, who is to say how many more opportunities there will be to pick up a new novel penned by this man. My tip is, enjoy the opportunity whilst you can.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic for supplying an early copy of this wonderful book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2023
Author James Lee Burke, who pens the Detective Dave Robicheaux series and the Holland Family Saga books, often addresses good vs. evil in his novels. In 'Flags on the Bayou', a standalone novel about the Civil War, Burke once again focuses on the malevolence in humanity, exacerbated by the institute of slavery.
*****
The story opens in the middle of the Civil War, when things are going badly for the South. The Union Army controls the Mississippi River and occupies much of Louisiana, the Confederate Army is reeling from its losses, and maundering irregular troops are killing, burning, and destroying. Slaves dream of freedom, slave owners fear losing their 'property', and death and destruction are rampant.
The story revolves around six main characters:
⦿ Wade Lufkin: a former Confederate soldier who marched with the Eighth Louisiana Infantry, having been promised he would serve as a surgeon's assistant and never shed the blood of his fellow man. Lufkin recalls, "I sawed limbs and stacked them in piles at First and Second Manassas and especially at Sharpsburg, where the Eighth Louisiana was mowed down in a cornfield near Dunker Church."
One day Lufkin took a stroll in a snow-covered forest in Virginia and came upon a Union soldier reading a book. Lufkin tried to start a friendly conversation, but the frightened soldier fired a revolver. Lufkin became enraged and savaged the man with a bayonet. Lufkin now has a Minie ball in his left leg and is recuperating on his Uncle Charles's Lady of the Lake Plantation in New Iberia, plagued with guilt about the Union fighter he killed.
⦿ Pierre Cauchon: the oversight constable for Negro legal problems in New Iberia. Cauchon rides up to Lady of the Lake Plantation on his beloved horse Varina, to question a slave called Hannah Laveau. Laveau is suspected of being an insurrectionist and voodoo practitioner who's stirring up her fellow slaves.
Plantation owner Charles Lufkin insults Cauchon by telling him to go to the back door, brushing off his inquiries about Hannah, and calling him white trash.
As the humiliated Cauchon leaves, he notes, "I feel small and my head is dizzy....I would prefer to be disemboweled and have my entrails set afire, as was done to felons in ancient times, rather than re-live the last ten minutes of life."
Cauchon is haunted by another incident as well. When Cauchon's battalion fought at the Battle of Shiloh Church, Major Ira Jamison - who was supposed to be on their flank - just didn't show up. Thus Cauchon's battalion was mercilessly mowed down, and Cauchon's fury has not abated.
Rising tensions result in a gun duel between army veterans Wade Lufkin and Pierre Cauchon, an incident that has long-term consequences for both men.
⦿ Hannah Laveau: Alleged voodoo priestess Hannah is an attractive slave owned by Charles Lufkin.
Owing a debt, Lufkin loaned Hannah to a fellow plantation owner named Minos Suarez. Suarez tried to convince Hannah to 'lie with him', and when Hannah refused, Suarez brutally assaulted her.
Hannah dreams of getting revenge against Suarez, and recalls, "As he got off me, his naked body silhouetted against the moon, his chest heaving, I could feel my hand curling around an imaginary knife that one day would be real."
Hannah also dreams of being reunited with her young son. Hannah was a cook for Confederate troops at Shiloh Church, and was separated from her little boy during the horrific battle there.
When rapist Minos Suarez is murdered with "his reproductive equipment lopped off with a butcher knife", Constable Cauchon comes back to arrest Hannah for the crime.
⦿ Florence Milton: a Northerner from Massachusetts who runs a private school in New Iberia.
Florence is an abolitionist who has little use for the authorities in New Iberia, especially Sheriff Jimmy Lee Romain. Florence observes that Romain "is not a bad man but, unfortunately, a nincompoop." She goes on, "Maybe Mr. Darwin is right about the fish crawling onto the land and becoming simians and eventually the human species. If so, I suspect that someone stepped on the head of Sheriff Romain's ichthyological ancestor."
Florence manipulates Romain, "who probably cannot count his toes without an abacus", to allow her to visit alleged murderer Hannah Laveau in the Negro jail. Florence helps the slave escape.....
.....and when the two women are hunted by Constable Cauchon and slave catchers, the ladies show their mettle.
⦿ Colonel Carleton Hayes: leader of a renegade troop of filthy raggedy Confederate men. Hayes has burned colored settlements, robbed the bank in Opelousas, lynched people he believed to be abolitionists, killed and wounded Union soldiers and civilians, and fired a cannon at Union General Nathaniel Banks in New Iberia. Hayes is cross-eyed with a syphilitic face, and he bemoans his appearance.
When Hayes is confronted about human heads hanging from the saddles of his men, he alleges, "Those are redbones who raped a white woman. Their heads will be on pikes outside St. Martinville before the sun is set, a reminder to the Negro population as well as redbones."
Colonel Hayes and his marauders camp at the Lufkins' Lady of the Lake Plantation.....
.....and when Charles Lufkin is chastised about allowing this, he responds, "Our boys gave their best, but they're outnumbered and without food and ammunition. In a short time we will be at the mercy of the Unionists, many of whom are depraved. Colonel Hayes will not let us down."
⦿ Darla Babineaux: a freed slave woman who lives on the Minos Suarez plantation. Darla likes to wear purple and takes a shine to Constable Pierre Cauchon.
Darla offers herself to the lawman, who refuses because it "would be an abuse of power." Darla replies, "No, it ain't. Men did that to me many years ago. I killed one man and almost killed another. They were both white. Ain't nobody bothered me since. You're a different kind of white man, Mr. Pierre."
Darla tells Pierre about treasure (gold plates, silverware, jewelry, etc.) buried by Minos Suarez, to hide it from the Union army, and reveals that she knows the location of the cache.
Cauchon tries to protect Darla from a predatory Union officer named Captain John Endicott, who wants both Darla and the Suarez treasure. All this results in Cauchon and Darla fleeing, followed by Endicott and his men.
*****
All the action comes full circle by the end of the story, after much death, devastation and havoc, and an epilog describes the fate of the main protagonists.
The story emphasizes that humanity's worst instincts come out in war, and points out that the North means to conquer the South by burning it to a cinder and starving the population. Meanwhile, individual evil people, such as slave catchers, depraved soldiers, and entitled officers, think nothing of raping, robbing, murdering, and so on.
As always, Burke's prose is very evocative, and the reader can picture the bayous and swamps of Louisiana; imagine the tents of the prostitutes, and the dirty smelly pimps that monitor them; taste the blood and poison sucked from a snake bite, and so on. For example, when a coffin containing a dead soldier is pried open, a nauseated observer reports, "From my horse I can smell it....I saw a lot of woe at Shiloh and Corinth, but this is the worst. The body was probably submerged in sawdust and chopped-up ice weeks ago, but some other kind of preservative was probably poured into the soup as well, chemicals that had the opposite consequence. The skin has shrunken and looks webbed on the bones and painted with yellowish-tan shellac, the bones sticking through, like a pterodactyl that has fallen from the sky. I put my handkerchief to my mouth because I'm fixing to throw up."
Burke believes that Flags on the Bayou is his best work, but its hard for me to judge, as I'm a big fan of all his novels.
Thanks to Netgalley, James Lee Burke, and Grove Atlantic for a copy of the manuscript.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
July 11, 2023
Ways of War
“It’s meant to be a historical book, and it is meant to be about today. The same monsters are still out there.”
James Lee Burke has recreated the hell our Civil War empowered mankind to muster. There is so much evil in these pages, unimaginable atrocities committed under the guise of patriotism and codes of honor. In recent books, Mr. Burke has used the supernatural to further some plotlines. Here there is no need to magnify what mortal men are capable of.
Memorable characters from all different walks populate this novel: free men, slaves, Union troops, Confederate “irregulars.” Some are pure monsters; some are people finding themselves venturing into areas their consciences would never have imagined going. Hannah Laveau, a former slave searching for her son, is at the heart of the story. She endured repeated sexual assaults and is now not sure if she is the one who brutally murdered her assailant. A white plantation owner, Wade Lufkin, is helping Hannah evade arrest, yet he is single-handedly trying to turn the Confederacy’s fortunes around by bankrolling their fight with his gold.
One of the characters mentions she disagrees with Darwin’s theory of evolution, that we are not all descended from the same line. There are people so deranged who must have evolved from a different tree. This is a theme Mr. Burke has brought up in previous books, as well. War is just the great enabler for evil, “...perpetuated its suffering from the cave to the present.”
James Lee Burke is one of our greatest writers and he says this is his finest book. The South today, as shaped by the Civil War, has often had its gravitational pull in his works. “Flags on the Bayou” is the treatment on the subject he was destined to write. A brilliant work.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #FlagsontheBayou #NetGalley
“It’s meant to be a historical book, and it is meant to be about today. The same monsters are still out there.”
James Lee Burke has recreated the hell our Civil War empowered mankind to muster. There is so much evil in these pages, unimaginable atrocities committed under the guise of patriotism and codes of honor. In recent books, Mr. Burke has used the supernatural to further some plotlines. Here there is no need to magnify what mortal men are capable of.
Memorable characters from all different walks populate this novel: free men, slaves, Union troops, Confederate “irregulars.” Some are pure monsters; some are people finding themselves venturing into areas their consciences would never have imagined going. Hannah Laveau, a former slave searching for her son, is at the heart of the story. She endured repeated sexual assaults and is now not sure if she is the one who brutally murdered her assailant. A white plantation owner, Wade Lufkin, is helping Hannah evade arrest, yet he is single-handedly trying to turn the Confederacy’s fortunes around by bankrolling their fight with his gold.
One of the characters mentions she disagrees with Darwin’s theory of evolution, that we are not all descended from the same line. There are people so deranged who must have evolved from a different tree. This is a theme Mr. Burke has brought up in previous books, as well. War is just the great enabler for evil, “...perpetuated its suffering from the cave to the present.”
James Lee Burke is one of our greatest writers and he says this is his finest book. The South today, as shaped by the Civil War, has often had its gravitational pull in his works. “Flags on the Bayou” is the treatment on the subject he was destined to write. A brilliant work.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #FlagsontheBayou #NetGalley
May 3, 2024
** Congratulations to James Lee Burke and "Flags on the Bayou" for winning the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2023. Third time he has won. **
Ways of War
“It’s meant to be a historical book, and it is meant to be about today. The same monsters are still out there.”
James Lee Burke has recreated the hell our Civil War empowered mankind to muster. There is so much evil in these pages, unimaginable atrocities committed under the guise of patriotism and codes of honor. In recent books, Mr. Burke has used the supernatural to further some plotlines. Here there is no need to magnify what mortal men are capable of.
Memorable characters from all different walks populate this novel: free men, slaves, Union troops, Confederate “irregulars.” Some are pure monsters; some are people finding themselves venturing into areas their consciences would never have imagined going. Hannah Laveau, a former slave searching for her son, is at the heart of the story. She endured repeated sexual assaults and is now not sure if she is the one who brutally murdered her assailant. A white plantation owner, Wade Lufkin, is helping Hannah evade arrest, yet he is single-handedly trying to turn the Confederacy’s fortunes around by bankrolling their fight with his gold.
One of the characters mentions she disagrees with Darwin’s theory of evolution, that we are not all descended from the same line. There are people so deranged who must have evolved from a different tree. This is a theme Mr. Burke has brought up in previous books, as well. War is just the great enabler for evil, “...perpetuated its suffering from the cave to the present.”
James Lee Burke is one of our greatest writers and he says this is his finest book. The South today, as shaped by the Civil War, has often had its gravitational pull in his works. “Flags on the Bayou” is the treatment on the subject he was destined to write. A brilliant work.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #FlagsontheBayou #NetGalley
Ways of War
“It’s meant to be a historical book, and it is meant to be about today. The same monsters are still out there.”
James Lee Burke has recreated the hell our Civil War empowered mankind to muster. There is so much evil in these pages, unimaginable atrocities committed under the guise of patriotism and codes of honor. In recent books, Mr. Burke has used the supernatural to further some plotlines. Here there is no need to magnify what mortal men are capable of.
Memorable characters from all different walks populate this novel: free men, slaves, Union troops, Confederate “irregulars.” Some are pure monsters; some are people finding themselves venturing into areas their consciences would never have imagined going. Hannah Laveau, a former slave searching for her son, is at the heart of the story. She endured repeated sexual assaults and is now not sure if she is the one who brutally murdered her assailant. A white plantation owner, Wade Lufkin, is helping Hannah evade arrest, yet he is single-handedly trying to turn the Confederacy’s fortunes around by bankrolling their fight with his gold.
One of the characters mentions she disagrees with Darwin’s theory of evolution, that we are not all descended from the same line. There are people so deranged who must have evolved from a different tree. This is a theme Mr. Burke has brought up in previous books, as well. War is just the great enabler for evil, “...perpetuated its suffering from the cave to the present.”
James Lee Burke is one of our greatest writers and he says this is his finest book. The South today, as shaped by the Civil War, has often had its gravitational pull in his works. “Flags on the Bayou” is the treatment on the subject he was destined to write. A brilliant work.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #FlagsontheBayou #NetGalley
August 9, 2023
“The sheriff, Jimmy, Lee Romain, is not a bad man but, unfortunately, a nincompoop. More unfortunately, he was elected to his office not in spite of the fact that he is a nincompoop, but because of it. In Louisiana, we elect unintelligent corrupt people to public office in order to keep them busy in distant cities. The worse they are, the farther we send them. Have you visited our national capitol?”
I have read a lot of books by this author because his use of the English language is so beautiful and expressive. He also creates compelling characters. This book did not disappoint. Set in Louisiana during the Civil War, the book brings together a lot of characters. Wade Lufkin was a medic with the Confederate army. He is haunted by guilt, participates in a duel with an unexpected outcome and is fascinated by Hannah Laveau who is owned by his uncle. Hannah is only interested in finding her young son. After she is accused of causing the death of an abusive man to whom she had been rented out, she goes on the run with the assistance of Florence Milton, an abolitionist from Massachusetts who runs a private school. Florence was my favorite character. I loved her sharp wit. There is also a constable who falls in love with a formerly enslaved woman. There are off-the-rails Confederate and Union officers (“ I have these fellows stripped and tied to tree trunks and have ant beds poured on their bare feet …”). There is compassion, love, vengeance and a lot of casual violence.
I recommend the audiobook because a full cast of narrators (including some of my favorites) is used to bring all of these characters to life. The author thinks that this is his best book. He might say that about each of his most recent books. I am not sure that I agree, but this was very good.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I have read a lot of books by this author because his use of the English language is so beautiful and expressive. He also creates compelling characters. This book did not disappoint. Set in Louisiana during the Civil War, the book brings together a lot of characters. Wade Lufkin was a medic with the Confederate army. He is haunted by guilt, participates in a duel with an unexpected outcome and is fascinated by Hannah Laveau who is owned by his uncle. Hannah is only interested in finding her young son. After she is accused of causing the death of an abusive man to whom she had been rented out, she goes on the run with the assistance of Florence Milton, an abolitionist from Massachusetts who runs a private school. Florence was my favorite character. I loved her sharp wit. There is also a constable who falls in love with a formerly enslaved woman. There are off-the-rails Confederate and Union officers (“ I have these fellows stripped and tied to tree trunks and have ant beds poured on their bare feet …”). There is compassion, love, vengeance and a lot of casual violence.
I recommend the audiobook because a full cast of narrators (including some of my favorites) is used to bring all of these characters to life. The author thinks that this is his best book. He might say that about each of his most recent books. I am not sure that I agree, but this was very good.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
August 6, 2023
It is 1863, in Southern Louisiana. There are elements of both the blue and gray armies throughout the state, as well as some of the “irregulars” striking fear in all sides. In what feels like the quintessential James Lee Burke novel, we are introduced to several people who will lead us through the events of these days, making obvious the foundation for the future of this country once this civil war finally ended.
We see the landed gentry, the Lufkins, who hold strong to the ideals of plantation life by which they were raised. Then there is their son Wade, a major and complex figure, who believes in emancipation but aspires to being a gentleman. There is Hannah Laveau, a slave, thought to possibly be a witch but believed to have power. She is still seeking the infant son she lost at Shiloh during the battle. Pierre Cauchon, a civilian, is tasked with enforcing the law for whoever is in power, be it gray or blue. Darla Babineaux is another slave and victim of much abuse. Florence Milton is something different, a white woman and abolitionist who moved to the south in service of her goals of helping free black people. The last person given a point of view is Colonel Carleton Hayes, a syphilitic, increasingly mad hellion commanding a band of irregular soldiers in mayhem. He rode with Quantrill’s raiders in Missouri and Kansas before riding East to Louisiana.
Through the words and eyes of all of these, we learn of how civilians view what is happening and the likely future of the Confederacy, how some judge their leaders-both political and military, and how demoralized life has become for all. There are good and bad on all sides. There is a certain numbness at times, it appears.
As is usual with a Burke novel, the writing is perfect. His descriptions of the land, swamps, weather, sunsets are evocative of religious experiences or other sacred moments. The violence is visceral but in service to the story and, at times, to the level of a character’s depravity. This feels real, with the confusion, changing loyalties, fears and hopes, love and hate, that would happen in a time of such high emotion.
This may now be my favorite book from Burke. I also appreciate that so much of the story told here takes place in the same area walked by Dave Robicheaux, whose books all carry the legacy of the Civil War, slavery and reconstruction, and whose ghosts Dave sometimes saw on the Bayou.
Very highly recommended.
Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley.
We see the landed gentry, the Lufkins, who hold strong to the ideals of plantation life by which they were raised. Then there is their son Wade, a major and complex figure, who believes in emancipation but aspires to being a gentleman. There is Hannah Laveau, a slave, thought to possibly be a witch but believed to have power. She is still seeking the infant son she lost at Shiloh during the battle. Pierre Cauchon, a civilian, is tasked with enforcing the law for whoever is in power, be it gray or blue. Darla Babineaux is another slave and victim of much abuse. Florence Milton is something different, a white woman and abolitionist who moved to the south in service of her goals of helping free black people. The last person given a point of view is Colonel Carleton Hayes, a syphilitic, increasingly mad hellion commanding a band of irregular soldiers in mayhem. He rode with Quantrill’s raiders in Missouri and Kansas before riding East to Louisiana.
Through the words and eyes of all of these, we learn of how civilians view what is happening and the likely future of the Confederacy, how some judge their leaders-both political and military, and how demoralized life has become for all. There are good and bad on all sides. There is a certain numbness at times, it appears.
As is usual with a Burke novel, the writing is perfect. His descriptions of the land, swamps, weather, sunsets are evocative of religious experiences or other sacred moments. The violence is visceral but in service to the story and, at times, to the level of a character’s depravity. This feels real, with the confusion, changing loyalties, fears and hopes, love and hate, that would happen in a time of such high emotion.
This may now be my favorite book from Burke. I also appreciate that so much of the story told here takes place in the same area walked by Dave Robicheaux, whose books all carry the legacy of the Civil War, slavery and reconstruction, and whose ghosts Dave sometimes saw on the Bayou.
Very highly recommended.
Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley.
July 19, 2023
I'm going to have to think about this one for a bit. It's been a while since I've read a JLB novel, and I had forgotten how violent they are. And how evil some of his characters can be. I will say I appreciated his view of what's going on in today's world through the prophetic words of his characters, and how some of his characters were channeling present day newsmakers. Or maybe that's just me.
April 7, 2023
Flags on the Bayou, the forthcoming novel from James Lee Burke, is a historical novel set in the waning years of the Civil War as Louisiana is occupied by the Yankee armies. Told in a number of different narratives, we learn about the wartime confusion, the armies of the North occupying Lousiana, the renegade soldiers setting up their own rules, and the fall of the plantation way of life. The war will be won we learn by burning the Southern cities, starving the populace, and occupying the estates. Most of the Southerners never benefited from slavery and were fools to fight for the South to begin with. While the slaves are not in open rebellion, word of emancipation has filtered down and, with it, the knowledge that only certain states, not all, have so far been emancipated. Hannah Laveau, who has been enslaved on the Lufkin plantation, has been accused of murder, but she is only one of many who had cause to kill Lufkin, a rapist. Laveau escapes from jail when an abolitionist makes a jailbreak and, in the bloody aftermath, the two women are on the run from everyone. Meanwhile, Wade Lufkin, a younger nephew of the deceased Lufkin, duels another man to his detriment. The novel, with its constantly shifting point of view, gives a glimpse of a time or turmoil and of deeds done in the fog of war and even after that fog has been lifted. It might have been preferable to follow one storyline rather than so many and the shifting points of view are at times confusing as well as the fact that not one single plotline is pursued.
November 13, 2023
Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke wonderful book. 1863 Civil War Era Louisiana. Tells of a time of slave days and free people. Strong women. Fighting to free more African Americans. This a deep rich book. It paints a picture of the Civil War days under Union control. Too much within this book to summarize. Suffice it to say, you will not be disappointed.
July 9, 2023
I have been reading James Lee Burke novels for what seems like forever and I consider him one of America’s greatest living writers. In the Acknowledgment, he says he considers Flags on the Bayou his best work and it would be hard to disagree. Set in Louisiana in ,1863,, at the height of the Civil War as much of the South has already been lost, Burke shows not only the horrors of war but the futility.
The story is told from the perspectives of six characters, all flawed and further damaged by the war. Hannah Laveau is an enslaved woman thought by many to be a voodoo woman. Her master loaned her out to another plantation where she was viciously assaulted. Wade Lufkin is the nephew of Hannah’s master who, rather than fight, chose to be an army surgeon, was wounded and is filled with guilt because he killed another man. Pierre Cauchon was wounded as a soldier and is now a constable in charge of Negro affairs. Florence Milton is a northern white abolitionist who had run a private school in New Iberia before the war. She chose to work in battleground hospitals tending to the wounded from both sides. Later, in an effort to help Hannah, her naivety puts them both in danger. Colonel Hayes is the leader of a band of pro-southern jayhawkers who set up camp on the Lufkin plantation. Hayes is slowly going mad from syphilis. Darla Babineaux is a free Black woman who has, for some reason, remained on the plantation where Hannah was assaulted and where the man who assaulted her was murdered.
The writing, as always in a James Lee Burke book, is beautiful, the descriptions vivid, even as he portrays the horrors confronting the characters. At its base, this is a Manichean tale of good versus evil. There are no heroes in the war and neither side is innocent. There are only damaged survivors whose lives will be forever changed. Each of the characters, even as they desire to do good, are forced to go against their nature. There is also a sense of spirituality throughout the story especially in the ending, one that seemed, at first, out of place but, as I thought more about it, I realized was exactly the right ending.
As always, after reading one of Burke’s books, it will stay with me for a long long time. This is a beautiful, powerful story and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I received an arc of this book from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review
The story is told from the perspectives of six characters, all flawed and further damaged by the war. Hannah Laveau is an enslaved woman thought by many to be a voodoo woman. Her master loaned her out to another plantation where she was viciously assaulted. Wade Lufkin is the nephew of Hannah’s master who, rather than fight, chose to be an army surgeon, was wounded and is filled with guilt because he killed another man. Pierre Cauchon was wounded as a soldier and is now a constable in charge of Negro affairs. Florence Milton is a northern white abolitionist who had run a private school in New Iberia before the war. She chose to work in battleground hospitals tending to the wounded from both sides. Later, in an effort to help Hannah, her naivety puts them both in danger. Colonel Hayes is the leader of a band of pro-southern jayhawkers who set up camp on the Lufkin plantation. Hayes is slowly going mad from syphilis. Darla Babineaux is a free Black woman who has, for some reason, remained on the plantation where Hannah was assaulted and where the man who assaulted her was murdered.
The writing, as always in a James Lee Burke book, is beautiful, the descriptions vivid, even as he portrays the horrors confronting the characters. At its base, this is a Manichean tale of good versus evil. There are no heroes in the war and neither side is innocent. There are only damaged survivors whose lives will be forever changed. Each of the characters, even as they desire to do good, are forced to go against their nature. There is also a sense of spirituality throughout the story especially in the ending, one that seemed, at first, out of place but, as I thought more about it, I realized was exactly the right ending.
As always, after reading one of Burke’s books, it will stay with me for a long long time. This is a beautiful, powerful story and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I received an arc of this book from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review
July 3, 2023
James Lee Burke is such a pleasure to read. His Flags on the Bayou is set in Louisiana near the end of the Civil War and told through the lens of multiple characters throughout every level society on both sides. Flags on the Bayou depicts the horrors of wars, the upheaval of the societal caste system and an unremitting love that won't be denied.
Burke has penned a powerful, eloquent story that has striking parallels to our society today. Burke transports the reader to the swamps of the Louisianan bayou and makes a point that is desperately needed today: just because you are on the "good/winning" side of a fight doesn't make you saint anymore than it makes the other side the devil. It isn't one or the other. Dickheads and a-holes abound. It's a good lesson for all of us to remember.
Flags on the Bayou is griping and poetic and should not be missed!
Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Flags on the Bayou.
Burke has penned a powerful, eloquent story that has striking parallels to our society today. Burke transports the reader to the swamps of the Louisianan bayou and makes a point that is desperately needed today: just because you are on the "good/winning" side of a fight doesn't make you saint anymore than it makes the other side the devil. It isn't one or the other. Dickheads and a-holes abound. It's a good lesson for all of us to remember.
Flags on the Bayou is griping and poetic and should not be missed!
Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Flags on the Bayou.
April 4, 2023
Wow, what a great and different book this is. Although for those that have read James Lee Burke before you will recognise his style. Flags on the Bayou is a story set in the end of the civil war but it revolves mainly around a few characters close to Spanish lake Louisiana. It is dark, really dark but there are some humor in it. The characters and their stories are great and sad. It is amazing what people can do if the circumstances are right, or maybe it should be wrong? I have been a fan of the written word by Burke since a couple of decades and I hope to see many more stories from this fantastic storyteller. If you get a chance to listen to him take it he is great fun to hear telling about his life and his stories. I must thank Atlantic Monthly Press, Grove/Atlantic, Inc. Netgalley and Edelweiss for once again letting me read one of James Lee Burkes books.
September 16, 2023
The author said at the end that he considers this his best work, and I, despite never having read any of his other books, am inclined to agree, just because I enjoyed it so much.
This is partially due to the vivid writing, and also due to the amazing narrators who brought this story to life.
There's a full cast of them and it felt like they put their whole soul into those characters. I'd love to listen to something narrated by each of them again.
Also something I'd like to point out is that usually with full cast audiobooks there's also sound effects - but not here. Each character is played by a different voice actor, but that's it. So if you're someone who might not be the biggest fan of background noises you don't have to worry about that.
The most surprising thing about Flags on the Bayou for me was how casually funny it was. I'd find myself laughing out loud at some of the things the characters said. I suppose the humour was needed to balance out all of the violence.
But yeah, I loved everything, I'd reread this, and probably read everything else James Lee Burke has ever written.
This is partially due to the vivid writing, and also due to the amazing narrators who brought this story to life.
There's a full cast of them and it felt like they put their whole soul into those characters. I'd love to listen to something narrated by each of them again.
Also something I'd like to point out is that usually with full cast audiobooks there's also sound effects - but not here. Each character is played by a different voice actor, but that's it. So if you're someone who might not be the biggest fan of background noises you don't have to worry about that.
The most surprising thing about Flags on the Bayou for me was how casually funny it was. I'd find myself laughing out loud at some of the things the characters said. I suppose the humour was needed to balance out all of the violence.
But yeah, I loved everything, I'd reread this, and probably read everything else James Lee Burke has ever written.
September 12, 2023
4✚ 🚩🚩🚩🚩
A different look at American Civil War times as seen through the richly imagined lives of a group of uniquely complex characters on all sides.
A different look at American Civil War times as seen through the richly imagined lives of a group of uniquely complex characters on all sides.
September 4, 2023
The American Civil War is a topic which is frequently referenced in James Lee Burke’s contemporary novels and, in this one, he takes us right back to that horrific conflict.
In the autumn of 1863, the Union Army has taken most of Louisiana and control of the Mississippi river. The events here are narrated by several of the main protagonists: Hannah Laveau, an escaped slave woman whose sole mission is to locate and save her infant son, Samuel. Wade Lufkin, a former Confederate soldier who now merely wishes for a quiet life painting on his uncle’s farm. Pierre Cauchon, a local constable charged with recapturing Hannah but finds himself questioning the morality of his his quest. Florence Milton, from Boston nobility now an ardent abolitionist. Darla Babineaux, Hannah’s friend with whom she shares a deadly secret and Colonel Carleton Hayes, leader of a mercenary pack called “Redlegs”.
Seeing the thoughts of the main characters gives us an idea of the moral complexities each has to deal with whilst trying to survive a time when it seems as if Hell has taken over Earth. In his poetically elegant prose style, the author never balks at describing the horrors humans can unleash on each other. The narrations end with an intriguing epilogue where it appears most of the protagonists have escaped to a Polynesian island where they encounter the painter Paul Gaugin.
In the Acknowledgements section at the end, the author says he considers Flags On The Bayou to be his best work. Despite it having some pretty fierce competition, I’d find it hard to disagree.
In the autumn of 1863, the Union Army has taken most of Louisiana and control of the Mississippi river. The events here are narrated by several of the main protagonists: Hannah Laveau, an escaped slave woman whose sole mission is to locate and save her infant son, Samuel. Wade Lufkin, a former Confederate soldier who now merely wishes for a quiet life painting on his uncle’s farm. Pierre Cauchon, a local constable charged with recapturing Hannah but finds himself questioning the morality of his his quest. Florence Milton, from Boston nobility now an ardent abolitionist. Darla Babineaux, Hannah’s friend with whom she shares a deadly secret and Colonel Carleton Hayes, leader of a mercenary pack called “Redlegs”.
Seeing the thoughts of the main characters gives us an idea of the moral complexities each has to deal with whilst trying to survive a time when it seems as if Hell has taken over Earth. In his poetically elegant prose style, the author never balks at describing the horrors humans can unleash on each other. The narrations end with an intriguing epilogue where it appears most of the protagonists have escaped to a Polynesian island where they encounter the painter Paul Gaugin.
In the Acknowledgements section at the end, the author says he considers Flags On The Bayou to be his best work. Despite it having some pretty fierce competition, I’d find it hard to disagree.
October 19, 2023
James Lee Burke describes this as "his best work." Since I have read most of his other works, including the entire Dave Robicheaux series (all 23 of them), that is quite a statement. I don't know if I would call it THE best, but it is certainly one of his best. Flags on the Bayou is a novel of the civil war. It is heart wrenching, devastating and because it is by James Lee Burke, beautifully written. It is a brutally honest story of that brutal war. Highly recommended.
September 6, 2023
This is a hard book to review. The action takes place in Louisiana, occupied by Union “blue-bellies”, mid-war, with plantation elites, abolitionists, irregulars, enslaved people, and law enforcement. Although the novel has plenty of action, it is a character-driven novel with all characters compromised by the Civil War. All are guilty of crimes although many have elements of goodness in them.
I generally have issues with books where I cannot relate to at least one of the characters. In this case, there were some I wanted to relate to but in the end could not. I think the message of the novel may be that war corrupts everyone.
The audiobook was very well done. The story was fascinating from start to finish.
I generally have issues with books where I cannot relate to at least one of the characters. In this case, there were some I wanted to relate to but in the end could not. I think the message of the novel may be that war corrupts everyone.
The audiobook was very well done. The story was fascinating from start to finish.
October 27, 2023
A Civil War tale about an interesting cast of characters including my favorites Hannah an enslaved woman,Florence an abolitionist,and Pierre the local constable, all of whom deal with plantation gentry and disheartened soldiers both Confederate and Union in occupied New Orleans and Baton Rouge Louisiana.
This is my first JL Burke read and I might have jumped right into the deep end.
I recognize that Burke really knows how to turn a phrase and establish unique characters and picturesque settings, but the combination of an abundance of gruesome details and the book’s format of different narrators for each chapter made this one a little confusing and just ok for me.
No doubt though, I am certainly interested in trying another book by this author !!
Read for Sept choice 2023- On The Southern Literary Trail Club
This is my first JL Burke read and I might have jumped right into the deep end.
I recognize that Burke really knows how to turn a phrase and establish unique characters and picturesque settings, but the combination of an abundance of gruesome details and the book’s format of different narrators for each chapter made this one a little confusing and just ok for me.
No doubt though, I am certainly interested in trying another book by this author !!
Read for Sept choice 2023- On The Southern Literary Trail Club
August 21, 2023
Author James Lee Burke calls this his favorite fi the books that he has written and I can see why. This sprawling historical novel set in Civil War-era Louisiana is an epic tale with a large cast of characters but it isn't the forest killer that many authors believe their books ne4ed to be. I highly recommend it.
My thanks to the late Mike Sullivan, aka Lawyer, Laura, and all the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books.
My thanks to the late Mike Sullivan, aka Lawyer, Laura, and all the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books.
August 5, 2023
2 1/2 Stars - Meh!
Burke’s stand-alone Civil War novel attempts to explore the corrosive effects of violence towards the end of the war in Louisiana, and he succeeds in conveying this theme. The book did not succeed for me, however, in telling a story with a cohesive plot from beginning to end. Nor did it succeed in Burke developing his four main characters well enough to care much about what happens to them. For me, this was in part due to Burke using a vignette-style approach in which each chapter told a bit more about a character, which resulted in a very choppy and not very enjoyable read for me.
Burke’s stand-alone Civil War novel attempts to explore the corrosive effects of violence towards the end of the war in Louisiana, and he succeeds in conveying this theme. The book did not succeed for me, however, in telling a story with a cohesive plot from beginning to end. Nor did it succeed in Burke developing his four main characters well enough to care much about what happens to them. For me, this was in part due to Burke using a vignette-style approach in which each chapter told a bit more about a character, which resulted in a very choppy and not very enjoyable read for me.
January 6, 2023
Wow! Another magnificent novel from the pen of James Lee. Burke, whom I consider not just the best living American writer, but a national treasure.
Flags on the Bayou, while set in 1863 Louisiana, isn’t so much a Civil War novel as it is a meditation on the follies of war, the upheavals it causes. Told from multiple points of view, from both black and white characters, it is a stunning look at the corrupting influence of war, and it’s associated absurdities, and the transformative effects it has on ordinary people. This may be Burke’s best writing yet.
My heartfelt thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading an advanced copy of one of the best books of the year.
Flags on the Bayou, while set in 1863 Louisiana, isn’t so much a Civil War novel as it is a meditation on the follies of war, the upheavals it causes. Told from multiple points of view, from both black and white characters, it is a stunning look at the corrupting influence of war, and it’s associated absurdities, and the transformative effects it has on ordinary people. This may be Burke’s best writing yet.
My heartfelt thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading an advanced copy of one of the best books of the year.
September 3, 2023
"My best work" declares James Lee Burke at the close of this novel and I tend to agree that it is one of his best. I've read most of his works but tend to space them out since there is only so much sadistic cruelty and violence I can handle. And there is plenty of that in this novel which takes place in Louisiana toward the closing of the Civil War.
He is an excellent writer, probably one of our best in terms of descriptive prose and characterization. I listened to this one on tape since the last thing I need is another "to be read" on my shelves. However, this one is good enough that when I had a chance to visit one of my favorite book stores in Coral Gables, FL I snatched up a signed first edition. So much for unburdening my shelves!
If you are a fan of his work, you will certainly enjoy this one!
He is an excellent writer, probably one of our best in terms of descriptive prose and characterization. I listened to this one on tape since the last thing I need is another "to be read" on my shelves. However, this one is good enough that when I had a chance to visit one of my favorite book stores in Coral Gables, FL I snatched up a signed first edition. So much for unburdening my shelves!
If you are a fan of his work, you will certainly enjoy this one!
September 3, 2023
How JLB can write such unique characters without overlapping any of them, is quite amazing. I read book and listened to audio for my reading experience. Book helped me establish/visualize the names and characters before I picked up the audio. Audio was well done. Many glimpses of the civil war without being presented in a straight line plot. The good and evil element is there like many of JLB books.
August 12, 2023
Love this author but not this book. I found it confusing with the characters featured in each chapter.
September 14, 2023
War is hell and the civil war is the seventh circle of hell.
“The bible’s teachings get pushed aside for money.”
“The bible’s teachings get pushed aside for money.”
August 14, 2023
I'm not sure how to rate a book that was well written and had a somewhat interesting story, but just depressed the heck out of me. War stories are always sad, but this one went way beyond sad and depressing. The vile, inhumane, utterly sadistic, savage, and coldblooded acts vividly described in well over half of the book really made me ill. I read for enjoyment, knowledge, and a better understanding of the world and others. Maybe I got some of that from this story, but I wish I hadn't.
June 30, 2023
Book Review
Flags on the Bayou
James Lee Burke
reviewed by Lou Jacobs
readersremains.com | Goodreads
Once again, Burke weaves an epic and tantalizingly complex tale set in Louisiana at the end of the Civil War. With his customary haunting and elegant prose, he revisits a similar setting from “White Doves At Morning”, with the same power and elegance, but introduces a new set of colorful and flawed characters.
He continues to utilize his usual mesmerizing character and plot development in the lush, florid setting of Louisiana. As the Confederacy disintegrates with the Union Army now controlling and occupying most of Louisiana, the conflict and continual skirmishes persist, alongside ongoing atrocities committed by both sides. In vivid and brutal detail, Burke paints a captivating tale of war horrors, slavery, power corruption, women and class dominance. He continually offers thought-provoking statements, as relevant now as then.
The setting is Louisiana, 1863, where devastation reigns supreme in the turbulent South. Sons of both the North and South lay dead and mutilated on the battlefields. Burke presents a cast of colorful, yet seriously flawed characters interacting to depict various shades of “good and evil”. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives. We meet Hannah Laveau, recently released from slavery but still working on the plantation. She is haunted by the separation and probable loss of her son Samuel during the bloody Union attack on Shiloh Church. Charles Lufkin, a landowner, “rents” her to Minos Suarez who repeatedly brutalizes and rapes her. When she escapes the untenable situation, Suarez is found murdered with his throat slit. Naturally, Hannah is assumed to be guilty of murder and hunted. One of the hunters is Pierre Cauchon, a constable tasked “to oversee the Negro problem”. Pierre, despite being physically and emotionally scarred from his recent war experiences, still has a conscience. He crosses paths with the ruthless and degenerate Union officer, Captain John Endicott, who is despised even by his fellow soldiers, and the deranged and likely psychotic Colonel Carleton Hayes, the leader of a band of Confederate irregulars. Florence Milton, a schoolmistress and abolitionist, takes Hannah under her wing as they both go into hiding from the “law” (Pierre Cauchon) and ever-present “slave catchers”. Conflict abounds as Wade Lufkin, an ex-surgeon’s assistant and Charles’ nephew, returns home to the plantation to recover from physical and emotional damage on the battlefield, including the inadvertent killing of an “innocent” Union soldier. He becomes infatuated with Hannah and enters into a reckless confrontation with Pierre Cauchon, which results in a needless duel that leaves him with a severely disfigured face when his gun unexpectedly explodes.
At age eighty-seven, James Lee Burke remains a superb storyteller at the peak of his game. His vivid descriptions and development of complex situations, all showcasing man’s inhumanity to man, result in steadily ratcheting up the tension to almost intolerable limits. Clearly, the same situations persist even today, albeit in different forms. Sometimes it’s necessary to study past evils in hopes of dispelling them in the present and future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Hopefully, Burke is not finished with penning these marvelous works.
Flags on the Bayou
James Lee Burke
reviewed by Lou Jacobs
readersremains.com | Goodreads
Once again, Burke weaves an epic and tantalizingly complex tale set in Louisiana at the end of the Civil War. With his customary haunting and elegant prose, he revisits a similar setting from “White Doves At Morning”, with the same power and elegance, but introduces a new set of colorful and flawed characters.
He continues to utilize his usual mesmerizing character and plot development in the lush, florid setting of Louisiana. As the Confederacy disintegrates with the Union Army now controlling and occupying most of Louisiana, the conflict and continual skirmishes persist, alongside ongoing atrocities committed by both sides. In vivid and brutal detail, Burke paints a captivating tale of war horrors, slavery, power corruption, women and class dominance. He continually offers thought-provoking statements, as relevant now as then.
The setting is Louisiana, 1863, where devastation reigns supreme in the turbulent South. Sons of both the North and South lay dead and mutilated on the battlefields. Burke presents a cast of colorful, yet seriously flawed characters interacting to depict various shades of “good and evil”. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives. We meet Hannah Laveau, recently released from slavery but still working on the plantation. She is haunted by the separation and probable loss of her son Samuel during the bloody Union attack on Shiloh Church. Charles Lufkin, a landowner, “rents” her to Minos Suarez who repeatedly brutalizes and rapes her. When she escapes the untenable situation, Suarez is found murdered with his throat slit. Naturally, Hannah is assumed to be guilty of murder and hunted. One of the hunters is Pierre Cauchon, a constable tasked “to oversee the Negro problem”. Pierre, despite being physically and emotionally scarred from his recent war experiences, still has a conscience. He crosses paths with the ruthless and degenerate Union officer, Captain John Endicott, who is despised even by his fellow soldiers, and the deranged and likely psychotic Colonel Carleton Hayes, the leader of a band of Confederate irregulars. Florence Milton, a schoolmistress and abolitionist, takes Hannah under her wing as they both go into hiding from the “law” (Pierre Cauchon) and ever-present “slave catchers”. Conflict abounds as Wade Lufkin, an ex-surgeon’s assistant and Charles’ nephew, returns home to the plantation to recover from physical and emotional damage on the battlefield, including the inadvertent killing of an “innocent” Union soldier. He becomes infatuated with Hannah and enters into a reckless confrontation with Pierre Cauchon, which results in a needless duel that leaves him with a severely disfigured face when his gun unexpectedly explodes.
At age eighty-seven, James Lee Burke remains a superb storyteller at the peak of his game. His vivid descriptions and development of complex situations, all showcasing man’s inhumanity to man, result in steadily ratcheting up the tension to almost intolerable limits. Clearly, the same situations persist even today, albeit in different forms. Sometimes it’s necessary to study past evils in hopes of dispelling them in the present and future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Hopefully, Burke is not finished with penning these marvelous works.
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