Louisiana Power and Light - Softcover

Dufresne, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452275024 ISBN 13: 9780452275027

Publisher: Plume, 1995

Synopsis

A humorous novel follows the exploits of Billy Wayne Fontana, the last scion of a troubled family in a small town in Louisiana, who rebels against his Catholic upbringing. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author

John Dufresne has written several books, including the novels Requiem, Mass. and Love Warps the Mind a Little (a New York Times Notable Book), and the fiction writing guides The Lie That Tells a Truth and Is Life Like This? He lives in Dania Beach, Florida.

From Kirkus Reviews

In his first novel, Dufresne extends the exploits of the Fontana family, introduced in his highly touted collection of stories, The Way That Water Enters Stone (1991). But devices that might be amusing in a short story do not necessarily have enough weight to sustain a longer work. Billy Wayne, last of the Fontana line, is brought together with other eccentric characters, all of whom live in close proximity to Monroe, La. (pop. 56,000). Billy Wayne was about to enter the priesthood when he met a woman in the hospital and ran off with her. They spend their first night in a field, then move to a decrepit motel sold to a gullible Pakistani. Initially, these miscast outcasts are put forth with true Southern flourish. Except we soon realize Dufresne is rambling on about his characters' lives, never once entering their emotions or examining their motives. Even when the Pakistani loses his motel or is held in jail, his response is glossed over with cold, generic statements such as ``my heart aches.'' Later, when Fox Ledbetter commits suicide, a chapter is devoted to Billy Wayne's last evening with him, but few readers will remember who Fox Ledbetter is (so facile were his previous appearances). This lapse of memory is not surprising: The plot is continually interrupted by narratives about minor characters. Dufresne wastes so much time telling readers he's telling a story and expounding on the art of storytelling that we lose interest in the characters and, thus, in the story. A more daring writer might have been able to handle this text-within-text commentary, and the flitting from character to character, by finding some formal innovations to suit the purpose. But despite a few experimental passages, the writing here is fairly conventional and conventionally boring. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0452275024
• ISBN 13: 9780452275027
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320