News Release
At last there is a novel which tells what
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is really like.
Some novels contain a chapter about Mardi Gras, always set in
the French Quarter. In Return to Mardi Gras half of the novel is set a t Mardi
Gras and not only describes Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, but describes how Mardi Gras
is celebrated across New Orleans by the locals. It describes the family nature of Mardi
Gras for the locals and the neighborhood parties along the parade route and across New
Orleans.
Return to Mardi Gras is an exciting novel for anyone who has wondered what Mardi
Gras in New Orleans is really like. It is a love story and the story of life in the French
Quarter, and contains a day by day description of Mardi Gras including the festivities and
parties in the French Quarter, Mardi Gras by the locals in the elegant Garden District and
the suburbs, the parades, Mardi Gras Balls, Cajun Mardi Gras, street entertainers, and the
history of New Orleans, the French Creoles and the Cajuns.
Jim, a 30-year-old attorney in New Orleans has an affair with a strikingly
beautiful 22 year old court reporter named Aimee who lives in the French Quarter. He
leaves his wife and young son and moves to the French Quarter and much of the novel
describes life in the quaint historic French Quarter. They party in the French Quarter
with Craig, a doctor doing his residency in New Orleans who is a playboy; George, an
attorney who practices law from his apartment in the French Quarter and stays one step
ahead of the Bar Association Grievance Committee; Faye, a single mother living in the
French Quarter who is trying to grab all the pleasure out of life she can while she waits
for the man of her dreams; and Bill, an attorney from a wealthy family who has trouble
holding a hold a job because of his hostility toward authority figures. Together they
party in the French Quarter waiting for Mardi Gras because it will somehow give meaning to
their lost lives. When Mardi Gras arrives the things that have been building up all year
come to a head.
During Mardi Gras Jim re-establishes a relationship with his three-year-old son
while taking him to Mardi Gras parades, Mardi Gras parties, and to see the troubadour
street entertainers; jugglers, clowns, musicians, acrobats, pantomines and others in the
French Quarter, and has to decide which is the life for him, the carefree hedonistic life
of the French Quarter or the family life in the suburbs.
Return to Mardi Gras is also a philosophical novel, and contains symbolism
comparing life in the French Quarter with the Odyssey, as well as other
symbolism. The most unique and interesting aspect of Return to Mardi Gras is that
it paints a true picture of what Mardi Gras is like for New Orleans locals. Whereas other
novels might have a brief chapter about the wild Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, this
novel also describes Mardi Gras as the locals enjoy it, a family Mardi Gras with parades
geared to children and neighborhood parties with friends and family. It is a complete
picture of the real Mardi Gras as enjoyed by families in the suburbs and all across New
Orleans and southern Louisiana.
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