Just Jennifer

 

Devil Sent the Rain: Music & Writing in Desperate America by Tom Piazza (Harper Perennial, August 2011)

In a collection of articles and essays, Tom Piazza, an award winning author of ten books, fiction and non-fiction, does three things: first, he takes his best work on the roots of American music and its musicians, secondly he explores his home town, New Orleans, and its pre- and post-Katrina culture and politics.  Lastly, in a seemingly unrelated piece that surprisingly ties everything together, Piazza discuses fiction and the place it has held in our sentiment throughout the years.  One common theme ties all of Piazza’s work together, his subjects are all categorically and uniquely American.  From the blues to rock and roll, from Charlie Chan to Norman Mailer to the BP oil spill, Piazza makes all his essays accessible and relevant, making us look at familiar things in a new light.  One of the most enjoyable essays may well be the “interview” with Tom Piazza on the future of books included toward the end of the collection.  This is a book to pick up, put down, pick up again later, read and reread and cogitate over, and most of all, smile at and enjoy.

Never the Hope Itself: Love and Ghosts in Latin America and Haiti by Gerry Hadden(Harper Perennial, September 2011)

In 2000, Gerry Hadden was just about to don the saffron color robes of a Buddhist monk on the west coast when his dream job was offered to him: be NPR’s correspondent for Latin America.  Hadden arrives in Mexico in time to interview Vincente Fox who is about to become Mexico’s new president.  Even though the Mexican government is in what appears to be a positive transition, all around him Hadden sees abject poverty and people longing for a better life.  Not long after his arrival in Mexico, the events of September 11 occur, creating more turmoil in an already tumultuous landscape.  Hadden investigates and reports on Latinos running for the American border, the loved-ones left behind, relatives of those who didn’t make it.  In Haiti, he witnesses a rebellion that is far beyond anything he has ever seen or imagined.  As he immerses himself in these events, he learns a new way to live, among these people who, though haunted by years of ghosts, are nonetheless hopeful for the future.  Hadden is a keen observer of the human condition and offers no apologies for doing what he must to survive, physically, mentally and emotionally.  Hadden offers interesting insights to events we often only hear the end result of.