Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux grew up Cajun for true, surrounded by the stories, music, food, and culture of rural communities in southeastern Texas and southern Louisisana. Here she shares eight stories from her native culture, including animal stories, fairy tales, and humorous tales.
Cajun Folktales (American Storytelling)
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
While the tales of African Americans and Native Americans have been much anthologized, the vibrant oral folk tradition of the Cajun has been more or less neglected by American publishers. This excellent anthology by Reneaux helps plug that inexplicable gap. Reneaux, a noted storyteller and a Cajun herself, retells 27 tales she heard in childhood from relatives or has heard since from fellow Cajuns. Their folklore is as spicy and interesting as their famed food and reflects a variety of flavors and influences. The story of Lapin and his theft of honey from Bouqui, for instance, is a Cajun favorite and is clearly recognizable as one of the contests between Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Likewise, the aetiological tale of why alligators hate dogs is reminiscent of Native tradition. The author tells a wide variety of tales--animal stories, ghost stories, fairy stories. One of the best relates the Hansel and Gretel-like story of Catafo and his brothers, who out-smart their devilish host. Another perhaps also familiar one tells of the ghost of the renowned pirate Jean Lafitte trying to free himself of his cursed treasure.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cajun Folk Tales,
This review is from: Cajun Folktales (American Storytelling) (Paperback)
This book is full of tales to please even the hard-nosed, gonna find something wrong with it Cajun's like myself! Nothing annoys me quicker than to buy a 'Cajun' book and find it obviously written by someone who isn't. Ms. Reneaux always does a great job of depicting the truth as we see it, and recording our oral history in a way that even we (Cajuns) can recognize as our own! This book will teach you some about Cajun humor. If you want to learn more about our roots, this is a great place to start!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Commercial Work That Comes Off Fake,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cajun Folktales (American Storytelling) (Paperback)
While I commend Reneaux for putting traditional stories into a convenient format, I read each of these stories feeling as if Justin Wilson was telling them. Wilson was over the top with his delivery, and so is Reneaux. It's one thing to tell a story in an interesting way, it's an entirely different thing to tell it in such a way as to "dumb down" the characters in the story. Also, judging by Reneaux's photograph on the back cover, it looks as if she's torn between wanting to be a voodoo queen and a theater student at the local university. In other words, she seems to be trapped in the the commercial idea of what is "Cajun." With no intended offense to Voodoo or its followers, Cajuns were never known for their mystical Voodoo powers as far as I know. We might be a little superstitious and quite a bit Catholic, but Voodoo never seemed to play heavily into the culture.
Anyway, the stories are fun to read, but just be cautioned that not all Cajuns act like Justin Wilson and J.J. Reneaux may want you to think they do. In fact, most of them are pretty intelligent people.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful bedtime stories,
This review is from: Cajun Folktales (American Storytelling) (Kindle Edition)
After I read a few of these stories (folktales), I read them to my wife in bed at nightime...wonderful tales to read outloud...like when we were children. Some have morals, some are just stories....but most are great. I can think of only two I did not like. I recommend this.
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