Customer Reviews

Chita: A Memory of Last Island

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A young girl, a survivor of a devastating tropical storm that hit the Louisiana coast, is rescued by a Feliu, a Spanish fisherman, and his wife Carmen. Unable to discover who she is or where she comes from, they take her in, calling her Chita (short for Conchita), and raise her as their own child. Chita learns about the sea, learns Spanish and mixes it with her own Creole patois. Her father, whom everyone thought was dead, coincidentally meets her toward the conclusion of the book, but dies before being able to tell her.

There's not much else to the story. Lafcadio Hearn was passionate about languages, and that comes across clearly with this short novel. The descriptions of the islands, the waterways, the plant life are wonderfully detailed. Also, his telling of the storm and the havoc it wreaks are quite vivid and probably the best description of a storm in any book.

Good as the descriptions are, they sometimes drag on and seem unnecessary, especially at the beginning of the story. And, as I said before, there's not much to the story. Events happen and that's that. No real conflict or resolution.

The novel is a great look at the environment of the Louisiana bayous is the 1860's, but left me wanting something more.

I have a keen interest in both hurricanes and South Louisiana. After checking Chita out of the library and reading it, I decided I wanted it for my personal library. The writing is very florid and 19th century style...I would call it "romantic". The vocabulary is not dumbed down like so many of todays works of fiction. The story is evocative and touching.