Customer Reviews

Corina's Way: A Novel

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Bourbon St., Mardi Gras, etouffee...every tourist who visits New Orleans likes to think he's experienced the "real thing." But almost no one really understands the city--the one place in American where the races (black, white, brown, what have you) actually commingled and carved out a culture that celebrates the best of its disparate influences. Author Rod Davis is the exception to the rule. He brilliantly explores New Orleans' multi-cultural world in "Corina's Way," a transcendent novel about love, voodoo, Gospel singing and yes, even Jazz Fest. Reviews of Davis' book have compared him to Southern literary icons Walker Percy and John Kennedy Toole. That's heady company, but Davis has done something even more unique. Percy and Toole wrote about white protagonists like themselves, and they never explored the world of black or mixed-race people. Davis dives into that world with both feet first and writes a novel that opens our eyes to other worlds. "Corina's Way" is a great book.

Bourbon St., Mardi Gras, etouffee...every tourist who visits New Orleans likes to think he's experienced the "real thing." But almost no one really understands the city--the one place in American where the races (black, white, brown, what have you) actually commingled and carved out a culture that celebrated the best of its disparate influences. Author Rod Davis is the exception to the rule. He brilliantly explores New Orleans' multi-cultural world in "Corina's Way," a transcendent novel about love, voodoo, Gospel singing and yes, even Jazz Fest. Reviews of Davis' book have compared him to Southern literary icons Walker Percy and John Kennedy Toole. That's heady company, but Davis has done something even more unique. Percy and Toole wrote about white protagonists like themselves, and they never explored the world of black or mixed-race people. Davis dives into that world with both feet first and writes a novel that opens our eyes to other worlds. "Corina's Way" is a great book.

Before you start reading this book, I highly recommend that you check your calendar and find a stretch of time that will enable you to read it cover-to-cover without interruptions (okay, okay, allow breaks for water, bathroom, and to catch your breath). Because, I guarantee you, you won't want to put it down once you dig in.

It's evident that Mr. Davis has spent a lot of time in New Orleans, as he picks you up and drops you, slap-dab, in the middle of the Big Uneasy with its torpid coulees and backstreets, offbeast (some would say weird) characters, its rich standing in music history, and its twisted sense of being on the outside of a biosphere that houses 21st Century America.

His characters are as real as your neighbors, only they're unforgettable, and you wouldn't want them living next door. There's Corina Youngblood, a sexy, Pentecostal spiritualist cum Voudou priestess who is part Mother Theresa, Part Marie Leveau; Gus Houston, who conned hs way into the job of acting chaplain at a Catholic (what else?) girl's prep school and gets so wrapped up in the con that he becomes his own victim; Elroy Delgado, Cuban expat with dreams of becoming the Sam Walton of botanicas; and for good measure, there's a sleazy politician, an inept assassin, a fiery and beautiful Latina and a gospel sing-off.

If you've never heard of a botanica or a gospel sing-off, you've got two choices: hop the next plane to N'Orlenz or read this book. I recommend the latter: it's less dangerous and a lot less hassle, and a lot more bang for your buck.

"Corina's Way" won the inaugural PEN/Southwest Award for Fiction (2005), for works from 2000-2005.
It has been impossible to post this information on this amazon site so I am entering it here under reviews so that readers will know. I am the author.

This was an interesting read, although not exactly what I expected. It was believeable and a bit humorous too. The characters are a bit strange ...all of them, and its worth it to see what happens. I agree with one of the other reviewers that once you start reading, you won't want to put it down.

I picked up this book because of Kennedy Toole's name and New Orleans were on the book cover. When I read that the main character, Gus, gets his chaplin job through a lie and a lark I thought I was in for some fun. About halfway through I realized I'd been had. The characters were one dimentional and the author was pushing them around where he wanted them to go, rather than be lead through the story. I thought there was great potential for some humor with Cuban brothers who wanted to open a Wal-Mart version of a botanica. But the humor never came. I kept waiting and thought the Jazz fest scene would finally deliver a gag but no luck there either. If you are expecting Ignatious Riley type illusions and charm then you won't be happy with this choice. If the book had been billed as a tragic drama I'd have been more impressed.