3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting., July 8, 2003
By A Customer
If you are looking for a book that speaks of history,family problems,hope, dark secrets, as well as mouth watering recipes to try at the end of the chapters, then this book is for you. Camille Broussard works as a cook for the priests of her parish, but from time to time makes up meat pies and cooks up sauce recipes to sell from time to time. When her son in law(who is also a distant cousin)dies, and leaves her a fortune, which the wife(and Camille's daughter felt should have went to her instead),Camille eventually takes the money and opens a restaurant in the Watts area that initially takes off and sputters. Her family is at war with it, but in the end, love conquers all. interesting story.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Edible Read, May 6, 2003
Camille Broussard and her husband T-Papa migrated to Los Angeles from
Louisiana, post WWII, in hopes of achieving the American dream and to escape the segregated and racist South. Camille's family consists of seven adult children, whom she raised through the tumultuous Watts Riots and T-Papa's death. Camille's family has drifted from their roots and it is Camille's desire to bring them back. Each child has their own issues to bear, however they want Camille out of Watts but she refuses. We witness each child's history in Watts and hope, along with Camille, for their redemptive souls. As Camille works and cooks for her parish, she concocts a recipe to bring her children together again so that she can retire in peace. Camille's recipe is Camille's Creole Kitchen and together with Pep, her next-door neighbor, they hatch a recipe for achieving her tasty dream. Camille's culinary skills are first rate and Pep is her biggest taste tester, along with her children, despite their reservations concerning the restaurant.
CRAWFISH DREAMS is an edible novel and by weaving back and forth between the past and present, we are able to partake of Camille's Creole recipes-recipes you may wish to try-I sure did! Food is used as a metaphor for a family in crisis, for dreams deferred and the hope of all being tolerable again, if it ever was. Nancy Rawles has crafted an enjoyable recipe of humor, secrets, suspicions and family ties all in the name of a mother's love for her family and herself. One last note-the Haitian Proverbs are excellent antidotes....
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Creole Cuisine and More, December 1, 2003
Crawfish Dreams by Nancy Rawles is a wonderful novel about a Creole family in California struggling with the after effects of the Watts riots. Camille, the family matriarch, is a widow with seven children.Whether it's the disappointed Yvette, angry Raymond, righteous Anthony, naive Louis, uppity Marc, drunken Joseph or confused Grace-all of Camille's children bear the scars of Watts.
As the story begins, it is 1984, nine years after the death of Camille's husband, T-Papa. Camille is fighting to maintain independence from her children and struggling with the poverty and crime she has watched engulf her neighborhood of over 30 years. Her children are busy living their lives of their own and
have all moved away from Watts except her oldest, Yvette. Camille's grandson, Nicholas, is fresh from his stay in prison for a crime that still haunts his grandmother.
Camille is an excellent cook whose talents and desire to be financially secure lead her into various catering capers. She and her neighbor, Pep, a recovering alcoholic, hatch many schemes to sell Camille's home cooking.
Over the course of the novel, we watch Camille struggle with her past and move past it. We see her grow more accepting of her children and herself. In return, Camille's forgiveness allows her to find love in the most unexpected places.
Throughout the book, food remains a constant staple. Whether it's Camille's oyster po' boys, meat pies, red beans and rice, gumbo or pralines, by the end of the book, you will have worked up an appetite for some down home Louisianan cooking. The recipes sprinkled between chapters are an extra bonus!
All of the characters in Crawfish Dreams are well written. You will recognize at least one of your own family members in the book's colorful array of characters. Overall, Crawfish Dreams is a truthful examination of aging, family, acceptance and love.
Tiffany
R.E.A.L. Reviewers
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