Customer Reviews

Deep in the Shade of Paradise

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like Deep in The Shade of Paradise! It's the story of a large quirky Southern family as they gather together for a wedding, that and so much more. There is so much going on in this tale that it's almost impossible to describe it in few words. The characters are beyond unique, each one a treasure, and with names like you've never heard. The author keeps jumping into the narrative with his running commentary which you would think would become annoying after awhile, but only adds to the charm and hilarity of the story. This novel is so clever and imaginative that I found myself smiling all the way through. It would be impossible to give this any less than 5 stars!

How Dufresne can accomplish so much in the space of so few pages is beyone me. THIS should be the book you BUY and read this year. BUY it, because, I promise, you'll want to read it again and again. It affected me as THE SHIPPING NEWS did, with characters so memorable and plot so rich and believable, that I was not content to read it only once.

THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST MOVING, LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE QUIRKY CHARACTERS. THEY BECAME A PART OF MY LIFE. IT'S HARD TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN AND YET I DIDN'T WANT THE STORY TO END. I STILL THINK ABOUT BOUDOU, EARLENE, ADLAI AND MIRANDA (TO NAME A FEW.) AND WONDER WHAT THEY ARE DOING TODAY. I MISS ROYCE AND BENNING. BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. DUFRESNE LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE.

I'll read any book set in Louisiana and am seldom disappointed.
Deep in the Shade of Paradise was no exception. Like Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding, the cast of characters is enormous, quirky, and memorable. A classic love triangle, it's the story of a wedding interrupted by the third party, a death, and an equally important sub-plot. Well, actually, about 10 subplots.
Read it - and prepare to laugh and enjoy while pressing a cold glass of sweet tea to your forehead to ward off the humidity.

It took me a while to finally get around to reading "Deep in the Shade of Paradise" but am I ever glad I did! The characters are so quirky, colorful and yet insightful. Dufresne is a master Southern storyteller. This is one of those books that you think would make a good movie or play because it's SO AWESOME and you realize that the reason it's so awesome is that more is felt, dreamt, and imagined than said.

As I said in my review title, this would've earned 5 stars if it wasn't for Louisiana Power & Light. The only downside to this book is that when I finished the book I didn't find myself missing the characters as much as I did when I finished LP&L.

The reading I've done in the first fifty years of my life has been in search of a book like DEEP IN THE SHADE OF PARADISE by John Dufresne. Now, the remaining years of my life will be spent trying to find another book like it.

Trying to describe the book is like trying to explain MOBY DICK. ("Well, it's about a whale but it's not about a whale, it's really about everything.") DEEP IN THE SHADE OF PARADISE is simply a great book.

I forced myself to limit reading to one chapter a day to make the book last. It was hard because you become so involved with the characters you are compelled to fly through the pages. At the same time you know if you read too quickly you'll miss some great sentences that deserved to be carefully and thoughtfully read.

Dufresne has guaranteed that whenever I hear the word "plot" I will always think of the blissful Pythias. An extremely funny book.

The boy's a genius and the book's seductive, haunting, wise, and funny to boot. A terrific ride.

Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams all come to mind when describing this book, and yet none is an adequate comparison. The names of the characters are perfect, true Southern names that roll right off the tongue and into the story. Each character is compelling in her or his own way, like peeking at familiar friends and neighbors and seeing their stories woven into a whole.

If you enjoyed this book, try Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress or [...] Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison.

The book started out interestingly enough, informing the readers about the last surviving member of a New Orleanian clan, before continuing to the meat of the story, which is an upcoming family wedding. The author explores the thoughts and experiences of many characters, which can be confusing. The book even has an supplemental information section at the end of the book that contains materials that might aid in the understanding of what's going on.

When reading the book, I got the sense that if I had read Dufresne's previous work about the same clan of characters, that I would've followed the story better. It's not too bad a book if there's nothing else to read.