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Mystic Pig : A Novel of New Orleans
 
 
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Mystic Pig : A Novel of New Orleans [Hardcover]

Richard Katrovas (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 1, 2001
Gerald Stern writes, "For my money, our true poets begin their poems in the place 'past weeping.' That is where Richard Katrovas is, sometimes fuming, sometimes singing and dancing. Through his poems we are able to see a ruin we hardly knew was there."

Substitute the word "fiction" for "poems" and you have an apt description of Mystic Pig, which at its heart holds the essence of a strange, epic poem, marked for destruction upon the poet's death.

Acclaimed poet Richard Katrovas's first novel captures the smells and flavors of the French Quarter-the sweet, the succulent, the rotting, the exotic, the sublime. Shrimp peelings and crawfish étouffée; fine brandy savored and daiquiri-filled go-cups guzzled; chicory coffee and overripe mangoes and Oysters Rockefeller.

This is a novel about sex and sexuality and race and madness and violence and fine dining. Not necessarily in that order.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"From page one, this is a novel you want to take your time with." -- Frederick Barthelme

"Richard Katrovas's first novel, Mystic Pig, is as wild, dangerous and spicy as the city it celebrates." -- Valerie Martin

About the Author

Richard Katrovas has taught at the University of New Orleans since 1983. A former Fulbright fellow and the recipient of numerous grants and awards, Katrovas is the founding academic director of the Prague Summer Seminars, and is the author of five books of poetry (three of which have been reprinted in Smallmouth eBook editions), a book of short stories, and most recently, a memoir, The Republic of Burma Shave (Carnegie-Mellon Press), all of which have received critical acclaim.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 295 pages
  • Publisher: Smallmouth Press (April 1, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1588480259
  • ISBN-13: 978-1588480255
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,860,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great tale in a great city, get the look&feel of NOLA here, February 12, 2002
By 
jrmcq1 (Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystic Pig : A Novel of New Orleans (Hardcover)
My first visit to NOLA. Stopped at Faulkner House, a bookstore in the French Quarter and asked for a fiction book that takes place in NOLA. I bought Mystic Pig on their recommendation and I am delighted.
The story is told by two narratives, a 40-something FQ restauranteur and a 12-year-old boy who is very bright. The two narratives happen at the same time but only cross paths at two points. Yet both narrators are on paths of self-discovery, deeply affected by the death of a poet, known to each, who becomes the catalyst for both.
Along the way, the city and some of its recipes moves the tale forward. The cooking was a delight. The descriptions of how NOLA works knitted together the atmosphere of NOLA that I experienced when I was there.
This is a special read that you won't want to put down 'til the end, wish that it would go on, and will want to take with you on your next visit to NOLA... ENJOY!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A simply spectacular first novel, December 12, 2003
By 
Karl Elvis (Saratoga, CA USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Mystic Pig : A Novel of New Orleans (Hardcover)
This is one of the best novels I've read in quite a long time. I could go on here for paragraphs and still not convey why. In short, though, the writing itself is stark, simple masculine poetry. The characters, to a one, are richly yet economically defined. More compelling to me, though, are two particularly elements. First, the thread of secret lives that runs through the book, which is covered in several ways (some spectacularly inventive). The compartmentalized life of the lead character (Nat) speaks to me as a reader. The other element that particularly stands out is an email dialog between two characters which rings truer that any electronic dialog I've seen in fiction anywhere. As one who's conducted life on line for nearly two decades, this alone won me completely over. Yet there's so much more in this fairly short novel. It was so rich that I had to consume it in small bites, lest it end too quickly. As a reader, and a writer, I urge you, go buy this book. And Mister Katrovas, I user *you*, please, continue writing.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling!!, August 27, 2001
By 
Kim W Sumrall (Long Beach, MS United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystic Pig : A Novel of New Orleans (Hardcover)
I was initially enthralled with Katrovas' style of writing and before I knew it, I was enthralled with the story itself. As Nat's secret life unfolded painfully and deliciously bit-by-bit, I was lost to the prose and to the story and to the city and to the recipes. As the story progressed, it became a page turner, a pathetic and beautiful mystery that I had to see to fruition before I slept. Finish I did and fell asleep thinking of the many different levels on which this book worked on me. And shortly thereafter, I was dreaming of gushes of water and huge crawfish coming out of my vaccuum cleaner hose and I know there is a connection but I don't know what. I will discover what next time I read "the Mystic Pig", for I shall reread it. There is more to discover in this book than can be discovered in one reading, I think. Mr. Katrovas, as far as I am concerned, you are a welcome new voice to fiction.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chump change, pussy fear, white dude
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Uncle Teddy, The Mystic Pig, Roberto Mancini, Bart Linsey, Lee Porter, New Orleans, Uncle Jimmy, Old Queens, Nathan Moore, Sad Eyes, Mad Dog, Danny Dork, French Quarter, Mardi Gras, Eva Kohoutova, Bienville Room, Reverend Jackson, Terry Birdsong, Morgan Heights, Baton Rouge, City Park, Lake Pontchartrain, Aunt Bertha, Southern Gentleman, Cookie Bates
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