Customer Reviews

Restoration: A Novel

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In John Ed Bradley's novel RESTORATION, Jack Charbonnet and Rhys Goudeau window-shop for antiques along Magazine, then stop in for a bite to eat at Casamento's just off Napoleon Ave. You can, too. Like this ex-Times-Picayune columnist and his art-restorer crush, you can also get a Ferdi Special, covered in "debris," at Mother's Restaurant at the foot of Poydras Street. While cruising around in the French Quarter, you could also come across a painting by artist Noel Rockmore hanging in some bar. However, no matter how hard you look, even in the gem-like New Orleans Collection of Art on Royal, or the venerable New Orleans Museum of Art ensconced in City Park, you will not find a picture by bohemian artist Levette Asmore, famous for his female portraits and an infamous WPA mural. You see, just like Jack and Rhys, Levette is fictional.

Some time ago, Bradley got involved with the attempt to salvage a WPA mural in New Orleans. Now, he has combined that experience and some research into a novel that sheds light on the intricate skein of race relations in New Orleans. So, out of the bubbling roux of many colors that compose the Crescent City's population, and the deep, rich tradition of Big Easy art, Bradley fashioned the figure of Levette Asmore. In a way, Bradley has come up with mystery "lite" here: the only death is Asmore's untimely demise some sixty years ago, and the only danger is the potential death of someone living on that rich N'Awlins diet. However, the author entertains us with colorful characters and dialogue, and enlightens us with his research into art auctions, art restoration, and art history. Asmore's bohemian life and magical work serve as the touchstone which sets off a series of questions that compel Jack and Rhys: Who is that woman in the photo behind Levette? How is she related to Rhys? Will they get the mural out of the post office? Will they get away with the crime? Will that boor of an art collector come away with the canvas of his dreams? Where was Jack's crippled landlord the night Levette took that dive off the Huey P. Long Bridge? And, will Rhys ever accept Jack's bids for her affections? We don't get to know until they come to the end of their queue of questions. Nevertheless, you'll enjoy taking a tour through the streets and society of the city, past and present. By the way, anyone going to New Orleans, write down whatever restaurant Bradley mentions; he knows what he's talking about. Laizzer les bon temps rouler!

Journalist, Jack Charbonnet, meets and falls for art restorer Rhys Goudeau. Together they investigate why, in 1941, the south's most talented and promising artist committed suicide by jumping off the Huey P. Long bridge.

This is a captivating mystery. I couldn't put the book down. It's well written and has an intriguing plot, likable and colorful characters and a great setting, New Orleans. Successfully woven into the novel's lighthearted tone is a sensitive examination of a serious subject - race relations in the south - then and now

As a bonus, we learn something about the world of southern regional art and the people who collect it. A resident of New Orleans and an art collector, Mr. Bradley's expertise is apparent

This was my first book by this Author but I am sure it WON"T be my last. This was a GREAT BOOK! It's the type of book you do not want to put down but then are very sorry when you finish it. New Orleans is where my heart is even though I don't live there. I visit twice a year and always buy all the New Orleans Fiction I can find when I am there. This book was my luckest find on my last trip. Now I can go to Amazon to search out other books by this Author. Other readers may want to try O'Neil DeNoux & Julie Smith.

Although there were bits & pieces of this excellently entertaining novel about which one could possibly say, "Well, that was kinda predictable", there were many more bits with neatly surprising twists. *Restoration* is cleverly written, as if the author respects his potential readers. New Orleans lends a swell backdrop. I intended to save this book for an upcoming trip, but was going to let myself just read the first few paragraphs, for a little preview. One thing led to another & now I've finished it & what can I take to read? Maybe I'll just take Restoration anyway, & try to pretend like it's my first time!

I had never heard of John ed Bradley when I picked up this book but I was absolutely delighted with every page. It is a haunting and lushly romantic story about an artist whose abundant talents and extraordinary charm couldn't compensate for the fact that he lived in an era with a dichotomous attitude about people of other races. Bradley writes with a deft hand about art and his story is rich with the scents and sounds of New Orleans, a city I love, but there is a haunting mournfulness in this tale that is both sad and seductive.

I especially appreciated his passages about the WPA murals, a particular interest of my own.

Bradley's characters are likeable and fully human and his prose is rich. The scene toward the end of the book where the paintings are found reminded me of the scene in A.S. Byatt's "Possession" when Christobel's letters are discovered in the doll's cradle. This is a very rich book and Bradley is a writer of considerable skill.

I feel I must be because I think Restoration is one of the disapointing books I have ever read. I am a big fan of Louisiana Lit and of Mr Bradley but this book stinks. The plot plays out like an airport novel, the characters are left as mere sketches - Rhys Goudeau in particular - and the central image, that of a multicultural embrace on a lost mural, is plain corny and obvious from the get-go. The sentences jar on the page they are so badly written and Jack's monologues on painting don't read as people as would actually speak. The representation of New Orleans is highly touristy and sounds like it was written by an outsider consultng maps and travel guides. Mr Bradley has taken the subjects of New Orleans and the South's racial past and condensed them to a set of trite cliches worthy of a made-for-tv movie. Nothing new or remotely interesting was said about either area. I can't believe that the same author who moved me to my very soul in the elegant, mysterious, totally astounding Tupelo Nights, wrote this book. I won't give up though. I have ordered another of his books and hope Mr Bradley will make me smile again soon.