Customer Reviews

Resurrecting Virgil

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Dorie Larue's "Resurrecting Virgil" is an excellent book. It is well written, entertaining and thought provoking. Ms. Larue managed to keep a constant reader in suspense right to the very end. This is not "stock" fiction. The characters are people we know, yet the masterfully executed plotting and story telling combined with the unpredictability of events keep the reader's attention throughout.
The book is as original a work as I have seen in many years of reading. I will no doubt read this book again and cannot say that for very many.
To Ms. LaRue, a much deserved "WELL DONE!"

Charlotte On Books
-Charlotte Rice

The only thing more fun than reading a good book is reading a good book that is loosely based in Shreveport and features a variety of familiar places and faces. Therefore, it was my pleasure to purchase local author Dorie LaRue's new novel, Resurrecting Virgil. I bought the book because I am a former student of LaRue's (at Louisiana State University in Shreveport) and a current good friend. However, I read and decided to review the book by merit alone. It was incredibly good.
Resurrecting Virgil centers around Virgil Matthews, a quiet, nerdy fellow who works in a funeral home and is obsessed with golden-girl Lorna Jean Gibson, who, despite their small town, barely knows he exists. Lorna Jean dates Speed Maxwell a handsome, yet crafty post-highschooler who drives a red Bronco...and who can compete with that? Therefore, Virgil's closest connection to Lorna Jean is through Lorna's cousin, Daisy, a spitfire with a sarcastic tongue, who is, nevertheless, nice to Virgil. While the girls were initially creeped-out over the nature of Virgil's occupation, the three of them become serendipitously involved in a situation that is half-funny and half-horrific. I mean, taxidermy is involved. The deceased are referred to as "Beloved Ones" and the mourners are "Bereaved Ones." All of LaRue's characters are comic and charming, and she plays their weaknesses lazily and laughingly, like dominos on a Sunday afternoon.
There are also plenty of delightful tidbits about Shreveport in the book, although the town is called Harrisonville. There are references to former Shreveporter Van Cliburn, trips to the Duck Pond and Poverty Point, Louisiana, treks down Highland and Stoner avenues, and mention of LSU-S colleague Dr. Tom DuBose, who is named after a Beloved One. Good thing DuBose doesn't scare easily. Especially since his character is switched with another Beloved One, with the funeral employees hoping to bejeezus the Bereaved Ones won't find out.
LaRue studied creative writing under University of Southwestern Louisiana professor Ernest Gaines, who is best known for his works A Lesson Before Dying and Miss Jane Pittman. In addition to teaching all over the state, LaRue has written two poetry books, Private Frenzy and Seeking the Monsters.
LaRue's poetry background and maxing out of English degrees has lent her some pretty confident writing. The familiar characters and vivid images will have readers nodding in recognition and appreciation over LaRue's talent of capturing the quintessential Southerner and underlying quirks therein.
Resurrecting Virgil, published by Backwaters Press, was the recipient of the 2000 Omaha Prize as well as being supported by numerous grants and fellowships.

When was the last time you threw back your head and laughed out loud? If you feel like your life is getting a bit mundane, don't despair! Read Resurrecting Virgil by Dorie LaRue. This comical and profound book will take you on a romp through a local funeral home that is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. I laughed until I cried. John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, Ernest Gaines' A Gathering of Old Men, and now Dorie LaRue's Resurrecting Virgil. Who could ask for more!
Happy Reading
Julie Moody, Art Lover