Some novels contain a chapter about Mardi Gras, always set in the French Quarter. In Return to Mardi Gras half of the novel is set at Mardi Gras, and not only describes Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, but also describes how Mardi Gras is celebrated across New Orleans by the locals. It describes the family nature of Mardi Gras for the locals, and the neighborhood parties along the parade route and across New Orleans.
Return to Mardi Gras is an exciting novel for anyone who has wondered what Mardi Gras in New Orleans is really like. It is a love story and the story of life in the French Quarter, and contains a day by day description of Mardi Gras including the festivities and parties in the French Quarter, Mardi Gras by the locals in the elegant Garden District and the suburbs, the parades, Mardi Gras Balls, Cajun Mardi Gras, street entertainers, and the history of New Orleans, the French Creoles and the Cajuns.
Jim, a 30-year-old attorney in New Orleans has an affair with a strikingly beautiful 22 year old court reporter named Aimee who lives in the French Quarter. He leaves his wife and young son and moves to the French Quarter, and much of the novel describes life in the quaint historic French Quarter. They party in the French Quarter with Craig, a doctor doing his residency in New Orleans who is a playboy; George, an attorney who practices law from his apartment in the French Quarter and stays one step ahead of the Bar Association Grievance Committee; Faye, a single mother living in the French Quarter who is trying to grab all the pleasure out of life she can while she waits for the man of her dreams; and Bill, an attorney from a wealthy family who has trouble holding a hold a job because of his hostility toward authority figures. Together they party in the French Quarter waiting for Mardi Gras because it will somehow give meaning to their lost lives. When Mardi Gras arrives the! things that have been building up all year come to a head.
During Mardi Gras Jim re-establishes a relationship with his three-year-old son while taking him to Mardi Gras parades, Mardi Gras parties, and to see the troubadour street entertainers; jugglers, clowns, musicians, acrobats, pantomines and others in the French Quarter, and has to decide which is the life for him, the carefree hedonistic life of the French Quarter or the family life in the suburbs.
Return to Mardi Gras is also a philosophical novel, and contains symbolism comparing life in the French Quarter with the Odyssey, as well as other symbolism. The most unique and interesting aspect of Return to Mardi Gras is that it paints a true picture of what Mardi Gras is like for New Orleans locals. Whereas other novels might have a brief chapter about the wild Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, this novel also describes Mardi Gras as the locals enjoy it, a family Mardi Gras with parades geared to children and neighborhood parties with friends and family. It is a complete picture of the real Mardi Gras as enjoyed by families in the suburbs and all across New Orleans and southern Louisiana.
