Cajun Waltz
A Novel
Robert H. Patton
- The
- lyrics
- of
- a
- Cajun
- waltz
- may
- be
- dark
- as
- midnight
- with
- heartache
- and
- trouble,
- but
- still
- the
- music
- swings.
- The
- same
- goes
- for
- what
- happens
- after
- a
- shifty
- musician
- and
- a
- lonely
- shopgirl
- let
- destiny
- sweep
- them
- into
- an
- ill-suited
- marriage
- in
- swampy
- southwest
- Louisiana
- on
- the
- eve
- of
- the
- Depression.Love
- doesn’t
- much
- figure
- between
- Richie
- Bainard
- and
- Esther
- Block.
- They
- build
- a
- business
- together
- while
- dreaming
- opposite
- dreams
- of
- fulfillment.
- But
- like
- a
- gumbo
- simmering
- with
- peppers
- and
- spice,
- desires
- finally
- come
- to
- a
- boil.Three
- generations
- of
- the
- volatile
- clan
- grapple
- with
- the
- region’s
- economic
- struggles
- and
- racial
- tensions.
- The
- Bainard
- children,
- twins
- Bonnie
- and
- R.J.
- and
- their
- half-brother,
- Seth,
- pursue
- separate
- cravings
- for
- money,
- sex,
- and
- religion.
- The
- chase
- in
- each
- case
- runs
- off
- the
- rails
- thanks
- to
- an
- ex-marine
- with
- a
- soft
- heart
- and
- a
- brutish
- devotion,
- a
- dazzling
- young
- stepmother
- of
- mixed
- race
- and
- mixed
- motives,
- and
- a
- high
- school
- tart
- who
- proves
- tougher
- and
- truer
- than
- all
- of
- them.
- Ultimately
- it
- takes
- the
- mass
- devastation
- of
- Hurricane
- Audrey
- in
- 1957
- to
- cleanse
- the
- reckless
- passions.
- The
- aftermath
- is
- painful
- but
- pure,
- like
- an
- old
- blues
- song
- that
- puts
- tears
- in
- your
- eyes
- while
- you dance.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
