In reading the first three chapters of this book, I feel as though I could list all of the best restaurants in (or that used to be in) New Orleans, and also the greastest jazz musicians the city has ever produced. Piazza obviously has a great love and passion for this city and its denizens, and is evidently so overcome by this passion, that all he can do is list over and over again its virtues. He is a good writer, but it almost seems as though his final product went largely unedited; paragraphs end in parenthetical phrases, he skips around between topics without much justification, and repeats himself an awful lot. I enjoy his writing, and I feel I am learning quite a bit, I only wish it were organized a bit better.
Having said that, I am getting a feel for what New Orleans was before the flood, and what its people hope it will become whenever the mess is finally cleaned up (literally and also in a spiritual sense, pertaining to the psychologial state of its inhabitants). Piazza gets very excited when talking about his adopted city, and you believe him when he says that if you talk to anyone else from New Orleans, they will share the same enthusiasm for the city. I am getting enthused myself, just reading it. I found myself gasping aloud and muttering "Oh wow" as I read his descriptions of the sights, sounds, and practices from around the city, at any given time of year. It makes me want to go there, maybe even live there as Piazza did. I am just looking forward to seeing how he will continue to strengthen his case for remembering and rebuilding New Orleans; surely an extended list of restaurants couldn't possibly fill five more chapters....or could it?
You do a great job here of backing up your opinion with evidence. I also felt the book got listy at times. I didn't have as much of a problem with organization but I did feel like things dragged on at some points. It will be interesting to see if your opinion of the beginning changes after your read the rest of the book.
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