"City of Refuge" by Tom Piazza

City of Refuge
Tom Piazza
Harper
ISBN: 978-0-06-123861-1


City of Refuge is likely to become a classic of the future, and that statement is one powerful endorsement of the strength and scope of this novel. Its narrative voice is on a par with Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, which documented the Great Depression. In this case, author Tom Piazza (a music writer of note) has crafted the definitive tale of the destruction and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the city and lives of those who call New Orleans home. Piazza not only chronicles the events surrounding the hurricane, but speaks to its effect on the human spirit.

Three characters dominate the story: Craig Donaldson, a Michigan transplant who has found in New Orleans a city that reflects who he is; SJ Williams, a lifelong New Orleans resident whose life is defined by his years in the Lower Ninth Ward; and the city itself, which seems an organic being, as real and changing as any character in the novel. The story follows the lives of the two families (Donaldsons and Williamses) as they prepare, take refuge, and finally relocate outside New Orleans (one family to Chicago and the other to Houston) following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent collapse of the New Orleans levees.

What this wide-ranging saga does so effectively is place the reader directly in the vortex of the storm (not only the physical hurricane, but all the disappointment and heartbreak that is left in its path). Reading City of Refuge is to relive the events of Hurricane Katrina: the flooding, the Superdome, the helicopter rescues, the evacuation of people who had never stepped outside of New Orleans to cities across the country, the debate over rebuilding, and so much more. It also conveys the joy and spirit of the city, enabling readers to understand just why New Orleans is such a powerful draw and how the city has hung on, one stubborn citizen at a time.

There are few superlatives that can be heaped upon the novel that adequately do justice to the scope and depth of the writing here. This is an important book. It’s a book that anyone who cares about New Orleans should read. It’s a tale that has the legs to stand up over decades of time to sing and dance and celebrate the song that is New Orleans.