The Feast of All Saints
Published: 16, January 1979
Author: Anne Rice
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, Historical, Horror, Literary, Literature, Romance
Check the summary of this book here:
The Feast of All Saints Summary
The Review:
I can't say enough good things about Anne Rice's novel The Feast of All Saints. The novel is set in her hometown of New Orleans in the 1840s, and the subject matter is fascinating: the free people of color, the Creole progeny of white landowners, who were a much-overlooked component of New Orleans society at the time. The prose is rich in every aspect, as it is in all of Anne Rice's books, nearly drippy and delectable! One of her best! Beautifully written and painfully expressed! If you like vampires, and who doesn't? you should read this one as well as her third book, Cry To Heaven, but that's a different story.
Another of my favorite Anne Rice novels, this time a historical fiction set in New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century told through the perspective of a mulatto boy growing up in the French Quarter, the son of an upriver white planter and a free woman of color.
A portrayal of the sophisticated and little-known Creole society, which comprised scholars, artists, craftsmen, and even opera singers, and whose members enjoyed a peculiar position - able to own property, including slaves, yet disenfranchised and relegated to servitude to even the lowest whites. Fascinating! And it's all contained in a single, tightly written volume!
This was a fantastic read for me. I had watched the movie some years before and was familiar with the general plot, but the book was far superior and provided much more depth and complexity to the characters and tale.
I'm used to Anne Rice's vampire and witch novels, and I enjoy otherworldly fiction, but this narrative with an all-human cast was delightful. I wanted, I could travel back in time to New Orleans and spend time with the characters in this novel!
Too many of the characters are what we would consider teens nowadays, which I find a little "off the beat." No matter what their social background is, they talk and act like someone five to 10 years older than you would anticipate for 14 to 18-year-olds.
"When you shame yourself, you shame us." This novel's subject is defined by this single line. You must be able to rise beyond your feelings of rage. No matter how hard someone tries to get you into trouble, act like a gentleman (or a woman).
Anne Rice's Feast of All Saints necessitates the employment of various adjectives. It's engaging, enthralling, and, above all, incredibly dramatic, especially as the narrative nears its conclusion.
Historical fictions are known for being dramatic, and The Feast of All Saints is no exception. On top of that, the book's location and situations are based on actual events. It's an enthralling time of history to study.
The novel itself is a non-fiction work with no clear storyline. The story's most significant element is undoubtedly its characters, as well as their interactions with one another, some of which will surprise the reader and others of which will confirm whatever preconceptions you may have.
The characters are well-developed, and the philosophical insights that we witness in them only add to their credibility. It's the kind of novel that appears to start at any point, and the reader is essentially thrust into the plot while the characters are still in the thick of it.
The narrative is divided into three parts, the second and third of which are far more remembered than the first. Much of volume one (which, don't get me wrong, is still excellent) introduces and develops the novel's various characters and their circumstances.
A decent narrative becomes really, really fantastic in volumes two and three. The novel will surprise you with unexpected twists and turns, notably in the closing phrase of Volume 2, which makes it nearly hard to prevent your jaw from dropping and increases your want to keep reading.
However, the first half of the novel moves at a snail's pace at points. It might feel like you're slogging your way through every now and again.
These periods are few in comparison to the length of the book; nonetheless, the thrilling aspects far surpass any of these occurrences.
Anne Rice's novel The Feast of All Saints is a fantastic read. Her passion for what she wrote is contagious. I believe it's a touch long-winded, but I'm sure Anne Rice put her heart and soul into this immensely emotive (and, once again, theatrical) depiction of the free people of color who lived in New Orleans at the time. This is a great book for historical fiction fans.
The fact that "mixed" couples were not allowed in the French Quarter was something I wish had been stressed more. (See New Orleans Architecture: The Creole Faubourgs by Pelican Press, as well as The Esplanade Ridge by the same source.)
Soldiers from Napoleon's invading army of 1803, who survived yellow fever on Santo Domingo, swiftly married locals of African origin. Their union was sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church.
When these men and their wives and children arrived in New Orleans in the early 1800s, the Catholic Church taught them that their marriages were not "genuine" because they resulted in "miscegenation," or the mixing of European and African blood, which was considered a sin! These husbands had to change their wives' status from wives to mistresses; "placage" served a more sad function than the one implied in this tale.
The new neighborhood (faubourg) Marigny was located downstream from the French Quarter (see Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children and Other Streets in New Orleans by John Chase). There were a lot of free people of color who settled there.
It was a pleasure to read this book. It's not a supernatural story like the others I've read by the author, so it was a refreshing change. While I admit to being a huge admirer of all of her novels and a lover of the supernatural, I adore her writing style, so I expected to enjoy this book as well and I did.
Giving you a glimpse into a new culture while also telling you a gripping narrative. This book will engross you and keep you reading for a long time. It's well worth the read, and it'll make you love Anne Rice even more.
Final Thoughts:
When it comes to crafting a novel, the author never fails to impress and in most of her works, she weaves a lot of history in, and this one is no exception. I've never read an author that is so committed to both entertaining and educating their audience.
Anne Rice's language is really exquisite in this novel. Exhilaration in its ultimate formula! Unequivocally magical!
The lives of the characters in Anne Rice's work will both educate and fascinate you!!!! A work of art!
A masterwork that is underappreciated. I've read everything Anne Rice has written and adored them all, especially Cry To Heaven, before moving on to The Feast of All Saints.
This novel, on the other hand, is like a cozy blanket on a chilly night. You won't be able to put it down, and the tale engulfs you and transports you to a different time and location in this nation.
You have no clue where it's going or how things will turn out, which is unusual in today's literature. You won't care since Anne Rice's characters are ageless.
I feel like I robbed myself by putting off reading this for so long. I can see this being read a few more times in the coming years.
Synopsis:
“In the days before the Civil War, there lived a Louisiana people unique in Southern history. Though descended from African slaves, they were also descended from the French and Spanish who enslaved them. Called the Free People of Color, this dazzling historical novel chronicles the lives of four of them - men and women caught perilously between the worlds of master and slave, privilege and oppression, passion and pain.”
Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:
Anna Bella, Anne Rice, Civil War, Couleur Libre, Cry To Heaven, Feast Of All Saints, Free People, Gens De Couleur, Historical Fiction, Interview With The Vampire, New Orleans, People Of Color, Subject Matter, Vampire Lestat, Vampires Or Witches, Witching Hour, Years Ago
Rating: 90/100
Recommended: 50/100 Yes.
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The Feast of All Saints (2001) (R)
Interview with the Vampire (1994) (R)
Queen of the Damned (2002) (R)
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