Half of Paradise

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Mark Zeisler

Discover James Lee Burke’s debut novel—before the creation of his now-famous Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux—as he follows the lives of three very different young Louisiana men, each of whom finds himself in desperate circumstances.

Toussaint Boudreaux, a black longshoreman in New Orleans, tolerates his co-workers’ racism because he has to, and moonlights as a heavyweight boxer. J.P. Winfield, with his gift for twelve-string guitar, finds his break into showbiz, which ultimately leads to the flipside of the American dream. Avery Broussard, descendant of once-prosperous land owners, has a weakness for alcohol and succumbs to his demons when what remains of his land is repossessed...

The intertwining stories of these three men are a testament to the realities of life in 1950s Louisiana, their destinies seemingly fixed by fate. Yet each hopes for redemption...

unfinished?

I enjoyed it, as I always do JBL. but the stories seemed unfinished. or at least, I wish they had gone on longer...

Depressing.

I love James Lee Burke, but this story starts out bad and never improves. 2 of them die, one ends up back in prison. And the poor women they leave behind.

Not a feel good story

Any additional comments?

Half of Paradise, James Lee Burke
So you think you’ve had a rough life? You’re upset with what fate has handed you? Or maybe you’re feeling guilty about how good your life is and can’t forgive yourself for being so happy?
Then this book is for you. “Half of Paradise” is a very well written and extremely dark anthology of tragic people making tragic decisions on a tragic course to destruction.
Mr. Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series is one of my favorites, a great writer telling great stories. Maybe it was just my mood (or perhaps my story) but this book, “Half of Paradise” depressed the hell out of me.

disappointed

Overall I love James Lee Burke and have yet to hear a book from him that I didn't like. unfortunately this book really fell short. I struggled through the whole book waiting for it to turn around. All of the protagonists were depressing & I am not sure how they all fit together. James Lee Burke fans-pass on this book

A Very Good Early Work of Jamie Lee Burke

I am a fan of Jamie Lee Burke. This is an early work of this author. It is a dark series of stories set in Louisiana in the 1950s. The stories can be comprehended by listening and therefore this makes a good audiobook. However some of the descriptions of scenery are fairly intricate. I like to pay close attention to how scenery is depicted and there fore I needed to both re and listen to those passages. The stories themselves are dark and have a definite noir aspect to them. The quality of the work is very good but this is not a light, happy reading experience. Thank You….