Finally finished Reading: The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice.

Taking place in pre-Civil War New Orleans this was a tale of brooding tragedy played out in the precarious world of the Free People of Colour. Often having been Free for generations these descendants of slaves have carved out rich lives for themselves but know in their hearts that everything they have is based on an illusion. This illusion, that they are in anyway equal in the eyes of the dominant white culture, hangs over even the wealthiest of families. When Marcel’s particular illusion is cruelly shattered on the death of his white father the lives of those around him are thrown into chaos, tragedy and death. In this society reality not only bites but demands its pound of flesh.

I’m not exactly sure why but it has taken me the best part of six weeks to read this book. Possibly it’s because it was so different to what I had expected from the author after enjoying her vampire novels so much. Possibly I’m going through one of my periodic ‘not fussed about reading’ phases. In any case I have finally come to the end of this 600+ page family saga. As you may have guessed from my previous reviews sagas aren’t really my thing. It’s true that I’ve been reading quite a bit of historical literature lately but not really this sort of tale. However, after spending so long with this particular book I can honestly say that I loved it. Almost from the very first page I fell in love with the rich use of language and was seduced into a world until recently I had no idea even existed.

I can’t remember ever reading such well constructed and amazingly believable characters as the ‘teenagers’ (not that such a concept existed at that time) Marcel, his sister Marie, Richard her future lover and Anna-Bella as well as the adults Christophe, Phillipe (Marcel’s white father) and Vincent. All were as real to me as people I see every day. When their situations spiralled out of control I could have wept tears in sympathy. I actually wanted them all to do well and hoped that Rice would allow them some hope of happiness. This book was so far out of my ‘comfort’ zone that I was rather surprised that I ended up liking it so much. Maybe I should ‘push the envelope’ more in future. It’s certainly turned out to be rewarding in this case. One of the best books I’ve read in ages. Highly recommended.