THE UNNATURAL HISTORY OF CYPRESS PARISH

In the midst of a flood threat, an elderly Louisiana man looks back at a key time in his life, when tragedy disrupted his first romance and politics were a threat to the levee that protected his small community. Scott Sowers doesn't quite sound like the character he portrays in this first-person narrative—he’s neither the young man learning harsh lessons about life nor the elderly man looking back reflectively. However, Sowers manages to infuse enough of the older man's wisdom and the younger man's conflicting emotions into the narrative to make it real and heartfelt. This is an engaging coming-of-age story, which also offers glimpses of Louisiana culture. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]