About book A.D. La Nouvelle-Orléans Après Le Déluge (2009)
I was working in a newsroom when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. I remember the ominous breaking news alerts that the levees had failed and the city was being flooded. The stories and pictures from the city were grim — people drowned in their homes because the water rose so fast; others were stranded on rooftops, sometimes waiting days to be rescued. And thousands took shelter at the Louisiana Superdome, which quickly became overwhelmed by the humanity.The book "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge" is an excellent graphic novel depicting what happened before and after the storm. The artist Josh Neufeld interviewed seven people who lived through Katrina, and the book is a collage of their memories. Neufeld had volunteered with the Red Cross in the Gulf Coast after the hurricane, and said he had been deeply affected by the experience. In the afterword, he wrote: "I felt it was important to tell the story from the perspectives of a range of real people who had lived through the storm: well-off and poor, black and white, young and old, gay and straight, male and female. And I knew there were certain key experiences I had to document: evacuating the city, facing the flooding, being trapped at the Superdome or the Convention Center, and losing all your possessions." The book opens with drawings of what New Orleans looked like before the hurricane. And even though I knew what happened, I still had a chill when I turned the page and saw the massive storm system as it moved toward the city. I turned another page and saw trees being toppled over, buildings torn apart, and streets being flooded. One panoramic view showed dozens of houses under water, and the devastation was unimaginable. Next, we meet our seven narrators and see where they were a few days before the storm hit. We see a couple pack a few belongings and decide to evacuate; another thinks she will ride out the storm with her mother at a local hospital; and two men decide to camp out in their store to make sure it's protected. We also see what happens to a woman who ends up stranded at the Convention Center. All of them lived through Katrina, but they all experienced some kind of loss.One woman told Neufeld that she felt she had "walked through hell and barely survived ... I think a big part of me was swept away in that hurricane."This was a powerful graphic novel and I would highly recommend it. If you want to read more about what happened in New Orleans during Katrina, I also recommend the book "Five Days at Memorial" by Sheri Fink, which covers what happened at a hospital that flooded and lost power for several days. Favorite Quote, from a doctor who helped hurricane victims: "Of course I was very upset with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and their handling of the whole thing ... They couldn't get the live people out in time, and they couldn't get the dead people out in time either. FEMA failed the living and the dead." The true stories of seven Hurricane Katrina survivors are presented in this amazing graphic novel. Readers get a glimpse into each person's life hours before the storm hits, then during the devastation that follows. Each person reacts differently to the storm; one is forced to take shelter in the Superdome, another evacuates New Orleans at the last minute, and one person even hosts a hurricane party. Their stories are tragic, yet gripping, and readers will find themselves quickly turning pages to find out what will become of the seven residents and the effect of the decisions they made. Cartoonist Josh Neufeld's illustrations are unique and dramatic, reminding readers of the tragic impact Hurricane Katrina had on so many lives.Joyce A.
Do You like book A.D. La Nouvelle-Orléans Après Le Déluge (2009)?
I think I learned I'm just not a huge graphic novels fans...
—Pip
one of the best graphic novels i read that year
—Cj10203
