Advice from the Wicked

In the tradition of Forrest Gump and Big Fish, this fast-moving, wildly inventive historical novel by one of Louisiana's most renowned storytellers wrestles gender, race, sex, parenthood, self-help, and redemption into an epic tall tale with a Cajun twist. In 1893, a teenage widow embraces motherhood and explores her sexuality. From a fishing village on the day a hurricane slams ashore, to the luxury, intrigue, and injustices of a bayou sugar plantation, to the infamous Storyville red-light district of New Orleans, her healing journey is continually disrupted by her all-too-precocious son. To protect his mother he'll bend any rule, break any promise, even cast hoodoo spells, driving a twisting plot peopled with jump-off-the-page characters. A decade in the writing, finalist for the Faulkner-Wisdom Prize, Advice from the Wicked offers fans of Southern Gothic and magic realism an often hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking, but always unforgettable ride from a storyteller whose previous works, translated into more than 30 languages, have earned wide and wild praise: "Knocked me out of my chair... Pitre offers an endless chain of surprises, chilling tragedy set within tender romance set within ludicrous comedy... A masterpiece." San Francisco Chronicle"With the caginess of Br'er Rabbit, far-fetched but triumphant, and leaves some haunting memories." The New York Times "Beautiful and exhilarating." Los Angeles Weekly"Powerful sexual tension." Dallas Times-Herald"Grabbed me from the get-go." Chicago Tribune "First rate... Richly evocative." St. Louis Post-Dispatch