Once in awhile a novel --- a genre novel --- will, by the force of its own impetus,
break loose of its classification and like a tornado spawned by the collision of unstable
air masses shatter and change, perhaps irrevocably, all that it may encounter. The effect
of its passing may be immediate or it may not manifest itself for several years. No
matter; it will, at some point, be noted.
James Lee Burke has been slowly and quietly but surely honing his craft for well over 20
years now. Throughout that time his reputation has grown, initially among academians and
scholars, and then outward, concentrically, among critics and the public. The overwhelming
body of his work concerns Dave Robicheaux, a Louisiana law enforcement officer who is a
modern Everyman, a dangerously flawed individual who strives to do good in a world that
encourages, indeed rewards, the opposite. While the Robicheaux books are ostensibly and,
at first blush, correctly, considered to belong to the "mystery" genre, they in
fact paint a topographical picture of the people, scenery, and sociology of southern
Louisiana with a richness of language and topic comparable with the similar topical work
of Faulkner and the early novels of Cormac McCarthy.
It is with PURPLE CANE ROAD that Burke, and Robicheaux, will burst out of for all time the
limitation of genre and receive the recognition and classification of
"literature" that this, and any number of Burke's other novels, richly deserve.
One of many common threads running through the previous Robicheaux novels is the question
of what happened to Robicheaux's mother, who left young Dave and his hard-drinking,
rough-edged father for a sharp-eyed card player. The answer to this question, and to many,
many others, is found in PURPLE CANE ROAD. It is not necessary to read the previous
Robicheaux novels in order to understand, and appreciate, the unraveling of the web of
death and deceit presented here; Burke, in his ability to acquaint new readers with the
Robicheaux mythos while keeping old readers on board is quite simply without
peer.
PURPLE CANE ROAD opens with Robicheaux attempting to help a death row inmate whose
execution is imminent. His efforts in this regard lead him into the cellar of not only his
own past, but also that of crooked police officers, psychotic hit men, and his own family.
Burke, in relating this story, shows his readers a side of New Orleans not revealed in the
tourist brochures --- the inhabitants who dwell in dark places, who live on the periphery
of the rest of us, those whom we permit our vision to slide over, rather than focus on, as
if some subconscious instinct for self-preservation prevents us from becoming what we
would otherwise behold. Simultaneously captivating and repelling, the people and events of
PURPLE CANE ROAD are, quite simply, unforgettable.
The complexity of the characters, the incredible richness of description and language, and
the pristine canvas upon which Burke tells his tale render PURPLE CANE ROAD one of the
most impressive novels I have encountered in my five decades on the planet. It is
absolutely not to be missed. Highest possible recommendation.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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