Playing the Angel

Ken Womack’s chilling novel, Playing the Angel, is set in post-Katrina New Orleans, and as such, it’s a difficult (though riveting) book to read.Being a native Louisianian who now resides in the state once again, I was totally and utterly unaware of the tragic conditions braved by the people who stayed in “Nawlins” and “rode the storm out”…that is, until I read this book. Playing the Angel is an eye-opening account of the danger and desolation faced by the survivors of 2005’s unfathomable hurricane. Womack, who has written one of the most respected books about The Beatles and their music, Long and Winding Roads, has already proven himself as a skillful non-fiction writer. In Playing the Angel, however, he tackles fiction with similar finesse and establishes himself as a major player in that genre as well. His book is a page-turner. Being so very familiar with New Orleans, I was skeptical that Womack (who resides in Pennsylvania) could capture the Crescent City accurately. I was amazed. Womack knows New Orleans the way I know Liverpool. He knows every highway and byway and completely understands its unique culture. Furthermore, Womack did extensive research into the lives of New Orleans’ street merchants…the hawkers who make up The French Quarter. And he spent several years researching the aftershocks of Hurricane Katrina: talking to people who actually lived to “tell the tale,” reading newspaper articles, and doing interviews. Playing the Angel is not a “feel good” book. It is a book that will leave vivid images in your mind that wake you up to what really happened once that bitch, Katrina, had “sashayed by.” New Orleans was raped. And that image comes to life in this book that traces the lives of an intermeshed group people (college students, street vendors, criminals, and National Guardsmen) who stayed in the city for the most dramatic moment they would ever, ever experience. Full of rock’n’roll references, brash characters, and true-to-life action, Playing the Angel is not to be missed.

Ken Womack brought me back to the streets of New Orleans and put me in the shows of of a survivor, providing an experience I will never forget. It is easy to view epic events like Hurricane Katrina from a distance, relying on cold news sources and political posturing for the details. Now, I feel as if I had been there, and have a significantly better appreciation for the life changing impact of such a tragedy. And I can appreciate the creation of a survivor in the process. Well done!

What a great book! Ken does an incredible job of taking his readers through 'the storm' as he weaves a wonderful story around hurricane Katrina and leads you through the streets of New Orleans that put you there among 'the Streets'. I couldn't put it down!