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New York Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Magic, Conspiracy and a Down-on-His-Luck Detective
Tochi Onyebuchi's latest novel, 'Harmattan Season,' opens as many a detective story has, with a mysterious woman seeking the help of a downcast private investigator. In an early-20th-century West African city occupied by the French after a devastating war, we meet Bouba, a 'chercher' making a tenuous living finding missing persons. As a 'deux-fois,' half-French and half-Indigenous 'dugulen' and generally able to pass as either, he's living in semi-squalor in his city's Ethnic Quarter, saddled with unshakable debt, hiding his past fighting on the side of the French and believing himself in possession of a permanent 'bad-luck radius.' When he opens his door to his mystery woman, she is clutching a bloody stomach wound and begging him to hide her. He shuffles her to a closet and moments later the police arrive, saying they need to take Bouba in for questioning. Under the guise of getting his sandals, he rushes back into his house and discovers the woman has vanished. Presented with such a mystery, what can a good chercher do but go searching? The case of the missing woman resolves quickly but not before leading Bouba to a larger conspiracy. As in prior noir-influenced science-fiction/fantasy fare, like China Miéville's 'The City & the City' or P. Djéli Clark's 'A Master of Djinn,' Onyebuchi employs the tropes of the detective novel not only to unravel a mystery but also to trawl readers through an imagined setting whose inventions reflect real-world historical issues. In 'Harmattan Season,' the deeper meditation is about the heavy cost of colonization and conquest. The woman Bouba seeks turns out to be a Floater, someone who can gain the ability to levitate after removing a particular body organ. This process is also used to create surreal explosives eventually employed, in the novel's most indelible image, to lift much of the city's French Quarter, suspending broken buildings in midair while their inhabitants tumble back to earth. This is guerrilla resistance fighting not with guns but with magic, as the dugulen literally eject their oppressors from stolen land. 'Harmattan Season' moves with a thrilling briskness but sometimes its pace works against its other pleasures. Onyebuchi's West Africa is compellingly imagined but the reader is so quickly rushed from locale to locale that one might struggle to stay grounded. Some of the novel's more intriguing characters get somewhat flattened by this haste. Most problematic is how Bouba often feels carried along by his investigation rather than the driver of it: There's a lot of coincidence here, and sometimes characters seem to make plot-crucial choices without clear or pressing motivations. Like many noirs before it, 'Harmattan Season' is about revealing the greedy schemes of the ruling class. Bouba's efforts eventually uncover French machinations to influence a crucial election, where, if the dugulen reform candidate wins, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission promises to expose any number of war crimes, including Bouba's own. If the puppet incumbent retains his post, the evidence of those atrocities will instead be hidden by lucrative building developments designed to house even more French settlers. To those on top, Bouba despairs, the want for more of the same can justify any crime. 'Men like him, they get their money and their desire changes form,' he laments. 'It's all about power.' In the end, Bouba's foes are not unlike the Harmattan, a dry season of blowing dust Onyebuchi cleverly uses to evoke the ever-present despair of oppressive colonization. 'The français,' one dugulen woman says, 'they are a Harmattan that never ends.' It's not easy to fight the wind, Onyebuchi argues, but it's not impossible. Maybe there is a way to change the weather. Maybe Bouba can help bring the sweet rain the city craves, and with it, a new hope.
Business Insider
02-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Business Insider
After my 30-year marriage ended, I moved to California. When it got too pricey, I built my dream life in New Orleans.
After my divorce, I moved to California, where I had a support network of friends and family. I loved it, but high prices and bad traffic pushed me out. Soon, I set my sights on New Orleans. I've built a nice life here — my living costs are lower and I met my now-husband. In 2014, my divorce required that I downsize from the Connecticut house I loved. So, I returned to my native California, where I had a support network of family and friends. I knew I'd be relocating from one expensive region to another and that it might be challenging to find something affordable. Nonetheless, I soon settled into a spacious (but pricey) apartment near the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, where I happily enjoyed the daily sunshine, gorgeous beaches, and company of old friends. There was much to love about Los Angeles County, but the traffic was terrible, and the area's high cost of living strained my budget. I knew I should leave California, and soon heard Louisiana calling my name. After a bit of contemplation, I moved to New Orleans My daughter lived in New Orleans, and although I had visited many times, I'd never considered moving there. Now, I began contemplating the benefits of living in the Louisiana city. First of all, I'd be near my daughter, who'd just had a baby. New Orleanians I'd encountered on my visits were incredibly friendly, and the sense of community in the city always impressed me. Plus, it's famous for its unique culture, delicious food, and legendary music. New Orleans is smaller and tends to have far less traffic than my county — something that appealed to me after spending many hours bumper-to-bumper on the Los Angeles freeways. I made up my mind about moving once I found the perfect house on a tree-lined street in the city's Upper Garden District, where I could walk to nearby restaurants and shops or hop on the streetcar to the French Quarter. Best of all, the monthly rent for my two-bedroom house with 11-foot ceilings and a backyard is less than it was for a tiny studio apartment in Santa Monica. My move came with a learning curve Moving to a new city can be challenging, and my jump to New Orleans was no exception. I have a poor sense of direction and initially had trouble getting my bearings. It doesn't help that people here seem to rarely use cardinal directions — north, south, east, and west. Instead, everything is lakeside (near Lake Pontchartrain), riverside (by the Mississippi River), upriver (uptown), or downriver (downtown). Years later, I still rely on my GPS to get around. Once I moved, I also needed to learn proper local pronunciations and lingo, which largely stems from the city's French Colonial heritage. Although I spoke French, I didn't speak Louisiana French and was soon embarrassed to find out I was mispronouncing many of the city's street names. For example, Chartres Street is actually pronounced "CHAR-turz." I knew not to refer to the city as "N'awlins" (locals hate that), but I didn't realize it was a faux pas to call New Orleans's iconic sugary Creole candy a "pray-leen" instead of a "prah-leen." Live and learn. I've also gotten familiar with humidity and hurricanes When I moved to the city in the middle of summer, I immediately had second thoughts. Los Angeles was quite dry and warm, but New Orleans was humid and hot. The city often experiences flash floods, and my car was totaled in one. In my third year here, Hurricane Ida arrived with a vengeance on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I evacuated north, spending several days on what many here call a "hurrication." Although I don't welcome hurricanes, I'm used to staying prepared and checking weather reports since my native California dealt with earthquakes and wildfires. With hurricanes, at least there are often advance warnings. Above all, I've built a community here and learned to embrace the city's quirks For me, there's just no place like New Orleans, and I've enjoyed building a life here for the past seven years. When I first moved, I didn't know anyone in town besides my daughter, so I made an effort to engage in the community. I joined a French conversation group, where I developed meaningful friendships. Then, I met the man who would later become my husband. He introduced me to the city's music scene, got me to try the region's spicy foods, and taught me more about the area. Admittedly, I'm still not used to the oppressive heat and humidity New Orleans summers bring — but I've learn to deal with it.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These historic Shorewood homes sold for more than $1 million last month. They're all near Lake Michigan
The housing market in Shorewood is "very competitive," according to market analysis from real estate brokerage Redfin. The median home price in Shorewood was up 49% year over year in February, reaching $625,000, according to Redfin's market data. Here's a look at three Shorewood homes near the Lake Michigan that sold for seven figures last month: This French Colonial home, in the 2500 block of East Lake Bluff Boulevard, sold for $1.36 million on March 31. The home is just shy of 4,500 square feet, with four bedrooms and 3.5 baths. It was built in 1918. The home features a forming living room with a fireplace and crown molding, according to the listing. This four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home, in the 3500 block of North Shepard Avenue, sold for $1,115,000 on March 7. The home is a Mediterranean-style Colonial, according to historic property records, and was built in 1921, according to the listing. Inside, many traditional design features — including a grand foyer with leaded glass doors — are still intact. This lakefront Georgian Colonial, built in 1917, sold for $2,225,000 on March 28. The home was designed by Milwaukee architect Herman Buemming. It spans nearly 10,000 square feet — with six bedrooms and six bathrooms — and sits on a 1.16-acre lot in the 4400 block of North Lake Drive. The backyard features a multi-level patio and a "tea room" article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: These historic Shorewood homes sold for more than $1 million in March
