gc smith

Mudbug Tales, A Novel In Flashes, wit' Recipes

The vignettes that follow tell, in Cajun dialect, the stories of the wonderful people who populate a piece of Acadiana, in South Louisiana. They are fictions set in the imaginary town of Pigeonaire on the real Bayou Teche. The book is in two parts, first the stories of the Acadiana folk, the Cajuns, told in flashes that combined transform the individual stories to a novel about life in the Bayou country. The rest of the book is the recipes, some of which are Cajun and some of which are not.

The Mudbug Tales pay homage to the Cajun people and their wonderful ways. If I fail to depict reality it's because that is not my aim. What I'm trying for is a series of flashes that are lighthearted and present a unique people in an enjoyable way that is worth the read. If I don't get it right it is entirely on me.

The second part of the book is an almost random presentation of recipes for stuff that I like to cook and eat. The recipes aren't kitchen-laboratory vetted. They are what I and my friends like to cook and eat.