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Last Call on Decatur Street
Set in Pre-Katrina New Orleans,
LAST CALL ON DECATUR STREET
is an electrifying tale of friendship and betrayal, an exploration of racism and white privilege, and one woman's journey to find herself in the seedy, glamorous world of burlesque.
Despite vowing to never return to New Orleans when she left for college, Rosemary quickly finds herself back in her hometown--kicked out of school, at odds with her best friend, and desperate to lose herself in a bright, kaleidoscopic nightlife of dive bars and burlesque dancing.
This night, though, is different. An unlikely companion, a secret sorrow, and an unexpected visitor force Rosemary to break free. From the burlesque stage in the French Quarter, strip clubs to strangers' beds, a secret garden in Jackson Square, and ending at a raucous masquerade party, this night becomes a journey for Rosemary to come to grips with her past, grieve for those she has lost, and maybe, finally, acknowledge that she too deserves redemption.
With superlative emotional and intellectual sensitivity, mordant wit, and pitch-perfect style, Cohen captures the uncertainty and messy edges of early adulthood. A love letter to New Orleans, Last Call on Decatur Street is a story of family and home and the complicated things we inherit from the people and places we love.
Despite vowing to never return to New Orleans when she left for college, Rosemary quickly finds herself back in her hometown--kicked out of school, at odds with her best friend, and desperate to lose herself in a bright, kaleidoscopic nightlife of dive bars and burlesque dancing.
This night, though, is different. An unlikely companion, a secret sorrow, and an unexpected visitor force Rosemary to break free. From the burlesque stage in the French Quarter, strip clubs to strangers' beds, a secret garden in Jackson Square, and ending at a raucous masquerade party, this night becomes a journey for Rosemary to come to grips with her past, grieve for those she has lost, and maybe, finally, acknowledge that she too deserves redemption.
With superlative emotional and intellectual sensitivity, mordant wit, and pitch-perfect style, Cohen captures the uncertainty and messy edges of early adulthood. A love letter to New Orleans, Last Call on Decatur Street is a story of family and home and the complicated things we inherit from the people and places we love.
- GenresFictionComing Of Age
304 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 2020
About the author
Iris Martin Cohen
2 books369 followersIris Martin Cohen grew up in the French Quarter of New Orleans. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and studied Creative Nonfiction at the Graduate Center, CUNY. She currently lives in Brooklyn. The Little Clan is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 12, 2020
There are so many different moments of racial tension touched on in Last Call on Decatur Street that sung beautifully. Rosemary and Gabrielle have a longstanding relationship that takes a pivotal turn one fateful night and perhaps may never recover. Rosemary’s feelings of being left out at times (when around Gabby and her family) and of not necessarily understanding where she went wrong in the relationship come off as a genuine and authentic look at community, "othering" and white privilege. Case in point:
Her tolerance made me feel special, a quick affirmation of intimacy. She was doing it now.
Here, Rosemary refers to Gabby’s tolerance for racial microaggressions—despite the numerous times she says something that could be offensive to Gabby throughout this book, she’s gotten used to Gabby waving or “patting” it off, but, because she doesn’t know any better, it’s never really addressed as a microaggression. Yet, Cohen did a good job of writing these scenes so that it’s obvious that she understands the nuances of these racially charged moments even if Rosemary does not.
Last Call on Decatur Street was a phenomenal novel full of beautiful cultural nuances and delicate cultural motivations, situations and references that rang absolutely true. This passage seemed to sum up Rosemary’s outlook on the racial tensions in New Orleans, and I found it to be completely true to her personality and understandable from a racial standpoint:
Or the Mardi Gras Indians, I was scared of them, preening and strutting, owning their streets with an aggressive beauty. I couldn’t explain that my fear was a sign of respect, my deference felt like the only gift I could offer them in the face of our brutal, messed up racial history. That was also my New Orleans, and we didn’t talk about it. Everything was unsaid but intuited, our way of doing things, a silence heavy as iron…Gaby knew my New Orleans, the million little rules we all implicitly followed. That first question we all asked each other: where’d you go to high school? That quick recognition of how everyone fit into the fabric of this dumb city, held by a million tiny knots of habit and expectation.
It was very interesting to see the cultural phenomenon of double consciousness viewed from the other side of the table (from the Caucasian POV) via this relationship between these two women. Iris Martin Cohen seems to accurately portray what it must be like to not understand the unspoken nuances of being black that other blacks do understand among themselves. In that way, this book seems very accurate.
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Her tolerance made me feel special, a quick affirmation of intimacy. She was doing it now.
Here, Rosemary refers to Gabby’s tolerance for racial microaggressions—despite the numerous times she says something that could be offensive to Gabby throughout this book, she’s gotten used to Gabby waving or “patting” it off, but, because she doesn’t know any better, it’s never really addressed as a microaggression. Yet, Cohen did a good job of writing these scenes so that it’s obvious that she understands the nuances of these racially charged moments even if Rosemary does not.
Last Call on Decatur Street was a phenomenal novel full of beautiful cultural nuances and delicate cultural motivations, situations and references that rang absolutely true. This passage seemed to sum up Rosemary’s outlook on the racial tensions in New Orleans, and I found it to be completely true to her personality and understandable from a racial standpoint:
Or the Mardi Gras Indians, I was scared of them, preening and strutting, owning their streets with an aggressive beauty. I couldn’t explain that my fear was a sign of respect, my deference felt like the only gift I could offer them in the face of our brutal, messed up racial history. That was also my New Orleans, and we didn’t talk about it. Everything was unsaid but intuited, our way of doing things, a silence heavy as iron…Gaby knew my New Orleans, the million little rules we all implicitly followed. That first question we all asked each other: where’d you go to high school? That quick recognition of how everyone fit into the fabric of this dumb city, held by a million tiny knots of habit and expectation.
It was very interesting to see the cultural phenomenon of double consciousness viewed from the other side of the table (from the Caucasian POV) via this relationship between these two women. Iris Martin Cohen seems to accurately portray what it must be like to not understand the unspoken nuances of being black that other blacks do understand among themselves. In that way, this book seems very accurate.
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August 28, 2020
*I received a copy of this eARC from Netgalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.*
This book is set in New Orleans, pre Katrina. I may not have chosen the best time to read it, as Laura was decimating parts of Louisiana while I was speed reading my way through this book because I couldn't put it down. The story takes place during one night in the life of Rosemary, a burlesque dancer. She is going through some things, and because of it doesn't always make the best of decisions."Decatur Street" touches on not only race relations and white privilege in New Orleans (still super relevant even FIFTEEN years later) but on how easy it is to lose oneself in the seedy streets of NOLA. I may have enjoyed it a bit more because I am from Louisiana and the places are familiar to me, but I thought this was a decent read. You're not going to like the main character, but you aren't really supposed to. She's not cuddly, she doesn't make good choices-- but she's real, which made it worth it for me.
This book is set in New Orleans, pre Katrina. I may not have chosen the best time to read it, as Laura was decimating parts of Louisiana while I was speed reading my way through this book because I couldn't put it down. The story takes place during one night in the life of Rosemary, a burlesque dancer. She is going through some things, and because of it doesn't always make the best of decisions."Decatur Street" touches on not only race relations and white privilege in New Orleans (still super relevant even FIFTEEN years later) but on how easy it is to lose oneself in the seedy streets of NOLA. I may have enjoyed it a bit more because I am from Louisiana and the places are familiar to me, but I thought this was a decent read. You're not going to like the main character, but you aren't really supposed to. She's not cuddly, she doesn't make good choices-- but she's real, which made it worth it for me.
July 31, 2020
This story takes place in pre Katrina New Orleans and goes back and forth between 1992 and Twelfth Night 2004 in the French Quarter.
Rosemary Grossman is the product of a poor, single Mom, who was a party girl, and an unknown father. She gets a scholarship for college, but gets kicked out for excessive drinking, and returns to New Orleans. She becomes a burlesque dancer and throws herself into the night life of New Orleans. She is in her element and feels free when she dances, when she drinks and has casual sex partners.
The story follows her through one night of sadness, loss and self discovery. Parts of the book are nicely written and engaging, but Rosemary's character is not very relatable. She makes very poor decisions and her life is completely aimless. I just didn't get very invested in her life.
Rosemary Grossman is the product of a poor, single Mom, who was a party girl, and an unknown father. She gets a scholarship for college, but gets kicked out for excessive drinking, and returns to New Orleans. She becomes a burlesque dancer and throws herself into the night life of New Orleans. She is in her element and feels free when she dances, when she drinks and has casual sex partners.
The story follows her through one night of sadness, loss and self discovery. Parts of the book are nicely written and engaging, but Rosemary's character is not very relatable. She makes very poor decisions and her life is completely aimless. I just didn't get very invested in her life.
October 21, 2020
Intricate, evocative prose that transports you to New Orleans, on all its beauty, chaos, and complicated history. This book offers the pleasure of a decadent nightlife and the eye-opening discomfort of a close examination of race relations and white privilege, all in one breathlessly gorgeous package.
February 6, 2021
Rosie, the main character and narrator stays with me beyond the pages. Adrift and bereft, she wanders the French Quarter all night from workplace to party places with her temporary friends in search of oblivion. She has failed at college. Her dog, with her since childhood, has died. Her best girlfriend has forsaken her because she can't watch Rosie degrading herself by dancing, barely clothed, in a bar for a living. At the end of the story, after she's had a good sleep and a badly needed shower, she sits in her patio shaded by banana plants, and ponders the nearby grave of her recently buried dog. You wonder if her better mood means she's comfortable with her situation or if instead, change could come for this young woman in her early 20s. Meanwhile she has given us a tour of the city she grew up in and loves. As a former sojourning New Orleanian, I feel like I've been back to visit. Rosie shows us the vagaries of the French Quarter, the beauty of the Garden District and the power of the Mississippi River.
September 19, 2020
Couldn’t finish this. I was so excited to read this. I’m so homesick. But 1/4 of the way in I wanted someone to get her into therapy or rehab. And then I didn’t care. 😢
September 21, 2021
It was a thought provoking book about two young ladies in New Orleans. The differences allowed to races and status in the city, or really any city. The tragic story of a young woman raised by an alcoholic mother, and her best friend hindered by the fact that she is black. The story was a well written tragedy.
I received this as a Goodreads giveaway, and I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.
I received this as a Goodreads giveaway, and I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.
January 24, 2020
This is a tightly constructed, beautifully described perfect thing about New Orleans, strippers, and redemption. Recommended!
April 25, 2024
I just finished this book, and I feel so sad I want to cry. The story is a tale of addiction, profound loss, race issues, love, longing, dysfunction, and of youth moving in a precarious direction. It’s also a story about New Orleans, a city I love. The author’s descriptive language takes the reader on a raucous journey through the city; I could taste the sweet powered sugar on the beignets and smell the coffee, hear the upbeat songs of a jazz band while wandering through a maze of tarot readers on the expanse next to St. Louis Cathedral. I could feel the need of the protagonist to escape the ravages of her young life, turning to booze, darkened bars, and men. She wrote stories in her mind of who these guys might be, because she was just so afraid to be alone, with herself, with the reality of her little dog, possibly her only remaining friend, dead in her apartment, with the reality that her life was a train wreck but she wasn’t sure she wanted to change anything. I think Gaby was my biggest heartbreak. I truly believe Rosemary loved her, but she didn’t understand the ways she’d failed her. She was conscious, but maybe not in the ways that really mattered, of the advantages being white gave her over her friend. She was self conscious but not aware enough of the unfairness the prejudices of the rest of the word created. I was heartbroken by this book but I loved the descriptive writing style and the way it flowed. I felt Rosemary’s sadness, selfishness, desperation for someone else to (maybe) save her. There’s a sensitive soul in her character, buried beneath a thin layer of trauma. The dog though- I cried over Ida. Usually, if a dog dies I’m not reading the book! In this case, Ida’s death was an integral part of the journey. I’m left wishing I could read a little more about these characters.
August 5, 2020
Not what I expected but a wonderful novel which might mean even more to those familiar with New Orleans in 2004. Rosemary and Gaby were friends for years, bonding over their otherness-Gaby is black and Rosemary is poor. Rosemary manages to get a scholarship to college and then makes a series of bad choices, most involving alcohol, which lead to her being kicked out of school. Unfortunately, she opts to return to New Orleans and goes to work as a dancer at the Sugarlick, putting her at odds with Gaby. The relationship is so fractured that they don't talk and when Rosemary's dog dies, she has no one to turn to so she sets out in the night. This is told over the course of that night as she goes from place to place and meets a variety of characters but mostly she thinks about the past. And about Gaby. It's a good read with interesting ideas. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Am looking forward to more from Cohen.
March 15, 2021
DNF: I enjoy visiting the French Quarter in New Orleans so was certain I would like this book. Talk about a depressing story of the underbelly of NOLA, I made it to page 100 and had to stop. Heroine Rosemary, a burlesque dancer at Sugarlick, leads a depressing, dark life but doesn't seem to know it. After dropping out of college Rosemary returns to her hometown and becomes part of the night scene in the French Quarter. An agonizingly slow story of her life long friendship with Gaby and her break up of said friendship was taking too long to develop for me. Perhaps someone can explain the author's apparent obsession with Rosemary's menstrual cycle and lack of feminine hygiene products because that was a recurrent theme. Life is too short to read a book you are not enjoying. The writing style was commendable but the story was awful. One star for effort.
May 14, 2024
This book is set in New Orleans and I love that city so enjoyed the descriptions of familiar places. It is the story of Rosemary who dreams of leaving New Orleans for college but when she is kicked out finds herself back home. Most of the book centers on one night in the French Quarter and at times I felt that got a bit draggy but the rest of it was her back story of her childhood and her friendship with Gaby. As adults they have parted ways but Rosemary hopes to get back to where they used to be. It didn't turn out as one would hope but I think it was realistic.
The cover art is a tad cheesy and I think it doesn't do justice to the writing which is very good. The author also captured well racial prejudice and white privilege.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The cover art is a tad cheesy and I think it doesn't do justice to the writing which is very good. The author also captured well racial prejudice and white privilege.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
April 30, 2021
3.5 stars
This book is beautifully written; the author’s description of The French Quarter was luscious. The problem is that I simply couldn’t engage with the characters. Rosemary drove me crazy with her self-absorption and nihilism. Throughout, she yearned for Gaby, and yet it was clear she truly had no idea why Gaby was withdrawing from the friendship. Right up to the end, I felt that she wasn’t getting out of her rut at any time. It just felt hopeless.
This book is beautifully written; the author’s description of The French Quarter was luscious. The problem is that I simply couldn’t engage with the characters. Rosemary drove me crazy with her self-absorption and nihilism. Throughout, she yearned for Gaby, and yet it was clear she truly had no idea why Gaby was withdrawing from the friendship. Right up to the end, I felt that she wasn’t getting out of her rut at any time. It just felt hopeless.
September 7, 2020
An excellent book. If you are from Nee Orleans, like me, you will be constantly entertained by all of the inside jokes and nuances of New Orleans. The story is quite engaging and moves along at a good pace.
A small downside is that the story is essentially a tragedy, albeit wrapped in an adventure with plenty of wit and sarcasm.
I highly recommend.
A small downside is that the story is essentially a tragedy, albeit wrapped in an adventure with plenty of wit and sarcasm.
I highly recommend.
June 21, 2020
The sounds, the smells, of New Orleans come off the page. The duality of old money, and the poor, and the complexity of racial relations in the city shape them all. Who had the more challenging life, Gaby or Rosie?
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August 1, 2020Categories
Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
September 11, 2020
For me, this was a shame. The author is skillful, talented and artful. Unfortunately, the subject matter was dark, twisted and very unpleasant to read.
December 21, 2020
A New Orleans burlesque dancer covered in tattoos with a Betty Page haircut. I know this girl.
November 28, 2023
this sucked
dude, she kills her own dog. she lets a seventeen year old almost bang her. i hated this protagonist so much.
dude, she kills her own dog. she lets a seventeen year old almost bang her. i hated this protagonist so much.
July 30, 2020
I miss New Orleans and it still being unsafe to travel it was nice to revisit in the pages of this book. The MC is complex and flawed but I still found myself rooting for her, even though I didn’t agree with some of her choices or her lack of introspection. This was an interesting tale of privilege and how easily we can be blinded by it.
October 21, 2020
This book is a delicious boozy night in New Orleans. Sexy, melancholy, funny, interesting and challenging, I enjoyed this so much and still think of it.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews