Chita: a Memory of Last Island   By: Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904)

Chita: a Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn is a captivating and haunting memoir that takes readers on a journey through the devastating events surrounding the disappearance of Last Island, off the coast of Louisiana.

The story follows Hearn, who at the time was a young boy living on the island, as he recounts the final days leading up to the catastrophic hurricane that would ultimately wipe away the entire settlement. Hearn's vivid descriptions and poignant storytelling paint a vivid picture of the island's unique culture and the diverse individuals who once called it home.

What sets this book apart is Hearn's ability to seamlessly blend fact and fiction, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. Chita, a mysterious young girl who becomes Hearn's companion throughout the narrative, is both a symbol of innocence in the face of tragedy and a representation of the island itself. Through their unlikely friendship, Hearn delves into themes of loss, resilience, and the power of human connections.

Hearn's prose is incredibly evocative, immersing readers in the sights, sounds, and emotions of Last Island. His poetic descriptions of the natural landscape, from the shimmering Gulf waters to the eerie silence that follows the storm, create a vivid backdrop against which the story unfolds. Moreover, his attention to detail when describing the island's customs, traditions, and folklore adds depth and authenticity to the narrative.

While Chita: a Memory of Last Island is undoubtedly a beautifully crafted memoir, it can sometimes be challenging to follow due to Hearn's penchant for intricate detail. Occasionally, the narrative becomes bogged down by lengthy digressions, detracting from the overall pacing of the story. However, readers who are willing to invest time and patience will find a richly rewarding tale that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.

Throughout the narrative, Hearn seamlessly weaves together history, culture, and personal experience, resulting in a book that is equal parts engaging and informative. Chita: a Memory of Last Island serves not only as a tribute to the lost community of Last Island, but also as a powerful reflection on the ephemeral nature of human existence and the enduring impact of natural disasters.

First Page:

Travelling south from New Orleans to the Islands, you pass through a strange land into a strange sea, by various winding waterways. You can journey to the Gulf by lugger if you please; but the trip may be made much more rapidly and agreeably on some one of those light, narrow steamers, built especially for bayou travel, which usually receive passengers at a point not far from the foot of old Saint Louis Street, hard by the sugar landing, where there is ever a pushing and flocking of steam craft all striving for place to rest their white breasts against the levee, side by side, like great weary swans. But the miniature steamboat on which you engage passage to the Gulf never lingers long in the Mississippi: she crosses the river, slips into some canal mouth, labors along the artificial channel awhile, and then leaves it with a scream of joy, to puff her free way down many a league of heavily shadowed bayou. Perhaps thereafter she may bear you through the immense silence of drenched rice fields, where the yellow green level is broken at long intervals by the black silhouette of some irrigating machine; but, whichever of the five different routes be pursued, you will find yourself more than once floating through sombre mazes of swamp forest, past assemblages of cypresses all hoary with the parasitic tillandsia, and grotesque as gatherings of fetich gods... Continue reading book >>