Tubby Meets Katrina [Hardcover]

Just when he thought it was safe to come back to New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina boils up a rich gumbo of trouble for lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. He rides out the storm okay, but then the levees break, the city floods, and he ends up with thousands of other refugees in the hellish Convention Center. In the chaos, an escaped psychopath assaults and then stalks Tubbys daughter. The police are no help, and Tubby must use his wits and his connections to protect himself and his family while trying to restore his home and help bring his beloved city back to life. The fast-paced story includes incisive vignettes of the dangerous days just after Katrina hit and of the frustrating weeks that followed. Dunbar ushers in the era of Hurricane Katrina fiction. He scores an even more decisive bull's eye in his account of the disaster after the disaster-the sad carnival atmosphere in which residents of the Big Easy fight to reclaim their neighborhoods with little help from the government and plenty from casual employees sliding from one essential job to the next. The most unconvincing note is the suggestion that settling Bonner Rivette's hash will straighten things out. If only. Kirkus Reviews
As a thriller, Tubby Meets Katrina is entertaining enough, but what will steal readers hearts are Dunbars warm descriptions of New Orleans and of Tubbys life here. This one character stands in for all of us as he worries about his family and friends, becomes enraged by the response of people who just don't get it, starts drinking too much, and finally begins to pull his life together again. It's also wonderfully funny at times, as Tubby finds the silver linings of post-Katrina friendliness and a newfound sense of family. Lolis Elie
Dunbar takes a major tragedy and shows how anyone can learn to survive and eventually begin to live again. This may be the first novel dealing with Katrina and will not be the last, but Dunbar's portrayal of people putting their lives together and hel"