Nancy Lemann Releases First Novel in 24 Years Alongside Reissue of Debut Work

Nancy Lemann is an author known for her novels and nonfiction centered on New Orleans. Her writing features recurring images, events, and phrases across her five novels and, to a lesser extent, her nonfiction. Characters in her books often experience emotional distress, with descriptions of hearts broken into pieces and narrators engaging in self-criticism.

Lemann's narrators, typically women from New Orleans, show interest in traditions such as baseball and men in seersucker suits who read ancient Greek and eat oysters at lunch. Several narrators have affection for a character described as a blue-eyed boy with a crooked smile who has a drinking problem. These elements appear repeatedly in her works.

New York Review Books has reissued Lemann's 1985 debut novel, Lives of the Saints. In the introduction, British writer Geoff Dyer notes the book's repetitive style, including depictions of rain and sweltering nights, which contribute to its sense of place. The reissue coincides with the publication of Lemann's new novel, The Oyster Diaries, her first in 24 years since Malaise in 2002.

The Oyster Diaries is set in New Orleans and Washington, D.

, with a middle-aged narrator named Delery Anhalt who shares similarities with Lemann. The narrator describes the story as involving significant emotional experiences leading to personal insight. The novel revisits elements from Lives of the Saints and addresses themes of misunderstanding situations and gaining perspective over time.

Unlike some of Lemann's earlier works, The Oyster Diaries includes a more defined plot structure and is set in the present time. It explores interactions across generations and the process of revisiting past events. The book maintains Lemann's focus on New Orleans as a central location.

previous nonfiction book, The Ritz of the Bayou, published in 1987, was reissued by another publisher.

In a March interview, Lemann discussed the long gap in her publications, referring to the period after 2002 as challenging. She had recently returned from Argentina and mentioned experiencing illness there. The renewed interest in Lemann's work stems from efforts by publicist Kaitlin Phillips, who began promoting it several years ago.

Phillips connected Lemann with publishers, leading to the current releases. Lemann expressed gratitude for the opportunity to return to print.