What a delightful read! Set at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries in New Orleans, Louis has done a great job conveying life in Storyville/Treme at the time. Street con artists, prostitutes, bartenders, and other denizens of backatown all come to life and are engaging. The esoteric/spiritual aspects of the story are, as one would expect, nay, as one should demand from a story about New Orleans, are fantastic. The author weaves Catholicism, black spiritualism, Voudon, and practical life in New Orleans into a tapestry that keeps you reading.

The character who keeps the plot moving is jazz musician Buddy Bolden. From his early years, learning the trumpet, to young adulthood, to his mental breakdown, the characters of the story come in and out of his life, making him what he was, for better or worse.

The slice-of-life aspects of Building Coffins are well-researched. I love the connection to the "Sicilian lynchings" of 1893, one of the more shameful incidents in New Orleans' history.

recommended!