One of my concerns doing A.D. was that, as a Northerner documenting this particular story of the South, I wouldn’t be taken seriously. It helped, of course, that I worked for three weeks in Mississippi after the storm, and that I’ve visited New Orleans multiple times, but the fact is that no matter how much research I did, I can never truly understand what it means to be from that region. So it means all the more to me when regional coverage of A.D. is positive. Today, I had the good fortune to spot two new reviews from the area, in The Austin Chronicle and the blog Deckfight.

Kate X. Messer’s piece in The Austin Chronicle ends with this wonderful passage: "Simmering in a roux of nuance and avoiding the graphic tendencies of the genre (no mean feat, especially considering the violent terror of the subject matter at hand), Neufeld captures the quiet dignity and resolve of these survivors as they muddle through nature’s recent "Take that, bitch!" and the Bush admin’s most arrogant "Fuck you" this side of Iraq . . . Most importantly, however, Neufeld nails NOLA: Characters in UNO shirts, "Where y’at!," Claiborne, and Galatoire’s all come alive as the world turns on its head — where bravery borders on stupidity, obligation becomes an albatross, and thugs step up to the mantle as heroes."

Deckfight’s extensive review is equally complimentary, concluding with these words: "In A.D., Neufeld uses an expressive medium to compensate for the feelings that words often miss — the significance of destruction, the loneliness, the frustration at an injust system. Though A.D. is only a glimpse into all of those, it’s really all that’s needed."

Thanks, y’all!