The Southern Literary Review celebrates Southern authors and their contributions to American literature. We feature classic writers who have defined Southern literature, and we highlight emerging authors with interviews, profiles, and book reviews. We support independent bookstores. If you subscribe to our newsletter, please add southernliteraryreview@comcast.net to your email contacts list so that the newsletter doesn’t […]
The Official Southern Literary Review 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
November 23, 2022 by 1 Comment
Donna’s Picks For readers who liked Where the Crawdads Sing: In the Lonely Backwater by Val Niemen For fans of graphic novels: The third in a series by Robert Gipe, Pop For Tony Soprano fans and fans of dark financial world fiction: Coyote Loop by L. C. Fiore For Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fans: The […]
“Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott
November 16, 2022 by Leave a Comment
You’d think it would be easy to write a hell of a book review for a book titled Hell of a Book (Dutton, 2021). It isn’t. Jason Mott pulls off a literary magic trick that’s hard to define. Mott manages to swirl humor, imagination and lyrical language through the grim story of a Black child […]
“Life Dust: A Novel” by Pam Webber
November 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
The year is 1971 and the war in Vietnam has been fought by U.S. forces for seven years. Nettie is a caring, no-nonsense nurse in a Virginia hospital. Her life revolves around her work and her boyfriend Andy. Andy is stationed in Fort Benning, but is soon to be deployed to Vietnam. Nettie and Andy […]
“Feels Like Falling” by Kristy Woodson Harvey
November 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Best-selling women’s fiction author Kristy Woodson Harvey (Peachtree Bluff series, Slightly South of Simple) is known for her crystalline depictions of modern, genteel Southern life. Her female lead characters are imbued with a fiercely feminine strength that serves them well as they face life’s challenges and never fail to inspire fans to cheer them on. […]
“Creole Soul: Zydeco Lives” by Burt Feintuch and edited by Jeannie Banks Thomas
November 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
I first encountered zydeco on a visit to New Orleans. I was enthralled by the banging beats of Buckwheat Zydeco. The Cajun music I had heard previously in NOLA was good enough, but I could take it sitting down. Zydeco demanded that I get up and dance. Zydeco combines the energy of rock and roll […]
“Relative Distance” by David Pruitt
November 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Faith Eidse A barbaric father forces three sons to travel the long road to normalcy in David Pruitt’s sibling memoir, Relative Distance. The story opens on a moment when all three sons are, separately, homeless. They’ve been rejected by a brutal father and abandoned by a mentally-ill mother. Told in first person, present […]