Reviewed by Daniel James Sundahl In my years as a college professor at a small, private liberal arts college, administration, faculty, and staff were in loco parentis; it was understood that the professor took on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. It’s a curious status, however, with interesting premises both psychological and […]
“Where the Souls Go,” by Ann Hite
July 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Daniel James Sundahl Ann Hite’s Where the Souls Go is subtitled “A Black Mountain Novel.” It’s the third in her series of novels rooted in this complicated, mystical, wispy place. For the geographically challenged, North Carolina’s Black Mountain is part of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains region, old mountains steeped in mystery […]
“My Southern Journey,” by Rick Bragg
July 14, 2016 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Rick Bragg can spin a charming, compelling story about coleslaw—that’s the range of this man’s creativity and talent, which I’ve been appreciating since reading (savoring) his hauntingly beautiful memoir about growing up hard, fast and poor in Alabama, All Over But The Shouting (Pantheon 1997). I wasn’t the only one […]
“Over the Plain Houses,” by Julia Franks
July 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Daniel James Sundahl The title for Julia Franks’s novel is drawn from an Anne Sexton poem, “Her Kind”: “I have gone out, a possessed witch, / haunting the black air, braver at night; / dreaming evil, I have done my hitch /over the plain houses, light by light . . . .” The […]
July Read of the Month: “Noah’s Wife,” by Lindsay Starck
July 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Sean Ennis Lindsay Starck’s debut novel, Noah’s Wife, centers on a town inexplicably inundated with a soaking, seemingly never-ending rain. The subsequent flooding threatens the local economy and tests the faith of the community in terms of whether to see the storm through (the rain must end sometime, right?) or abandon the town […]
“It’s Not Like I Knew Her,” by Pat Spears
June 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith It’s Not Like I Knew Her, by Pat Spears, shines as a classic coming-of-age story exploring a young woman’s poignant awakening of forbidden desire. This Tallahassee writer and Florida State University graduate wrangles words with the clarity and style of a true wordsmith. Her sentences percolate with the right rhythms and […]