Reviewed by Phil Jason It’s 1969 and helicopters drum above the town of Crystal Springs, Alabama twice a day. At ten each morning they leave Fort Rucker for a training field: Field 10. Twelve hours later, the choppers leave in formation to make the return trip. The scheduled explosions of light and noise define the […]
August Read of the Month: “Glimmerglass,” by Marly Youmans
August 6, 2015 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Tara Mettler Marly Youmans’s novel Glimmerglass is a mash-up of the gothic romance, fairy tale, and late-in-life coming-of-age genres. We are taken to the village of Cooper Patent, a town peppered with odd characters and described by one of its villagers as “the most eccentric place I’ve ever lived.” Cynthia Sorrel, a middle-aged […]
July Read of the Month: “A Tree Born Crooked,” by Steph Post
July 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Phil Jason I almost missed this one, which is among the most original and striking Florida novels I’ve encountered in my almost nine years of walking this beat. No gorgeously hued Sunshine State here. This is the Florida of grit and grime state: the North Florida that is really Southern, rather than the […]
June Read of the Month: “Song of the Vagabond Bird,” by Terry Kay
June 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Novels about male bonding are fairly unusual—unless the band of brothers emerges from war. Armed conflict plays no part in Terry Kay’s latest novel, though the major characters are all wounded. Not by guns or I.E.D.’s. By women. Lost love. Crushing guilt. Georgia Hall of Fame writer Terry Kay has written […]
May Read of the Month: “Study of Scarletts,” by Margaret Donovan Bauer
May 14, 2015 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Think you know everything there is to know about Scarlett O’Hara? Not so fast! Margaret Donovan Bauer’s newest book will likely have you reexamining the true nature of this American icon. Bauer’s intelligent analysis of five novels with strong female characters in A Study of Scarletts: Scarlett O’Hara and Her Literary […]
April Read of the Month: “Sewing Holes,” by Darlyn Finch Kuhn
April 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Like many Southern novels, Sewing Holes explores a somewhat dysfunctional family facing challenges and loss. Yet Darlyn Finch Kuhn’s refreshing approach to this material results in a novel more heartwarming than tragic, more uplifting than gloomy. Narrator Tupelo Honey Lee is known by her middle name—for obvious reasons. Set in 1975 […]