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 […]
“The Lion of Babylon,” by Michael Whitehead
May 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Combining touches of magical realism with the stark reality of life in a war zone, Michael Whitehead delivers a memorable literary novel with The Lion of Babylon. Thousands of years of religious and cultural conflict provide the backdrop for this parable set in the city of Al Hilla, one hundred kilometers […]
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 […]
“Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen,” by Lauren Leigh
May 12, 2015 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson Disabilities, a family murder, Mississippi, a mental institution, and the spirit of redemption all appear in Lauren Leigh’s debut novel, Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen. Every chapter, while often bearing brutal abuse in the household of a rural Mississippi family, rings like a bell, clear and resonant with no […]
“Liar’s Bench,” by Kim Michele Richardson
April 22, 2015 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Philip K. Jason This glorious debut novel is one of an unexpectedly fine crop of recent and new Southern fiction. It confronts the tragic persistence of racism and the resilient, transcendent power of the human spirit. It is at once a story of young love, of traditions both poisonous and healing, and of […]