Ballet is probably not the first kind of dancing people associate with Appalachia, Edwina Pendarvis acknowledges in the introduction to Another World: Ballet Lessons from Appalachia. Yet for the twenty-four women Pendarvis interviews for this engaging book, ballet assumed considerable importance in their lives. The fond memories and photographs of ballet lessons gathered for this […]
“Ariel’s Island” by Pat McKee
December 6, 2022 by 1 Comment
Ariel’s Island (Southern Fried Karma LLC, 2020) by Pat McKee is a wickedly intelligent, provocative, and creative novel which checks all the boxes of a riveting legal thriller. A “Best Legal Thriller” winner at the 14th annual National Indie Excellence Awards, Ariel’s Island stars six-year associate Paul McDaniel. He is a one-time poor boy whose […]
“The Way of the Saints” by Elizabeth Engelman
December 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Florida resident Elizabeth Engelman enters the ranks of praise-worthy novelists with more than a swirl of mysticism and a great deal of grace in her debut The Way of the Saints (Southeast Missouri State University, 2021). Her book is a compelling story of three generations of a Puerto Rican family struggling to survive cultural, historical, […]
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 […]