Paulette Jiles’ newest one, Chenneville: A Novel of Murder, Loss, and Vengeance (William Morrow 2023) is a fine adaptation of a classic hero’s-journey archetype. It is both an action-oriented adventure story and a splendidly well-written literary novel about a most painful period in our history. As Jiles has successfully done in prior novels, she creates a […]
The Official Southern Literary Review 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
December 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment
No gift is better than a good book, right? Each year Southern Literary Review’s editors let you in on some of their favorite books of the year. Donna’s Picks For readers who enjoy historical fiction: Yellow Wife by Sadeka Johnson (Enslaved woman living with prison master) Only Oona by Tamatha Cain (Charlie Chaplin’s wife) Sister […]
December Read of the Month: “Homelight” by Lola Haskins
December 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The poems in Lola Haskins’ newest collection, Homelight (Charlotte Lit Press 2023), are equally elegant and eloquent in their graceful blend of theme, imagery, and language. Elegant in their refined, fluent use of words and eloquent in their visions and messages, these are luminous poems. While some poems are nearly haiku-short, others contain many stanzas, […]
“Spillway” by Kim Bradley
November 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The captivating tales in Kim Bradley’s award-winning Spillway (Stephen F. Austin State University Press 2022) are stunning, well-crafted pieces that display the power of short stories at their finest. Bradley writes with compassion and insight about a class of people no doubt considered outcasts, and her empathy and understanding of her characters form the back-bone […]
“Magicicada and Other Marvels” by Kathleen Brewin Lewis
October 16, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The poems in Magicicada and other Marvels (Shanti Arts LLC 2022), a collection by Georgia poet Kathleen Brewin Lewis, are filled with the magic of Southern flora and fauna as the title suggests, yet they are much more than nature poems. Written with an abiding sense of grace and understated wisdom, these are poems meant […]
“The Plinko Bounce” by Martin Clark
October 3, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Author Martin Clark, a retired Virginia Circuit Court judge, writes an outstanding classic legal thriller with The Plinko Bounce (Rare Bird Books 2023). Like most classic legal thrillers, the hero is a lawyer and the odds are stacked against him and his client in a murder case. There is also a tense trial, and post-trial, […]