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arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
DNF
I am not the audience. I read the first four. After each one I felt as if a mixture of rain and sweat in high humidity encased me. I don't know why I felt so unhygienic and uncomfortable.
I am not the audience. I read the first four. After each one I felt as if a mixture of rain and sweat in high humidity encased me. I don't know why I felt so unhygienic and uncomfortable.
pziemlewicz's review against another edition
5.0
Given the title, I thought this would be the basis for the Sundance film... it wasn't. It was however a happy accident: Betts beautifully tells tales of The South half a century ago.
jessjess125's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
erindillman's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the stories, I'm not quite sure I understand, but
maybe some time will help with that.
maybe some time will help with that.
libby1776's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
nicdafis's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful stories. Not a name I'd been aware of until I read Annie Dillard's Living by Fiction. Will have to go back to that and unearth more buried American treasure.
squidbag's review
3.0
I don't think I'm sophisticated enough for short story collections. I find myself at the end of most short stories asking, "Okay, but what was the point of that?"
I learned about a sub-genre whilst reading this - "Southern Grotesque." This would include Flanery O'Connor (high school required reading), Harry Crews (tiresome), Cormac McCarthy (an endurance test in every volume), Carson McCullers (a secret joy), William Faulkner (classic), and among others, Ms. Betts here. I have EXTREMELY mixed reactions to tales which incorporate casual cruelty, cheap lives, predominate religion and throwaway racism as parts of the "Southern experience" without really drawing any particular conclusions about them, but I'm mistaken, because Ms. Betts taught at University, and I am a blunt tool which, unless properly oriented, misses the point. What I know is that my experience as a Southerner is never quite captured and much of what I read rings hollow.
That said, a couple of these stories are entertaining in the way of old Twilight Zones episodes, while other meander without traveling. The characters are engaging, but the women are often broad sweeps while the most engaging character for me was a child. (Again, this could be all about me.) At least two tales here seem to be indulgences of then taboo mixed race romance fantasies of the late 70s. She's a descriptive craftsperson and wonderful on occastion with words, but I was often left wanting more, or possibly less.
I learned about a sub-genre whilst reading this - "Southern Grotesque." This would include Flanery O'Connor (high school required reading), Harry Crews (tiresome), Cormac McCarthy (an endurance test in every volume), Carson McCullers (a secret joy), William Faulkner (classic), and among others, Ms. Betts here. I have EXTREMELY mixed reactions to tales which incorporate casual cruelty, cheap lives, predominate religion and throwaway racism as parts of the "Southern experience" without really drawing any particular conclusions about them, but I'm mistaken, because Ms. Betts taught at University, and I am a blunt tool which, unless properly oriented, misses the point. What I know is that my experience as a Southerner is never quite captured and much of what I read rings hollow.
That said, a couple of these stories are entertaining in the way of old Twilight Zones episodes, while other meander without traveling. The characters are engaging, but the women are often broad sweeps while the most engaging character for me was a child. (Again, this could be all about me.) At least two tales here seem to be indulgences of then taboo mixed race romance fantasies of the late 70s. She's a descriptive craftsperson and wonderful on occastion with words, but I was often left wanting more, or possibly less.
erindillman's review
3.0
Some of the stories, I'm not quite sure I understand, but
maybe some time will help with that.
maybe some time will help with that.
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