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blythe_w's review against another edition
5.0
These essays so beautifully and honestly reflected on the deep complexity of the south - the tendrils of injustice, subtle and explicit, as well as the deep richness and bounty and joy and beloved community. It’s helped me to reflect on my time here and embrace the nuance and that two things can be true at the same time, that I can hate it here and love it here and want so deeply good things for this place and people.
indigokroll's review against another edition
Collection of essays! Beautiful and gives perspective. Will return for the rest soon.
emmaito's review against another edition
4.0
i really loved the essays in the collection, particularly “suddenly, an island girl,” by m. evelina galang, in which she explores her identity as a midwestern pinay transplanted to miami. she relays some of her father’s experiences in north carolina, where he faced the jim crow binary of Black & white & was directed to use the “Colored” bathrooms at gas stations but the “whites only” doors to the hospital. this reflects a lot of the history i work to uncover, where asian americans were often stuck in between these rigid binaries.
so many of these essays resonated with me & as a japanese american in richmond, virginia, who studies asian american & southern history, it made me even more bummed when i finished & realized there were no essays featuring virginia. don’t get me wrong, the essays featured in this are fantastic & i absolutely recommend this book. but, when i was growing up in rural new kent, virginia, i remember my cousin telling me va wasnt the “real south.” yall. virginia is absolutely the real south & the lack of a virginia essay was the only shortcoming to this otherwise excellent collection. def a good read for nonfiction november & i think a needed read for many folks who want to explore & learn more about the many nuances in the south. the south is an incredible place full of resistance & fights for civil rights, both historically & now
so many of these essays resonated with me & as a japanese american in richmond, virginia, who studies asian american & southern history, it made me even more bummed when i finished & realized there were no essays featuring virginia. don’t get me wrong, the essays featured in this are fantastic & i absolutely recommend this book. but, when i was growing up in rural new kent, virginia, i remember my cousin telling me va wasnt the “real south.” yall. virginia is absolutely the real south & the lack of a virginia essay was the only shortcoming to this otherwise excellent collection. def a good read for nonfiction november & i think a needed read for many folks who want to explore & learn more about the many nuances in the south. the south is an incredible place full of resistance & fights for civil rights, both historically & now
jehignite's review against another edition
5.0
For southerners: wholeheartedly recommend. will give you a deeper understanding of our home and everyone who lives here. it's simultaneously heart-warming and heart-breaking and full of discomfort worth sitting in.
For non-southerners: wholeheartedly recommend. get to know us a little better.
For non-southerners: wholeheartedly recommend. get to know us a little better.
asolis's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
People find it easy to dismiss the South as a collection of homogenous red states that deserve what's coming to them. I hoped this book would be something I could point to and say, read this; see us. See the necessary reckoning, the ache, but also the power, the joy, and the gumption.
It's an eclectic mix, with some essays coming across as more personal than geographical. At first the mix lacked cohesion and fell short of my high expectations, but by the end the collection started to coalesce into something like what I hoped for.
It's an eclectic mix, with some essays coming across as more personal than geographical. At first the mix lacked cohesion and fell short of my high expectations, but by the end the collection started to coalesce into something like what I hoped for.
cortg15's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
amurcia91's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Amazing collection of essays!
eliseferrer's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 Moving vignettes about life in the South. Important and nuanced descriptions of the complexity of the South and the variety of experiences here.