Scan barcode
seebrandyread's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Southerness is not any single quality but a mix of history and geography and ability or failure to adapt to change. Though Amy Hempel is a renowned short story writer herself, her ties to the South are tenuous at best. I honestly don’t know if the collection is helped or hindered by an editor with little lived experience of the area. This anthology felt old, not necessarily dated, but preoccupied with time(s) before the twelve years since it was published, and it is severely lacking in authorial diversity. My favorite stories from the collection are ones that evoke childhood and a strong connection to or propulsion from the land. Both themes come up in many stories as well as animals and travel/prodigality which also go hand in hand with place and its role as solace, aspiration, nemesis, memory, home, etc. While there were some gems in the collection, I don’t know that it’s the best representation of what the South has to offer the literary world.
More...