A review by oliviaoverthinkseverything
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is dense, but in a good way - like a slice of that expensive, oversized sandwich bread studded with nuts and seeds, with rolled oats pressed into the crust. Equal parts memoir, history, sociology and cultural anthropology, Perry examines different sections of "the South" and dives deep. As someone who often becomes irritated when "the South" is painted with a broad brush, I greatly appreciated the distinctions made here. Southern culture is so varied and textured, and I learned quite a bit about Alabaman history in particular (the author was born in Birmingham and considers Ensley home).