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Summary
Summary
As it approaches its twentieth year, Shannon Ravenel's anthology has taken on a kind of cult status among readers, writers, teachers of short fiction, and trend watchers. It was here that some of the most well-respected voices of the last two decades were first recognized, here that writers tell us they were discovered by agents, here that they landed their first book deals. And for readers looking for fresh, exciting short fiction, here is where they'll find it. Ravenel has once again put together a stellar lineup of stories that makes this anthology not just a mark of distinction for writers, but a must-have for short-story aficionados and lovers of Southern fiction.
The stories in the nineteenth volume of New Stories from the South continue to spotlight the jewels of the South, both discovered and on the verge, featuring Edward P. Jones, George Singleton, Chris Offutt, Annette Sanford, Rick Bass, Silas House, Starkey Flythe, Michael Knight, and more. Each story is followed by the author's note about its origin. With a preface by bestselling writer Tim Gautreaux, this volume promises to be another collector's edition.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Like last year's edition, the 19th installment of this annual showcase of Southern short fiction is exciting but uneven. The collection gets off to a fine start with Pulitzer winner Edward P. Jones (in his affecting "A Rich Man," a man seeking lost youth gets a lot more than he bargained for) and Chris Offutt (the simple but touching "Second Hand," in which a woman pawns her prized boots for a chance to make a third-grader happy). But while Rick Bass's "Pagans" unfolds as an affecting, rich evocation of young love, it's meandering and overwritten. Though certainly not filled with humor, this year's collection-with offerings like George Singleton's "Raise Children Here," Brock Clarke's "The Lolita School" and Drew Perry's "Love Is Gnats Today"-reflects a less somber view than the 2003 edition. Still, Silas House's "Coal Smoke" and Michael Knight's "Feeling Lucky" are bleak, and Ann Pancake's "Dog Song" is both haunting and gruesome. Jill McCorkle's "Intervention," the tale of a woman's complicated devotion to her alcoholic husband, shines. Breast fixation, race, pre-World War I sex education, the shadow of death, a nasty parrot, reconciliation and an iconoclastic docent are subjects explored by rising stars, including Starkey Flythe Jr., Tayari Jones, K.A. Longstreet, Annette Sanford, Bret Anthony Johnston and R.T. Smith. Reflections on the stories by the authors themselves add another layer of pleasure to this volume. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A mixed bag of 18 mostly unsurprising stories by names both celebrated and more regionally obscure in the 19th installment of this well-established series. As usual, series editor Ravenel aims for a broad readership with stories ranging from the generic writing-program sort (Michael Knight's blithely paced account of a divorced father's kidnapping of his young daughter, "Feeling Lucky"; Bret Anthony Johnston's lachrymose and rather derivative "The Widow") to more truly weird tales informed by innate southern proclivities for dogs, church signs, and General Lee (in, respectively, Ann Pancake's "Dog Song," Drew Perry's delightful "Love is Gnats Today," and R.T. Smith's forlorn visit to the Lee Chapel in "Docent"). What makes this collection specifically southern? Tim Gautreaux in his preface suggests love for their region and for storytelling as salient traits. "A Rich Man," which first appeared in The New Yorker (the others were published in literary magazines across the country), meets these criteria: The language is colloquial and stylistically unforced, the characters quirky and richly depicted, as Edward P. Jones shows his elderly protagonist taking up a life as a swinger and drug dealer following his wife's death after 50 years of marriage mostly living in the same apartment house in Washington, DC. But not every story fits the mold; two that stand out in a most welcome fashion from the conventional selections are Brock Clarke's edgy "The Lolita School," delineating the curriculum of a "alternative country day school of some sort" in South Carolina that will mold young girls into Nabokov's seductive heroine, and Elizabeth Seydel Morgan's "Saturday Afternoon in the Holocaust Museum," which follows an estranged couple's trek through a Richmond afternoon. Each author was asked to offer commentary on his or her story, which many find an unfortunate invasion of their fictional space: "I have trouble remembering whether much in my life was fact or imagined," notes "Pagan" author Rick Bass in discomfort). Well-crafted tales from a laudable tradition, though Ravenal might encourage more experimental voices next time. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
There's something for everyone in the nineteenth publication of this noteworthy annual anthology, with its mix of lesser- and better-known authors. Among the latter, Edward P. Jones returns a character from an earlier story who brings woe upon an aging widower in A Rich Man, and Jill McCorkle illuminates an indestructible marriage bond in Intervention. Bygone Virginia is evoked in The Judgement of Paris by K. A. Longstreet, with a pharmacist's son supplying fellow cadets with condoms at VMI in 1912, and in Docent by R. T. Smith, with a dowager putting her own spin on the past for Washington and Lee University visitors. Farther south, things get wackier. In George Singleton's Raise Children Here, a young man, writing for a Fodor guide of places to avoid completely, gets an unexpected reception in Claxton, Georgia, fruitcake capital of the world. Authors' endnotes about their inspirations for these 18 stories enrich the volume. --Michele Leber Copyright 2004 Booklist
Table of Contents
Preface: Warts and All | p. vii |
A Rich Man: From The New Yorker | p. 1 |
A Family of Breast Feeders: From The Chattahoochee Review | p. 24 |
Second Hand: From The Iowa Review | p. 38 |
Valor: From Image | p. 50 |
Best Cousin: From Sou'wester | p. 70 |
Raise Children Here: From The Georgia Review | p. 87 |
Pagans: From The Idaho Review | p. 102 |
The Judgement of Paris: From The Virginia Quarterly Review | p. 124 |
The Lolita School: From StoryQuarterly | p. 142 |
Coal Smoke: From The Louisville Review | p. 151 |
Dog Song: From Shenandoah | p. 169 |
Love is Gnats Today: From The Nebraska Review | p. 194 |
Feeling Lucky: From The Virginia Quarterly Review | p. 221 |
Saturday Afternoon in the Holocaust Museum: From The Southern Review | p. 232 |
One Summer: From New Orleans Review | p. 247 |
Intervention: From Ploughshares | p. 262 |
The Widow: From New England Review | p. 281 |
Docent: From The Missouri Review | p. 301 |
Appendix | p. 313 |
Previous Volumes | p. 321 |