Play Book Tag discussion
May 2021: Short Stories
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Where I come from: stories from the deep South by Rick Bagg 5 stars and a heart
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Barbara, when I read Braggs' book last year, I had the same experience as you. He made me laugh, sigh and nearly cry. What a wonderful book!
I grew up about 40 miles from where Rick Bragg lived. Did not know him but his writing reminds me of my childhood and my relatives. If you liked this, try his books - he writes about his mother, grandmother, father and many other relatives. I have been his fan for decades. He writes about my relatives. And what he writes is accurate for how we lived. peace, janz
Thanks for this positive review. Years ago I loved his book All Ovr but the Shouting. Seems I ought to pick this one up too.
Absolutely - and Ava's Man and others. He never writes a bad book or essay. Always from the heart and emblematic of the deep South. peace, janz
Oh, this sounds intriguing . . .onto the toppling TBR it goes.
In the second section "We will never see their like again" he talks about Harper Lee whom he met toward the end of her life when "macular degeneration and hearing loss imprisoned her." He was also friends with Pat Conroy (one of my favorite southern writers).
He talks about his mother and his grandmother with great admiration. The stories are funny, charming, and touching. He talks a lot about the food of the south. Since he has traveled a lot for his work, he sometimes compares the south with his experiences in the northeast and the west, there was mention of Boston and California. He notes that he doesn't write much about politics but he did include a section about the Charlottesville truck going through crowds and how it feels to be the southerner seeing that. This section almost made me want to cry. He noted that he saw me in custom-molded neo-Nazi helmets and designer flak jackets and hundred-dollar aviator glasses. "It used to be that all [Southern men] needed to dress up to hat was a good white sale." A little humor in a section that was one of his serious observations.
He has a great turn of phrase. I wanted to make notes of some of them. I was almost sorry this was an audio because an e-book would allow me to capture all those phrases.
In the audio, Bragg reads this series of essays in his slow drawing southern voice. His voice doesn't have a lot of inflection and yet I found myself so emotional through many of these essays. The one about his dog Skinny is just beautiful. His language is wonderful and his voice is perfect for this in audio. The audio is really lovely, wonderful to hear his voice telling about his life, his stories, his essays. If I see his byline, I will definitely stop to read it and may pick up more of his books. He made me laugh, and sigh, and nearly cry. All the emotions. The essay on hot chicken had me giggling out loud. It was a good thing I was alone.