Details
Synopsis
An anthology of Southern women writers, including Dorothy Allison, Elizabeth Cox, Ellen Gilchrist, Zora Neale Hurston, Bobbie Ann Mason, Flannery O'Connor, Katherine Anne Porter, Lee Smith, Alice Walker, and Eudora Welty.
| Size | | Length: | 497 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 25.6 oz |
Industry Reviews
As the number of regional and thematic anthologies swells to meet academic and general demand, it also threatens any sense of a cumulative American literature. Only a rare editor of Mee's talents can pull together such an exclusive collection of stories and render them inclusive in their broader human concerns. Featuring work by such contemporary Southern celebrities as Ellen Gilchrist, Lee Smith, Bobbie Ann Mason and Dorothy Allison, and such established icons as Zora Neale Huston, Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter and Flannery O'Connor, Mee's collection shines a light on the concerns of women born and raised below the Mason-Dixon line. Using seven thematic sections which address ``The Pleasures and Miseries of Marriage'' or ``Settings, Customs, and Artifacts,'' Mee reveals how experience tends toward a certain commonality that transcends time, race, and religion when the land itself seems to keep a grip on its history. ``Full voice, all out, late evening gospel music filled the car and shocked passing traffic,'' says the narrator of Allison's ``Gospel Song.'' The same could be said for Downhome, except Mee (The Girl Who Loved Elvis) hasn't constructed her chorus of voices to strike up a mystical religious fervor. Instead, these stories haunt the reader with their intimacy, their language, and their keen eye for the telling detail. (Oct.)
Bernstein
YA A powerful collection of short stories by Southern female writers, from Eudora Welty and Zora Neale Hurston to Ellen Gilchrist and Dorothy Allison. Written in a time period spanning several decades, the selections reflect the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Southern life. They also tap into the darker side of Southern life. They deal with the superficial roles women are expected to play as they hide their problems behind social niceties; the racial tensions of blacks and whites co-existing in a society of inequities and accepted myths; the nuances of the ``caste system'' that dominate social interactions; and the taboos and inhibitions associated with sexual behaviors. The female characters engage in courtships, marry, and experience happiness or despair in their relationships. They find solace or bondage in their religion, and finally deal with death. The unifying theme, however, is the sense of place, of belonging to something larger than self, of ``downhome.'' Mee prefaces each of these thematic sections with an analysis of its central theme and brief comments on the stories found in the section, resulting in a somewhat academic tone. Glenda Decker, Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Lopate
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