Reviews – Southern Review of Books

None of us are the same after this: “Unusually Grand Ideas: Poems” by James Davis May

By: Nicole Yurcaba March 22, 2023March 14, 2023

ReviewsJames Davis May, louisiana state university press, Poetry, Unusually Grand IdeasLeave a Comment

A review of “Unusually Grand Ideas: Poems” by James Davis May.

Step Into True Crime with “The Staircase”

By: Hope Smyth March 21, 2023March 20, 2023

ReviewsStage and Screen, The StaircaseLeave a Comment

A review of the HBO Max series, “The Staircase.”

Magic, Mysticism Amid Hard Times in Indigo Field

By: Jenny Maattala March 17, 2023March 14, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Indigo Field, Marjorie Hudson, Regal House Publishing1 Comment

Marjorie Hudson entwines fallible characters alongside elements of the past, historical events and cultural tumult in her debut novel.

True Crime Docuseries “Low Country” Tells Only Part of the Story

By: Jessi Rae Morton March 10, 2023March 6, 2023

ReviewsHBO Max, Low Country, Stage and ScreenLeave a Comment

A review of the documentary series, “Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty.”

The Dust Holds Mystery in “Dog on Fire”

By: Clifford Garstang March 8, 2023March 3, 2023

ReviewsDog on Fire, Fiction, Terese Svoboda, University of Nebraska PressLeave a Comment

Terese Svoboda’s newest novel, set in the Great Plains, is an apt metaphor for the prevailing psychological state of a rural community and, in particular, the family of the story’s primary narrator.

Rediscovering Zora Neale Hurston: Author and Anthropologist

By: Katharine Armbrester March 6, 2023March 3, 2023

ReviewsAin't I An Anthropologist, Jennifer L. Freeman Marshall, Nonfiction, Review, Zora Neale HurstonLeave a Comment

In a new nonfiction text, Jennifer L. Freeman Marshall offers a “deep, intensive, and knowledgeable lens through which to view Hurston’s legacy.”

Choices, Trauma and Raw Emotion Combine in “The Farewell Tour”

By: Nicole Yurcaba March 3, 2023February 15, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Harper, Stephanie Clifford, The Farewell TourLeave a Comment

Author Stephanie Clifford creates an emotionally gripping story of a country music star on the decline.

Reenvisioning Shakespeare with Peter Brook’s “Tip of the Tongue”

By: Amy R. Martin February 27, 2023February 23, 2023

ReviewsNonfiction, Peter Brook, Shakespeare, Stage, Tip of the TongueLeave a Comment

A review of “Tip of the Tongue: Reflections on Language and Meaning” by Peter Brook.

Entering the Dream State: A Review of Hannah Lillith Assadi’s The Stars Are Not Yet Bells

By: Christine McDowell Tucker February 24, 2023February 23, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Hannah Lillith Assadi, Novel, Review, Riverhead Books, The Stars are Not Yet BellsLeave a Comment

In this magical realism novel, the past and the present mingle in a maddening mashup of memories and sensations.

Leah Angstman on Embracing the Imperfect Side of History

By: Bradley Sides February 22, 2023February 15, 2023

ReviewsFiction, Kernpunkt Press, Leah Angstman, Shoot the Horses FirstLeave a Comment

The author of the historical fiction short “histories” collection “Shoot the Horses First” shares her approach to including the darker sides of history in her work.