Southern Review of Books

“This is the Story of a Haunting”: Darrin Doyle Talks Horror in “Let Gravity Seize the Dead”

By: Bradley Sides July 10, 2024July 10, 2024

InterviewsDarrin Doyle, Fiction, Let Gravity Seize the Dead, Novella, Regal House PublishingLeave a Comment

An interview with Darrin Doyle about his new book, “Let Gravity Seize the Dead.”

“Lo Fi”: A Novel to Read and Listen To

By: Nicole Yurcaba July 9, 2024July 8, 2024

ReviewsFiction, Liz Riggs, Lo Fi, Novel, Riverhead BooksLeave a Comment

A review of the novel “Lo Fi” by Liz Riggs.

A Visceral Coming-of-Age in Santiago Jose Sanchez’s Debut Novel, “Hombrecito”

By: Sarah Shermyen July 5, 2024July 5, 2024

ReviewsFiction, Hombrecito, Riverhead Books, Santiago Jose SanchezLeave a Comment

In Hombrecito, the debut novel from Santiago Jose Sanchez, the Colombian American author shares their first name with the narrator of their text. The book captures Colombia, Miami and its suburbs, the wilds of South Florida, and the claustrophobia and loneliness of New York City. It is a text about being an immigrant, of queerness,…

“Troubled Waters”: Mary Annaïse Heglar’s Hope to Heal

By: Jennette Holzworth July 2, 2024July 1, 2024

InterviewsFiction, Interview, Mary Annaise Heglar, Troubled WatersLeave a Comment

Some learn about the climate crisis and continue life as usual, but not Corinne, the lead character of Mary Annaïse Heglar’s debut novel, Troubled Waters. Heglar takes readers back to 2014, when the term “climate change” was a taboo, far-off possibility that Corinne recognizes as the dire, pressing catastrophe happening around her. Corinne and her…

Native Woman Looks Back to Move Forward

By: Toby LeBlanc July 1, 2024June 28, 2024

ReviewsLeah Myers, Nonfiction, Thinning Blood, W.W. Norton and CompanyLeave a Comment

Leah Myers’ has structured her memoir as a totem pole, carving into history the stories of the three generations before her.

An Exploration of Grief and Possibility in Heather Frese’s “The Saddest Girl on the Beach”

By: Jenny Maattala June 28, 2024June 5, 2024

ReviewsBlair, Fiction, Heather Frese, Review, The Saddest Girl on the BeachLeave a Comment

A review of Heather Frese’s new novel, “The Saddest Girl on the Beach.”

Wes Jamison Scavenges for Hard Truths in Essay Collection “Carrion”

By: Bobby Willover June 24, 2024July 4, 2024

ReviewsCarrion, Essays, Red Hen Press, Wes JamisonLeave a Comment

A review of Wes Jamison’s “Carrion.”

“Do Tell”: A Novel Ripe with Golden Age Hollywood Gossip

By: KT Sparks June 21, 2024June 25, 2024

ReviewsDo Tell, Fiction, Lindsay Lynch, Novel, ReviewLeave a Comment

An intimate, heart-breaking character study embedded in a crowd of engaging, chattering characters. A sparkling visit to a magical era in Hollywood and a deep dive into the dirty deceptions that made it appear so fine.