Southern Review of Books

“The Great State of West Florida” is a “Punk-rock Southern Gothic” that Defines a Sense of Self and Place

By: Jason Christian May 24, 2024May 20, 2024

InterviewsBlack Cat, Fiction, Kent Wascom, The Great State of West Florida1 Comment

Kent Wascom’s latest novel is a near-future love letter and a strong critique of the place where he grew up.

“Young Queer Love and Heartbreak in West Virginia:” An Interview with Mesha Maren about her new novel, “Shae”

By: Jessi Rae Morton May 21, 2024August 11, 2024

InterviewsAlgonquin, Fiction, Mesha Maren, ShaeLeave a Comment

An interview with Mesha Maren about her new novel, “Shae.”

“Hang the Moon” Has the Heroine You’ve Been Waiting For

By: Nicole Yurcaba May 20, 2024May 6, 2024

ReviewsFiction, Hang the Moon, Jeanette Walls, Novel, Review, ScribnerLeave a Comment

A review of “Hang the Moon” by Jeannette Walls.

Appreciating the Foodways and Resilience of Appalachia in “Hungry Roots”

By: Jessi Rae Morton May 17, 2024May 17, 2024

ReviewsAshli Quesinberry Stokes, Nonfiction, University of South Carolina Press, Wendy Atkins-SayreLeave a Comment

In Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience, Ashli Quesinberry Stokes and Wendy Atkins-Sayre examine the many ways that food sends messages about the complicated nature of regional resilience. Their work fills an important gap in recent scholarship about the region because the authors incorporate fieldwork methodology to offer new insights in both…