New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2004

I so much enjoyed the short stories written by Southern authors. There is something inherent in the Southern psyche that can tell a story!! Excellent reading, you can enjoy it all at one time or read one story at a time. You won't be disappointed!

I really like short story anthologies, and this one was no exception. As long as you caveat your reading with the obvious notion that some of the stories you just won't like, you'll be fine. Unlike reading a complete novel to find yourself unhappy at the end, with this format you're not really out anything. And since all the stories offer something to the reader, you don't have too much downside. These stories may come from the South, but that is a loosely-shared quality at best. I didn't find much of anything "Southern" in several of the offerings, but perhaps my view is skewed. Let me recommend specific "don't miss" short stories: -George Singleton's "Raise Children Here" is a laugh-out-loud hoot. Best one in the book by FAR. Just a pleasure to read. -Drew Perry's "Love Is Gnats Today" is a fun and heartfelt read. This one gives you a new perspective on a certain type of person that you may not think much of on the surface. Jill McCorkle's "Intervention" is another one that gives you a new perspective on a situation where you might be very apt to jump to a conclusion. Since so much of our lives are oriented on the need to make quick decisions, I like a story that teaches the need to hold back on snap judgements and to dig a little for the truth. I did skip "Pagans" based on the formal book review, and the fact that it really did drag on.

Enthusiastically recommended reading, New Stories From The South: 2004 is knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by Shannon Ravenel and a compilation of the year's eighteen best short stories. Ravenel (series editor of "The Best American Short Stories" for fourteen years and who inaugurated the "New Stories from the South" series in 1986) is uniquely qualified to assemble the best of southern storytelling and storytellers, thereby making them accessible to those who enjoy great literature throughout the country. From Edward P. Jones' A Rich Man, Ingrid Hill's Valor, to Brock Clarke's The Lolita School, to Bret Anthony Johnston's The Widow, these are true gems reflecting the phenomena of love in all its diverse variations and generations.