Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg

Bragg's storytelling in his journalism inspires hope that he may yet give us a novel. He's a superb observer of people--the fine, the ordinary, the dispossessed, the downright bizarre. I find his writing at times a bit melodramatic--as in many of the "leads" for the pieces in this collection--but he is never less than interesting, and often he's something approaching revelatory in his way of showing us who we all are. His stories here on the Susan Smith case in South Carolina a few years ago still stop me cold.

Rick Bragg writes in the introduction to SOMEBODY TOLD ME that he was tickled to death that somebody wanted to put his newspaper stories into a collection. Well, he was not much more tickled than I was, since I've been trying to track down his stories since reading his wonderful memoir, ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING. The little snippets of his stories that were reprinted in the book simply whetted my appetite for more!Whether Rick Bragg is reporting on the big stories like those of Susan Smith and the horrible dragging death in Jasper,Texas, or the little ones like the ice tea contest he is able to get to the human heart of every story and leave an indelible impression on the reader. I don't think I'll ever forget the story of Dirty Red--it broke my heart.There aren't many books that I read and hold onto to read again. This will be one of the few, just for the joy of reading such finely crafted prose. If I could, I'd give it 6 Stars!

It never stops amazing me. I had the good fortune to work with my close friend Rick Bragg in reporting some of the stories that appear on these pages, and I've read most of these stories a dozen times. Each time, though, they still have the fresh emotion of the people because no one can bring out those people's stories like Rick. Even after being there, the tales seem more real in his words. If you enjoyed his best-selling memoir, "All Over But the Shoutin'," then this collection of his best newspaper stories should keep you satisfied until he releases the follow-up to "All Over," which is already in progress.

No matter where you're from picture this; a child sits on a grandmother's lap rocking on the front porch in the early evening. Take your time... You there yet? I still remember being held by my grandmothers, and loving it. Think N.C. Wyeth or perhaps Norman Rockwell if you like. Late spring is filling your senses with smells, sights and sounds. The Author Mr. Rick Bragg sees this scene and.........."This is a place where grandmothers hold babies on their laps under the stars and whisper that the lights in the sky are holes in the floor of heaven".If writing gets better than that sentence I look forward to finding it. Writing like that is why I read. Writing like that does not just give you pause; it brings you to a full stop. It brings back memories, it makes it hard to swallow because of the emotion that has grown in you and clings to your throat.I have read that sentence, that very first sentence from the first story in "Somebody Told Me" dozens of times. I'm convinced it's perfect.I cannot refer to this collection of short stories as newspaper articles. Newspapers are "the press". Mr. Bragg is not amongst that group except for the fact his stories often appear there.Mr. Bragg takes you everywhere you want to go, and places you would give anything never to have seen. In a given sentence he makes more powerful and complete statements saturated with emotion than any tabloid could produce in 100 years. That same sentence will cause a reader to feel the full force of what he describes. No tricks, no course language that others use because they lack the inventory, the lexicon to generate such emotion. No exaggeration, no hyperbole, just what is true, just what he sees.A young girl, bottle caps and New Orleans, ice tea competitions, 50-year high school reunions, and a drive through restaurant with chitterlings. And if you enjoy laughing, The Pig Farmer playing The Dixie Chicks, the pigs (literally) that listen, and The Country Club next door that prefers they need not have to, will leave you gasping.Rick Bragg is a National Treasure. This book is unconditionally guaranteed to be one of, if not the best piece of reading you will do this year!

When you read Rick Bragg, you get the impression not of a reporter, methodically gathering information, quotes and background and then arranging it into a neat story for the copy editor. You get a voice telling you a story about real people, and you can feel the wind in the trees and hear the passing cars on the streets where the people were born.These people exist, something that is not always possible to discern in a newspaper report. And if a reporter is best when there is a little of every man in him, then Rick Bragg speaks with a voice that is the same as the people in the stories he tells. Enjoy.