Coming Home: Life, Love & All Things Southern [Hardcover]

Robert Inman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Home to Robert Inman is Elba, Alabama, where he grew up and where his^B grandmother lived. But his stories--all of them true, he assures us--encompass everything south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Inman writes about Vacation Bible School, a must for Elba's Methodist faithful; southern politicians; the differences between North and South Carolina; small-town radio stations; the joys of Thanksgiving and Christmas; University of Alabama football; the painful process of writing; weddings and marriages; and his "beautiful, warm-hearted, generous, even-tempered, talented, and witty" wife, Paulette. Inman, author of three novels and seven screenplays, devotes a section of the book to his friend Delbert Earle, who wants to ban the month of February with its "dismal drearies": snow and ice, gloom and angst, and public unrest and domestic discontent. And there's much more in this delightful collection of memoirs, down-home storytelling at its best. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Down Home Press (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878086863
• ISBN-13: 978-1878086860
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of life's observations, March 9, 2001

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coming Home: Life, Love & All Things Southern (Hardcover)

Robert Inman is the author of genial southern novels such as "Dairy Queen Days" and a keen observer of the human condition. He is also one of the best guides to the writing life, as sampled in the final chapter of his autobiography "Coming Home, Life, Love and All Things Southern". Inman takes a clear-eyed look at the southern style of life and the reasons we southern people are the way we are. The stories and reminices are tender and warmharted and a treat to read. The best part of thei book is Inman's explaination of why we in the south always ask "who are your people?" and the way we try to find the common link. As Mr. Inman says, we are just trying to say "I am prepared to like you, and would be honered to be your friend...". A wonderful read, a joy for its warmth and quick wit.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an Inman novel, March 20, 2011

By 

Perry R. Arnold "prabedky" (BEDFORD, KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coming Home: Life, Love & All Things Southern (Hardcover)

I love Robert Inman's writing. I am from the south and appreciate how he manages to bring out the south in his works. But you must understand that this is not an Inman novel. It is a collection of essays, most about the south, but not intended to be woven into a story. Some of the pieces I loved, such as the explanation of why those of us in the south have to understand "who our people are." He is spot on in his observations here and it is obvious Inman knows southern people. Another delight in this book is that you come to understand where the stuff of his novels comes from. Inman tells of the summer job of his youth, mowing lawns, that comes out in "Captain Saturday." He tells of a relative who wins a prize at a grocery store which is a major thread in "Old Dogs and Children." So we get a handle on the source of Inman's work. My problem with the book was that Inman seemed to be trying a little too hard to be Robert Fulghum and he doesn't succeed at that. Read Inman's novels. They are wonderful. Read "Coming Home" as well, but understand it has no depth as his novels have.