Customer Reviews

Growing Up in the South: An Anthology of Modern Southern Literature (Mentor)

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Southern literature was not a course of study in my high school nor in my college english classes. I was delighted when I found this anthology which contained modern stories about growing up in the south. As the south experiences an influx of northerners and other groups from around the world it will gradually lose its unique flavor which makes it the south. Growing Up In The South captures the voices of those who grew up in the region and experienced all the ups and downs that this unique region of the country had to offer. Jones brings together a broad cross section of southern writers from across the region. Unlike other anthologies she is inclusive of both Black and White writers who lived in the same region but whose experiences were vastly different but in many cases overlapped. The focus of this volume is on growing up as a child in the south as well as the exploration of regional themes that permeate through all of the fictional and autobiographical selections. All anthologies run the risk of being boring or incomplete. Jones avoids this and gives one a balanced picture of southern childhood as experienced by the authors. Just a sampling of each story will encourage you to seek out the full works of the authors. Southern literature can said to be the soul of America's literary heritage. This volume indeed speaks to us from the souls of its southern authors. Share their stories and learn how they grew and matured in a region full of violence, racism, and misunderstandings but still holds a deep sense of space and place in their lives.

As an English instructor in a South Carolina high school, I have found this collection quite useful as a tool to illustrate the great diversity of characters who live out the Southern experience. The themes of coming of age, race, violence, and the unredeemed sins of past generations are flushed out with intensity and fury. The strongest pieces included are Moody's "Coming of Age in Mississippi," O'Connor's "Everything that Rises Must Converge," and Faulkner's "An Odor of Verbena." If you teach English in the South, you must include this collection.

Do you know where your "home place" is? If not I recomend you reading this book. This book is also great to use as a text book for an English class. Last year as a senior in high school we read this book and analyzed each story. At first everyone thought "Oh no, just another boring book," but after the first story and dicussion everyone was in search of his/her "home place" (the place he grew up in, the people he remembers from his childhood, or a place in particular). The literature took our class on a mental field trip of the South and on an adventure to find the person we are inside. We discovered how the South has changed and also the things which remain the same. I gained respect for southern literature and southern authors. After reading the book, I began to ask myself "Where is my "home place?" I did not grow up on a large plantation with a big beautiful white column house, that -I learned- is how Hollywood sees the South. I learned that inside I have my family, my mother, those people close to me who create my "home place." It isn't only Southern people who have a "home place," but everyone has a "home place." Some poeple just need to look for theirs. It is within them, deep inside their heart, a place no one else knows of, a place they belong, and a place that can never be taken away. I think everyone should read this book as a self assignment to find one's self.

Being a student of Mr. Walker, I had to read this book for his class, and failed the test on it. I would have read it, but I couldn't keep my eyes open when I tried to. I does have a couple of humerious stories, but most are very boring. TEACHERS: Please do not torture your students with this book.