Customer Reviews

Southern Christmas Literary Classics of the Holidays

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At last a collection which reveals the many faces of Christmas in the South. Too many anthologies about Christmas show only the sweet and often unrealistic side of Christmas. For those who have both laughed at absurdities and cried at frustrations on this day, this anthology is for you. Twenty-eight of the finest Southern writers allow us entry into their Christmas experinces. Buy this book, you will not be sorry. Contributors inlcude Rick Bragg, Robert E. Lee, Dori Sanders, and Harper Lee.

I collect true inspirational stories. One of the disadvantages of shopping "on-line" is you don't always know what you are getting. That was the case with "Southern Christmas: Literary Classics of the Holidays." If you are looking for mostly Southern flavored fiction by Southern autors with a heavy dose of narratives about racial prejudice against blacks,this is for you. Especially nice non-fiction pieces come from Robert E. Lee and Harper Lee punctuate the volume. One page bios of the authors are helpful and interesting. If you want something more traditional and inspirational, save your money.

I enjoyed this book very much. It is a concise introduction to serious and noteworthy southern authors of Pulitzer Prize-winning standing and some of their writings where Christmas plays a role in the plot or as a backdrop. It consists of short stories, poems and excerpts from novels. Reading this anthology made me want to explore the author's other works both Christmas-related and not. It is worth mentioning that most of these stories are not 'light' feel-good Christmas 'fluff'... these are Christmas stories of the south, and many deal with race-relations, being poor and what is was like to be African-American growing up south of the Mason-Dixon line. I recommed this book to anyone who'd enjoy reading a bit of 'hard reality' and historical writing during the holiday season.

I saw this book around at bookstores last year but never picked it up until I saw a mention of it recently and decided to order a copy. It is a very nice mix of Christmas stories by Southern authors--most predictible and a few I'd never heard of and was intrigued to discover. My favorite was Lillian Smith's recollection of the chain gang coming over for Christmas dinner. Some authors I'd hoped for are missing, but generally I really enjoyed it and recommend it to others as the holidays draw near.