Southern Fried Farce: A Buffet of Down-Home Humor from the Best of Southern Writers [Hardcover]

Henry Oehmig (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

Building on and stemming from the American South’s grand tradition of hilarious observations, stories, and characters, the contemporary writers presented in this anthology show just how funny life can be South of the Mason-Dixon Line. Celia Rivenbark, George Singleton, John T. Edge, Lisa McLeod, David Magee, Susan Reinhardt, Lisa Daily, and many others have crafted essays and twisted yarns that will have readers laughing out loud—even if they're Yankees.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Oehmig earned an English degree from Sewanee–University of the South. He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Jefferson Press (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977808688
• ISBN-13: 978-0977808687
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,680,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not much variety, but great Southern "guy humor" if that's your thing, April 24, 2010

By 

Naomi Elizabeth Walking "Naomi Walking" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Southern Fried Farce: A Buffet of Down-Home Humor from the Best of Southern Writers (Hardcover)

Given the book's title, which advertises a "buffet" of the "best of Southern writers," I was sort of expecting more variety from the book, and, therefore, I experienced a bit of a disappointment reading it (and, trust me, disappointment is not what you are going for when you pick up a humor book!). Southern Fried Farce is not a "buffet" of Southern humor; instead it represents the actual plate that a regular Southern guy would serve himself if he were AT a buffet of southern humor. Despite its expansive-sounding title, this book is really just an anthology of what I would call Southern "guy humor:" it contains humorous pieces on such masculine topics as the Big Green Egg and what it is like to score with a woman who moos like a cow in the moment. For what it is, it is an excellent book. However I was a little disappointed, because I'm not a guy and that's not really one of the styles of humor I really get. A few stories like that would have been fine in a real "buffet" of the best of southern humor, but pretty much all all the pieces in this book are in the "guy humor" sort of vein.

In the editor's defense, he does admit in the introduction that his book is not a comprehensive anthology. For a comprehensive anthology, he recommends Roy Blount's anthology of southern humor, which turned out to be just what I was looking for. In addition, it's my understanding that authors and editors often do not have the final say as to the title of a book that carries their name.

I give the book four stars anyway, because my quarrel is really more with the misleading title and with the fact the style of humor did not meet my expectations or my personal tastes, than with the quality of the work itself. It wouldn't be fair to dock points for the quality of the work itself, because the pieces selected to be in this anthology are well-written and probably do represent the best of the type of Southern guy humor that this book presents exclusively. To someone who likes the Southern guy humor that this book samples, the book would be totally fantastic and hilarious -- although if that's not your thing, I highly recommend you try something else. I've docked two stars on account of the misleading title, which duped me into buying something that turned out to be something other than what I was expecting or able to truly enjoy based on my personal tastes in humor. However, I added one star back in appreciation of the editor's tip that I should read Blount's book for a really representative anthology of Southern humor, because it turned out to be a great tip.

In short, this book would be a hit with those who like the particular Southern guy humor that this book samples, and it is certainly more intelligent than a Jeff Foxworthy book. (No offense to Jeff Foxworthy -- he's a funny guy, but his jokes just aren't meant to be intelligent.) Southern Fried Farce is a good book if regular Southern guy humor is the type of humor you enjoy. Four stars.

Naomi Walking
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