Customer Reviews

Southern Living (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Being a Yankee forcefully transplanted to Southern soil can be traumatic. I know --- born and bred a New Yorker, I have been uprooted several times to towns deep in the heart of Texas and back in Old Virginny. From the Bible verses on the front page of one local rag to themed Christmas trees to the near-religious fervor accorded high school football games, things Southern seemed as foreign as any overseas exotica from old National Geographic magazines. Meanwhile, Southern mores and manners confounded me. Telling someone "That Mrs. Thingummy is just so smart!" was not, I learned, a compliment but a stinging putdown that meant Mrs. Thingummy had no decorative aspect to speak of and, therefore, all that was left to comment on was her mind.

Yet so many Southern habits, ideas and traditions now crowd my mind and household that I can't imagine not having experienced the place (I still live in Virginia, but Arlington doesn't really count as The South, despite its having brought forth that region's very scion, Robert E. Lee). Ad Hudler, author of the new comic novel SOUTHERN LIVING, has been similarly affected. In one interview, Hudler talks about how often during five years in Georgia he heard women use the term "cute," pronounced as "ke-YOOT," meaning that the thing/person/behavior described had their firm (although not necessarily long-lasting) seal of approval. (I can confirm this, having myself been in tiny towns full of boutiques whose purpose seems otherwise hazy and heard fellow shoppers say things like "Lookit this li'l Beanie Baby --- isn't it ke-YOOT?")

Hudler is also a transplanted Yankee, having grown up in Colorado with a firmly feminist mother. He found his little nuclear family living in Dixie when his journalist wife took a job with the Macon, Georgia newspaper. Hudler, whose previous novel HOUSEHUSBAND detailed his stay-at-home lifestyle, found that he had plenty of time to observe the local customs and local gentry. The result is SOUTHERN LIVING, a book that manages to be laugh-out-loud funny, deadly accurate, and yet still compassionately kind to the American South.

To maintain a balance between humor and candor Hudler uses the chapter-opening excerpts from "Chatter," a call-in line established by the new Northern editor of the Selby, Georgia Reflector. Randy Whitestone believes that "Chatter" will be the kebab rack on which local residents will skewer themselves like so many chicken chunks, talking about quaint Selby traditions and airing dirty laundry. Hudler wisely allows the bits of "Chatter" to stand alone and shows that the only resident on the spit is Whitestone himself (who derides Southern culinary specialties but keeps getting fatter and fatter).

Meanwhile, Margaret Pinaldi, Donna Kabel, and Suzanne Parley are trying to fulfill their wildly different needs. Margaret, a New Yorker and daughter of a famed abortion-rights doctor whose deathbed bequest is her Selby home, edits the "Chatter" column and is trying to understand her gently growing romance with very local yokel DeWayne. Recently disfigured in an automobile accident, Donna has begun a career in the produce department of the Selby Kroger supermarket and is changing lives all over town with her newfound get-up-and-go --- especially her widowed father's. Suzanne, a quiet alcoholic and even quieter criminal, attempts to save face by faking a pregnancy.

All three women will cross paths with each other and with colorful Selby characters, such as bigoted old boy Buckner Meeks, frustrated (but not closeted) designer John David, and haughty Dogwood Festival chair Madeline VanDermeter (who winds up in a most undignified position). During their various comings and goings, Hudler takes no prisoners. He has a wonderful time airing what must have been his many frustrations with "Southern living" while he was there. However, despite his deadly aim at cherished chestnuts like waffle houses and Bible study groups, Hudler understands why those chestnuts grow so beautifully in Georgia clay. His final scene, in which Donna and her father share a life-altering dessert, shows his sympathy for the South and his bittersweet understanding that its unique nature may not last forever.

By the book's end, the three heroines (Harpies? Graces? Muses? Fates?) have found resolution --- and while none of them gets what she expected from life, they are all better off for having had their time in Selby. Kind of like Ad Hudler and I are better off having had our time in the South. Y'all read this book, y'hear? It's ke-YOOT!

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

an absolute hoot of a book, very well written! having lived most of my life in atlanta, and have many friends from macon, i could relate.
ijust started househusband today and am already almost finished...can't wait for a new one!!!

I'm a transplant to the deep South from a major Northeastern city. Although I've come to love and appreciate Southern culture, I nonetheless laughed aloud at the author's commentary on decidedly un-Yannkee staples--such as deep-fried veggies--to be found in abundance south of the Mason-Dixon Line (seriously, why bother?).

I was giddy with delight at Hudler's hilarious description of aesthetic nightmares of certain wealthy Southern homes so overly decorated that an unsuspecting Northerner may wonder if a fabric and trimmings store had exploded nearby, raining down endless layers of gaudiness upon the brass-and-burgundy abode.

However, although I'm far from a Southern Baptist, am neither a fundamentalist nor an evangelical, and I most certainly don't fit the Bible Belt mould, I was nonetheless offended at Hudler's blatantly disparaging, cruel mockery of Jesus and all things Christian. Why the author had to resort to such tasteless scenes as 2 main characters hysterically laughing at what they perceive as the absurdity of a figure of Jesus holding his bleeding heart in his hands is beyond me. Would Hudler dare mock other any other faith in the same way? I doubt it. After all, Christianity remains the one religion of which our politically correct culture still allows merciless mockery.

Sadly, the author fills this would-be enjoyable book with outrageous--and to some, gravely offensive--vitriol.

I was excited when I found this book as I had lived in the South as a Yankee transplant. I LOVE to read tales of small towns, quirky characters and southern communities. The book got off to a charming start but by the end of Chapter 5 I was finished (I DO hate not finishing a book!). The writer's obvious chip on his shoulder/liberal slant was a turnoff and the Christ bashing went too far (I tried to see where it would/could/might be funny but it just fell flat and wasn't remotely funny). I think Hudler could have written this story line more artfully and subtly without being so in-your-face. At first I thought I was just being sensitive but see that others share my views..... Also, the author's elitist voice came through in his writing. It was distracting and muddled an otherwise promising story. His snide tale about the man from Marion, Indiana tells me Mr. Hudler thinks little of midwesterners, too.

If you enjoy small town tales, check out Garden of Eden by Eve Adams (pseudonym). Now THAT is the charming tale I hoped Southern Living would be.

My preference in light fiction is charming southern characters. There weren't any charming or truly quirky people to capture me. I enjoyed the book, but it certainly wasn't a page turner.

I began reading this book while stranded in the airport, and it made the time fly by. i thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining commentary on life in the south and highly recommend it.

I enjoyed Hudler's Househusband, and found Southern Living an even better read.
Boy, does this guy have women down pat.
How does he do it?
His charachters are so finely drawn that I could not put the book down. It's a superb read.
What a wonderful peek at the genteel South. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this book.
I'd recommend it to anyone. Highly!

I found his portrayal of Southerners to be incredibly insulting. In fact, I found the entire book poorly written and not at all in the league of Fannie Flagg which the cover brags.

bought this book for the title alone..i swear......and couldnt help laughing out loud at some parts....and enjoying every second of reading it. def a worth buying book

The reviews for this book are all over the place....and I think I know why. Hudler's journalistic eye for irony easily might offend more conservative Southern Baptists, who most likely give the negative reviews of this book. But lovers of a great story and irony and sarcasm most likely will love Hudler's style and reportage. As a southern Methodist, I found it hilarious and spot-on with its portrayal of southern culture ... especially the look at affluent women who are obsessed with decorating their homes. The story has many sweet moments, although it could use fewer metaphors. It could be set in ANY Southern town. Y'all will recognize many people in this book and swear Hudler was spying on you and your neighbors! A great book-club selection, and Mr. Hudler provided a fascinating and funny skype session with us. (And, yes, he really does wear that cowboy hat all of the time!)