Special Kay: The Wisdom of Terry Kay [Paperback]

Terry Kay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

Terry Kay is one of the South's most loved, widely acclaimed, and successful writers. Most know Kay for his bestselling novels and their star-studded movie adaptations; often his readers are not aware of the astute and humorous social critic resting behind the novelist's veil. Special Kay reveals the essayist, critic, and humorist who has written for a wide array of newspapers and magazines for years. From "The Strange Dance of the White Dog" (the essay that lead to the now-famous novel translated around the world, a bestseller in Japan) to "I was a Teenage Quarterback" and other essays, this collection proves that Kay's sense of power in words can be seen not only in his fiction but in his nonfiction as well.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Terry Kay's prose contains music and passion and fire." -- Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and The Water Is Wide

About the Author

Terry Kay is the author of The Year the Lights Came On, To Dance with the White Dog, After Eli, Dark Thirty, To Whom the Angels Spoke, Shadow Song, The Runaway, The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene, and Taking Lottie Home. He lives in Athens, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hill Street Press (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588180360
• ISBN-13: 978-1588180360
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,664,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection of Kay's Nonfiction--At Long Last, May 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Special Kay: The Wisdom of Terry Kay (Hardcover)

For years I have treasured my stack of magazine articles and newspaper clippings written by Kay. Each one, whether humorous or serious, evokes in the spirit a recognition of the human condition. Such a glance at complete truth is rare in today's world. Kudos to the publisher for bringing this work to the public, and thank you to Terry Kay for having written them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Ruminations from an "ordinary" man, July 10, 2004

By 

Larry Hand (Woodstock, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Special Kay: The Wisdom of Terry Kay (Hardcover)

The words "ruminations" and "vignettes" may sound pretentious, but "rumination" works well here -- not for its first meaning, but for the second; which is, "The act or process of chewing cud," according to the American Heritage Dictionary, fourth edition. No one chews the cud better than Terry Kay. And a "vignette" (pronounced vin-yet) comes from the French word for vine and relates to the little vine tendrils that often decorate literary works. That's what "Special Kay" is: a book filled with cud-chewing at its finest, with little stories culled from a fruitful life, like vinelets pruned off a master stem.

Kay's greatest strength is that he has never lost the capacity -- or courage -- to be ordinary. Because of that, we can all relate to his experiences, and his opinions. He is down to earth when talking about a wagonload of subjects: The fear of losing a child to an illness. The heat of a lay-by plowing that could leave a mule drenched in white lather. The humiliation of playing quarterback when the center breaks wind "like a hurricane hitting Florida" -- loud enough to echo "off the corn stalks" and smelly enough to kill "gnats and mosquitoes on the fly."

A former movie critic, Terry Kay has consorted with celebrities. Thank God, he has never become one. He IS a Special Kay.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Life's a Big Ole Tire Swing", October 21, 2000

By 

Kevin B. Ashby (Hartford, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Kay: The Wisdom of Terry Kay (Hardcover)

A perception of powerful life lessons and topics written with the ability to return us to those precious and/or insane places in our lifetime. Kay can take the steamer trunk of our past, the luggage of our future and open them only to find wit, honesty and uncanny insight. His incredible and unique style of writing describe my sometimes "bumper car" lifestyle and transform it into a peaceful walk in new fallen snow. Thanks to my friend Nancy for the gift of this book and Mr. Kay for his signing it. I can't wait to read it over again. The wisdom and talent of Terry Kay is evident in Special Kay.