Redneck Riviera: Armadillos, Outlaws and the Demise of an American Dream (Paperback)

by Dennis Covington (Author) "My father was color-blind..." (more)
Key Phrases: paper subdivisions, hog hunters, camouflage man, River Ranch, Polk County, Gulf American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Rednecks, armadillos and outlaws all play only ancillary roles in National Book Award nominee (for Salvation on Sand Mountain) Covington's touching, meandering tribute to his father. And although the title is somewhat misleading, the American dream is front and center as two generations of the Covingtons tenaciously pursue it. In 1965, the elder Covington bought a two-and-half-acre plot in River Ranch Acres, a Florida real estate scam. The land was worthless, never surveyed, miles from the nearest road, and when his father died in 1988, the younger Covington inherited it. Unfortunately, a band of locals, hunters and ne'er-do-wells calling themselves The Hunt Club had since fenced off the entire area and, with guns, restricted access to outsiders. Undeterred, deed in hand, the author sets out to understand, then realize, his father's dream. He chases "the crazy idea that any inheritance might be worth claiming, no matter how small, no matter the cost." Though this is a bracingly original American adventure story, there's too much padding in this short, generously spaced book. Covington is an able observer and skilled writer, but his detours-especially to Idaho toward the end of the book-prevent cohesiveness.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A lively tale packed with swampy southern weirdness, Redneck Riviera eloquently illustrates a primal urge in all of us." -- Outside Magazine

"A rollicking good story." -- St. Petersburg Times

"Covington is a brilliant writer." -- Birmingham News

"Thanks should be given that he stayed alive to tell this strange, headstrong tale." -- Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582432961
• ISBN-13: 978-1582432960
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,039 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #48 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > South
  #59 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Florida

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, in fits and starts, March 4, 2004

By	S. Rosen (NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Redneck Riviera: Armadillos, Outlaws, and the Demise of an American Dream (Hardcover)

The core of the book, which is the author's wrongheaded and doomed attempt to reclaim his father's land -- now dominated by local hunters, outlaws and vaguely corrupt law enforcement officials -- is fascinating. Covington's attempt to transfer his dream of recapturing his inheritance to the wilds of Idaho is somewhat less interesting. Most dissapointing, though, is the attempt to string together a narrative over what must be about a decade's chronology. All told, a few key days on his father's land makes up the core of the story, and you don't get a sense of how long or how hard Covington's efforts were.

Interestingly, this area in Florida where the book takes place seems to dovetail with the swamps covered in Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief," which also gives a brief history of the land scam that sets this book's plot in motion.

I'm glad I read the book, though it's less compelling than "Salvation on Sand Mountain," Covington's earlier book on snake-handling and other religiously-driven fervor.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent small book!, November 16, 2004

By	Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redneck Riviera: Armadillos, Outlaws, and the Demise of an American Dream (Hardcover)

Despite its relative lack of heft, this book makes for rich reading. You will learn a lot and think about what Mr. Covington has to say on the subjects of family, land, and place.