Classic & Contemporary Southern Fiction

The Last Ballad

by Wiley Cash

North Carolina native Wiley Cash writes page-turning Southern literature. This 2017 release is a fictionalized account of the 1929 Loray Mill strike in Gastonia—with a special focus on folk hero and ballad singer Ella Mae Wiggins—and was partly inspired by Appalachian mining town backgrounds of Cash's own grandparents. Though set nearly a hundred years ago, Cash's story sizzles with life. Readers, don’t miss his acknowledgements—and if you’re loving this story, go ahead and place a hold on Cash’s most recent novel: When Ghosts Come Home, one of my 2021 favorites.

Sing, Unburied, Sing

by Jesmyn Ward

This is the moving story of three generations of a struggling Mississippi family, set in the present day. Ward's evocative prose imbues even the family's most painful moments with tenderness and beauty. Previous National Book Award winner Ward has already received a slew of nominations and awards for her latest novel, among them the Bailey’s Prize longlist, PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction finalist, LA Times Award for Fiction honoree, and Aspen Words longlist.

Southernmost

by Silas House

From the publisher: "In the aftermath of a flood that washes away much of a small Tennessee town, evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter to two gay men. In doing so, he starts to see his life anew—and risks losing everything: his wife, locked into her religious prejudices; his congregation, which shuns Asher after he delivers a passionate sermon in defense of tolerance; and his young son, Justin, caught in the middle of what turns into a bitter custody battle. With no way out but ahead, Asher takes Justin and flees to Key West, where he hopes to find his brother, Luke, whom he’d turned against years ago after Luke came out. And it is there, at the southernmost point of the country, that Asher and Justin discover a new way of thinking about the world, and a new way of understanding love."

Jayber Crow

by Wendell Berry

Jayber Crow returns to his native Port William, Kentucky after the 1937 flood to become the town’s barber. There he learns about the deep meaning of community, the discipline of place, and what it truly means to love. This is a gorgeous novel.

Nothing to See Here

by Kevin Wilson

This weird and wonderful story focuses on a powerful Southern political family with one tiny problem: when their kids get mad, they spontaneously combust. The husband is angling to become Secretary of State, and may even run for president one day—but if the truth gets out, his career is over. And so the family calls on an unlikely candidate to step in as a nanny-of-sorts: an estranged old friend with a troubled past who has no idea what she’s in for. A surprisingly poignant meditation on friendship and motherhood, hopes and dreams, triumph and defeat, and a story about becoming your own person, and forming your own family—whether that’s the one you’re given, or the one you find. This is a SHORT book, so if you need some momentum in your reading life, this could be the ticket.

Evensong

by Gail Godwin

What happens when we get the thing we desire most in life—only to find that it might destroy us? That's the question Margaret faces at the opening of Evensong. This tale, set in the mountains of North Carolina, faithfully examines marriage and vocation and calling through the eyes of Margaret, a thirtysomething Episcopal priest, who is forced to finally confront matters when three unexpected and—let's face it—unwelcome guests arrive in her sleepy North Carolina mountain town of High Balsam. This book, first published in 1999, has the fingerprints of the millennium all over it. If you love it, go back and read its predecessor, Father Melancholy's Daughter.

Jubilee

by Margaret Walker

After reading A Place Like Mississippi, I was inspired to learn more about Margaret Walker, who spent her early years in New Orleans and went on to become a prominent writer of the Chicago Black Renaissance. Walker was a prolific poet; Jubilee is her only novel. The sweeping story follows a slave named Vyry through the antebellum era, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, focusing on her struggles and suffering, the men she loved, the children she bore, and her constant yearning for freedom. Walker modeled her protagonist after her own great-grandmother. I read the 50th anniversary edition and loved poet Nikki Giovanni’s foreword. (Sensitive readers, be aware of a handful of difficult scenes involving beating, lynching, racism, and cruelty.) When I discovered favorite narrator Robin Miles reads the audiobook, I knew I had to listen.

Someone Else’s Love Story

by Joshilyn Jackson

Sweet 21-year-old Shandi "fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K” when he steps between a gunman who's high on drugs and her 3-year-old son. When the crisis is over, Shandi hurls herself into a new mission: getting him to love her back. Her blond god Thor that she fell in love with so quickly turns out to be a brilliant geneticist, whose genetic makeup contains some “specific duplications and deletions.” What Shandi doesn't realize is she's stepped into the middle of someone else's love story, not her own—but that story proves to be far more interesting than she ever could have dreamed. This was a runner-up for the post about the best summer reading for your Myers-Briggs personality type.

Memphis

by Tara M. Stringfellow

Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and former attorney Stringfellow draws on her own family’s rich history to pen a stunning debut. Stringfellow’s grandfather was a World War II veteran who served as the first Black homicide detective in Memphis—before being lynched by his own all-white police squad. Her grandmother was among the first Black nurses in Memphis. This dual legacy of excellence and injustice permeates the novel as it traces a legacy of violence and matriarchal strength through three generations of Black women living in this historic city from 1937 to 2003. It unflinchingly portrays both its strong communities and grim history of racism and violence, illuminating the secrets each generation kept and the traumas they endured. Readers should know this novel depicts horrifying events (content warnings apply), yet it also lovingly and fiercely conveys the resilience, grit, love, and even joy of these women and their community. This is a stunner. For fans of Brit Bennett’s The Mothers and Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s Take My Hand.

The Sugar Queen

by Sarah Addison Allen

Sparkly Southern women, screwed-up family relationships, and magical realism mark this novel. One woman's unique magic is that the specific book she needs in her life right then mysteriously appears—on her bedside table, on her desk at work, in her handbag. That's enough to win me over.

Razorblade Tears

by S.A. Cosby

From my husband Will, who loved it: This gritty crime novel shows the many dichotomies a place (and its people) can hold. Appalachian Virginia versus big city Richmond, Black and White, gay and straight, upstanding citizen or lawless criminal. Ike and Buddy Lee aren't friends but they become partners because they share an unfortunate bond–their sons were murdered. In fact the only thing they have in common prior to this tragedy is a strained relationship with a son they couldn't understand—or perhaps chose not to understand. Part vigilante story, part therapy session for the two fathers. This story is illuminating without being preachy.

Flight Behavior

by Barbara Kingsolver

The plot of Kingsolver's 2012 novel revolves around climate change, and a young Tennessee woman and a butterfly colony who both stray from their typical flight paths. When Dellarobia sees something inexplicable in nature, her experience stokes tension between religious leaders, scientists, politicians, and climate change experts with different views on what exactly she witnessed. Suspenseful and page-turning, I thought this finely crafted novel had many wonderful moments and an unsatisfying ending—which would make it perfect for a book club discussion. Though it's unusual for novelists to read their own work, Kingsolver's lyrical voice perfectly suits her prose.

Silver Sparrow

by Tayari Jones

Opening line: "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist." In her third novel, Jones writes about the link between two African-American half sisters, one legitimate and one secret, only one of whom knows the other exists. That is, until the secret of their father's second marriage starts to force its way into the open. Rather than writing back-and-forth between two perspectives, the reader encounters almost all of one sister's point of view in the first half, followed by the other's. The result is an absorbing coming-of-age narrative wrapped in a complicated family novel. I already loved this book, but when we discussed it with author Tayari Jones in the MMD Book Club, my appreciation and enjoyment skyrocketed, as so often happens. I love to peel back all the layers of a good book.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

A sweeping novel set in 1920s southern Florida following Janie Crawford as she experiences love and loss and comes of age. Known as Hurston's best work, this story about expectations, marriage, and surprising romance is richly atmospheric. It’s a classic for a reason, with a main character you'll never forget. In fact, echoes of Janie Crawford can be seen in contemporary literature, like Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. This is a book that numerous readers have considered to be even better on audio, as narrated by Ruby Dee, as they then can fully experience Hurston's talent for writing dialect.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

by Fannie Flagg

Barbecue, laughter, and the occasional side of murder. Meet tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth who ran a diner in Whistle Stop, Alabama in the 1930s, as told by Mrs. Threadgoode to Evelyn (and us) 50 years later. Evelyn has been in need of a jump-start for her middle aged life, making this a great choice for anyone wanting to read about seasoned female protagonists.

Classic & Contemporary Southern Fiction

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summer reading starts May 16th