Book Reviews | Chapter 16

Sisters Under the Skin

In a new collection edited by Lorraine López, women writers speak across the boundaries of class

By Maria Browning | July 26, 2013

July 26, 2013 The eighteen contributors to An Angle of Vision: Women Writers on Their Poor and Working-Class Roots are a multicultural group: black, white, Native American, Asian, Latina, lesbian, straight—and that’s not even a complete list of their declared identities. But for all the writers’ apparent diversity, the personal essays in this collection reveal them to be sisters under the skin. Americans don’t like to acknowledge the profound, lingering influence of class, but the stories that Vanderbilt professor Lorraine López has collected in An Angle of Vision describe a set of experiences shaped by poverty that is shared across all boundaries of color and community. Feelings and memories echo so insistently throughout the book that the writers seem almost to be speaking with a single voice. Lopez will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Lexicon Man

Humorist Roy Blount Jr.’s second stab at the dictionary confirms him master of all words

By Michael Ray Taylor | July 23, 2013

July 23, 2013 In 2008, Vanderbilt graduate and popular humorist Roy Blount Jr. became a modern-day Samuel Johnson with his twentieth book, Alphabet Juice, an eclectic—and often hysterical—dictionary of words and phrases that struck the author’s fancy. His new sequel, Alphabetter Juice: or, The Joy of Text, is funnier still. Blount will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

The Language of the Heart

Vince Vawter’s semi-autobiographical novel for children is about overcoming obstacles

By Tina LoTufo | July 22, 2013

July 22, 2013 “I was an eleven-year-old kid standing on a street corner in Memphis in short pants,” observes the narrator of Vince Vawter’s Paperboy. “I felt like I was so small that I would be blown away if the slightest puff of wind came up. But you didn’t have to worry about any kind of a breeze showing up on a late July afternoon in Memphis.” Paperboy is a rare treat: a gentle coming-of-age story that manages to be smart, funny, poignant, and original—the perfect marriage of style and substance—with a narrative voice that rings true. Vawter will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Regaining Altitude

Bobbie Ann Mason returns with a remarkable World War II novel about a downed aviator in Nazi-occupied France

By Ed Tarkington | July 18, 2013

July 18, 2013 Bobbie Ann Mason’s most recent novel is simultaneously a tale of adapting to old age, a charming romance, a food-and-wine tour of Paris and Provence, and a spellbinding World War II suspense thriller. The Girl in the Blue Beret is a richly satisfying page turner and an artful literary novel worthy of a wide audience and a prominent place in its acclaimed author’s award-winning body of work. Mason will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Talking with the Dead

Like James Merrill’s Sandover trilogy, Rick Hilles’s new collection is a conversation with spirits

By Pablo Tanguay | July 16, 2013

July 16, 2013 Like James Merrill’s Sandover trilogy, which critic Helen Vendler described as “a conversation with dead friends and spirits in another world,” Rick Hilles’s new book of poems invokes the dead, most dramatically by assuming their very personae. This poetic strategy may be the result of hubris or humility or both, but whatever it is, it works. The great strength of A Map of the Lost World, beyond its thematic gravity and masterful architecture, is its extraordinary writing. Rick Hilles will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Buried Secrets, Shallow Graves

Matthew Guinn’s debut novel offers a sweeping tale of slavery, skeletons, and moral dilemmas

By Sarah Norris | July 11, 2013

July 11, 2013 Matthew Guinn based his novel, The Resurrectionist, in part on the true story of Grandison Harris, a slave ordered to dig up dead bodies for use in anatomy classes. By structuring his story within two timeframes, set more than a century apart, Guinn brings both periods to life, and the result is an engrossing morality tale. He will read from and sign copies of The Resurrectionist on July 17 at 6 p.m. at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis. He will be back in Tennessee again for the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker