Review of 'Dixie Bohemia'
John Shelton Reed's new book about a circle of bohemians in the 1920s French Quarter belongs on the bookshelves of fans of New Orleans and its history.
New Orleans Would Have Its Bard Yet
An interview with Cory MacLauchlin and review of his new biography on John Kennedy Toole, "Butterfly in the Typewriter," by Hunter Murphy.
Helen Keller In Love
Thanks to Sultan's excellent storytelling ability and her ability to embellish the facts when necessary, the love story captured in this book, which hits shelves May 1, rivals that of the best romance novels. When Helen is in her thirties and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, is diagnosed with tuberculosis, a young man steps in as her private secretary. That man was Peter Fagan.
Best of LSU Fiction
The Southern Review’s “Best of LSU Fiction” is the first, but hopefully not the last, collection of stories by great fiction writers who have been associated with Louisiana State University.
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl
When "Diary Of A Mad Fat Girl' by Stephanie McAfee arrived in our mailbox, we thought it looked like a fun, summer read, but also suspected it might contain some overdone Southern cliches. We were wrong. McAfee, who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, but now lives in Florida, has written a fresh novel with a cast of lovable characters that anyone who grew up in or lives in a small town can relate to.
Portrait of a Monster
An interview with Lisa Pulitzer and Cole Thompson about their new book chronicling the life of Joran Van der Sloot, his recent crime in Peru and the ongoing mystery of Alabama native Natalee Holloway. by Erin Z. Bass I've always been interested in missing persons cases, so when news of Birmingham, Alabama, teenager Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba broke in 2005, I wondered along with the rest of America what had happened to her. Since then, I've followed news reports related to the case. I thought when Joran Van der Sloot confessed to reporter Peter de Vries in the car that time, he would finally be convicted. But it seems like Joran's lies always manage to save him, kind of like more recent criminal Casey Anthony. I can see how after six years, some people may be tired of hearing about the Holloway case, but I wonder how many of them realize Joran went on to kill another young girl in Peru named Stephany Flores (yes, I'm assuming he was responsible for Natalee's death here) and even though he's currently in jail, he hasn't been convicted of that crime yet either. So, for the naysayers who think they wouldn't be interested in
Swamplandia
Karen Russell's Southern Gothic novel set in the Florida Everglades borders on cinematic.
The Inheritance of Beauty
This is a book about beauty and age, about the blessings and curses of each, and how the true beauty of a person - on the inside - never fades.
Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood
Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley Jr. have created a sort of biography of the "Gone With the Wind" phenomenon that reads like an intriguing international mystery.