Southern fiction is a genre that has clear parameters in my mind that don’t quite match the descriptions I’ve been able to find. One obvious definition is books that are set in the southern United States. I’ve read plenty of those, but only a handful, to my mind, are Southern fiction.
Southern fiction, by my definition, is characterized by a particular mood. It includes quirky characters, languid summer days, and secrets. Usually family secrets. It may lean a bit toward the macabre or Southern Gothic.
Whatever you want to call it, these are some novels that fit my definition.
Turning in Circles by Michelle BuckmanTurning in Circles exhibits the wonderfully languorous feel of what is, to my mind, a quintessential Southern novel. Narrative visits to the town post office, the creek, the barn, and horse trails immerse the reader in a town that feels as if it hasn’t quite caught up to the 21st century, dawdling in the waning days of summer.
Savannah can do little more than watch as her sister Charleston, so close in age they’re in the same grade, drifts further from family and faith into the dangerous arms of Dillon, a possessive and abusive boy.
As Charleston courts danger again and again, Savannah straddles the line between keeping her sister’s secrets and seeing that she stays out of trouble. Neither her parents nor her dearest, deepest friend Ellerbe can set Savannah’s world – or Charleston’s – to rights.
Suspense builds as Charleston’s troubles come to a head, resulting in surprising revelations, sorrow, and tragedy. Turning in Circles is a beautifully-written study of the consequences of free will and the limitations in attempting to safeguard those we love.
Under the Magnolias by T.I. LoweI picked up Under the Magnolias based on glowing reviews and only the knowledge that it was set in the 1980s, but I didn’t know another thing about it. I was expecting a romance – and there is that – but what I got was a beautifully written coming of age story with emotion, depth, and all the things I’ve come to enjoy in southern fiction. The quirky characters. The slower pace. The off-beat humor in life.
Ox/Austin is a strong protagonist, holding together her family, including six siblings, as her widowed father’s mental health deteriorates. Thank God for good, faithful Vance Cumberland, who is steadfast in his affection for Austin, despite their difference in social class and experience.
I didn’t love the ending as much as I’d hoped, but Under the Magnolias is a memorable story that moved me in the best ways.
Shooting at Heaven’s Gate by Kaye Park HinckleyShooting at Heaven’s Gate is an interesting descent into the sway of evil in the lives of broken people and evil’s effects (in both direct consequences and the human condition).
I was a little put off by the initial style, which seemed like an intermingled series of character sketches, but the second half of the book immersed me in the unraveling of the perpetrator(s) and the impending shooting.
With the frequency of such heinous crimes in modern America, Shooting at Heaven’s Gate provides insight into the darkness and light that co-exist inside the human person.
Blink And We’ll Miss It by Ginny KochisExcellent debut YA clean contemporary romance by Ginny Kochis.
This book reminded me a lot of T.I. Lowe’s Under the Magnolias, another novel featuring a Southern female teen protagonist trying to hold everything together in the wake of a parent’s ongoing manic episodes (with the help of a handsome, loyal, compassionate boy who loves her). That association may be what kept me thinking the setting was more modern historical despite group texts between characters. (I kept picturing the main character’s parents in the 1970s instead of what would’ve been the early 2000s.)
The instability Lily Mae Griffin’s mother creates as her mental health goes from bad to good and back again has left “Mae” running and shutting out her friends as a defense mechanism. A forced return to her family’s roots exposes a history that explains her penchant for escape and the source of troubles between her family and the family of the boy she loves (dreamy Ezra) and his twin, her best friend (faithful Evangeline).
Lots of Outer Banks vibes like you’d find in Nicholas Sparks novels (think A Walk to Remember). An inspiring clean read for teens and adults. (Some underage drinking but no drunken behavior.)
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