Scholars and teachers of southern literature, most in the southern US of course, but others from across Europe, discuss 18 novels from and about the region published between 1997 and 2009. Most
individual novels come and go as fast as summer lightning, so it is difficult to follow the endurance and evolution of the venerable genre that goes back to Poe, Twain, Hurston, and Faulkner.
The themes they identify are a sense of history, a sense of place, a sense of humor, and a sense of malaise. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
