New Stories from the South 2008 by Z.Z. Packer

New Stories from the South 2008 Reviews

• 
  Hannah Garden

  Oh hell yes! Just as an anthology should be. Quite right, all around, and the last story was hooo-ey! a real humdinger.
• 
  J.T.

  I absolutely, positively LOVE Z.Z. Packer's "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" short story collection published in 2003 and have been not so patiently waiting for her to write another book. Every so often, I Google her to see if she's written anything else (she is reportedly working on a novel). In the meantime, I hunted down a copy of this anthology that she edited.
  
  "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" is solidly Southern Gothic in the vein of Flannery O'Connor, so it's not surprising that many (all?) of the stories she selected would also fit that description. As with any anthology, some stories are better than others (or rather, I preferred some to others), but as a whole I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of them. I will definitely be reading more from authors of some of my favorite stories. Anthologies, for me, are a means of discovering new authors, so mission accomplished!
• 
  Will Hearn

  Good, but not as good as some of the earlier editions. Amy Hempel's was a great one.
• 
  Melissa

  Most stories could have been set anywhere USA. As with most collections, I enjoyed some authors more than others. Honestly, very few had distinctive voices.
• 
  Dottie

  AFTER
  I've not finished yet but am closing in on it and found some stories which drew me in far more than did others. Some authors names I recognized, others I didn't. Nothing I couldn't say of nearly any collection. Still, I must say I've enjoyed the book overall and look forward to finishing it.
  
  BEFORE
  This book arrived day before yesterday and I'll report back as soon as I've sampled some stories. Since Ron Rash has recently been well-received around CR, I think I'll start with his to see what the fuss is about.
  
  
  Or I WILL be as soon as it arrives -- I won this free in the First Reads here on Goodreads! Pretty darned cool. Having just recently read Packer's own book of stories,
  Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, I decided it would be interesting to read a book of stories which she selected as the best of Southern writing on the scene today. I'm looking forward to comparing.
• 
  Patty

  I have been reading this book for a couple of years. It is not that I didn't like these stories, but I kept the book at our weekend house and so I read these stories when I ran out of other reading materials.
  
  I will never understand why people don't read short stories. I got to enter 20 different worlds, written by 20 different authors. In this case, I liked all the stories. But if I hadn't no story is too long to read to the end.
  
  I will admit that when I find a story I really like, I sometimes wish there was more, but that happens rarely. A good storyteller will immerse you in her characters and world and when you are finished with the story there is, at least for me, some satisfaction.
  
  I would recommend these stories to those folks who like contemporary literary fiction. I hope I encounter more stories by most of these people.
• 
  Sarah Beth

  I don't how to adequately review a book of short stories, (short of reviewing each one separately) especially when the book features twenty separate authors! This is the second collection from the New Stories from the South that I have read. I wasn't overly impressed by the first one, and I felt the same about these. Most all of the stories feature broken families, damaged teens/children, and eery tones. The south pictured in these pages is very Flannery O'Conner. In fact, there's even a story which build's on her character the Misfit from A Good Man is Hard to Find. And while I may have spent a lot of time reading O'Conner in college, her version of the south is not the south I know and love. I would have liked to have seen some happy stories and not a whole collection of misfits and heartbroken characters.
• 
  Laura

  While I was reading this collection I made the comment that it seemed what it took for authors to make it into this anthology was to write depressing, boring, weird, or confusing stories.
  
  The only story I thought was worth its salt was one about a pawn shop owner dealing with his nephew's methamphetamine problem.
  
  I live in the South as a transplanted Californian and this collection makes this part of the country seem really one-dimensional and easy to forget. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  
  If you want to read something with true Southern flavor, read Fannie Flagg for the light-hearted stuff and Larry Brown for the grittier fare.
  
  Don't bother with this tripe.
• 
  Kathy

  I had a hard time getting through these short stories. Most of them I couldn't finish because of the language. I don't read books with bad language in them and most of the themes in these stories were about people with hard lives, bad decisions, and bad situations. I prefer themes with uplifting messages (which can include stories about bad situations but with a better outcome)and clean language. So....in essence, I am not able to give this book a good rating. It just wasn't for me.
• 
  Edith

  won from Goodreads.
  
  Theory of realty: I could totally relate to that one. Make me remember some emotions I had in my early teenage years.
  
  Others stories I really like: Lizard Man, Child of God, Lucky Seven & Galloway (I would totally read more stories with Galloway, loved that character!)
• 
  Mbarkle

  As I came to the end, I realized that practically all the short stories in this book (which is an anthology and has various authors) are about young girls coming of age in the south. You might not like it, if you're not big on that kind of thing. I loved it.
• 
  Abby

  Really enjoyed most of these stories. Lots of grim and gritty images. Ron Rash's "Back of Beyond" just about killed me (a story about family ties and loneliness and meth addiction), and "Lizard Man" by David James Poissant in particular stuck with me.
• 
  KZ

  really liking it so far, fours stories in...
• 
  Eric Shaffer

  Some of these stories are a little precious, and others are a bit strained. The best one, by far, is by Rob Drummond.
• 
  Dinh

  I won this from First Reads!
• 
  Pam

  Didn't get to the last story, but overall i really enjoyed most of these which is surprising with multiple authors.
• 
  Ann

  Some stories more interesting than the others, but what I particularly liked was Z.Z. Packer's introduction and description of "Southern" literature.
• 
  Marta

  A collection of short stories and every single one of them is in someway distrubing or depressing.
• 
  Beth

  I love this series. My favorites this year were Theory of Realty, First Marriage, Lizard Man, and Leak.
• 
  Meredith

  I love short stories, and this collection doesn't disappoint!
• 
  Jb

  I'm only 4 stories in but I love it!