Chatting Books Online Day 167 .
The book I recommend today does not release until this Tuesday Sept 1, so when you read this and want a copy (and I know you will ) you can pre-order a copy today to reserve one from our first shipment to pick up , or have us ship out , on Tuesday .
I have been waiting most of a year to get my hands on today’s recommended book and I want to tell you it was worth the wait . I Highly recommend : The Deepest South of All : True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant .
One of the very first books I recommended to you in “Chatting Books “was Dispatches From Pluto by the same author , and as much as I liked that I also like this one . This book is a constant contradiction as is the town about which it is written. Stories of eccentric folks from Natchez both past and present are interwoven with history both social and political . It brings to light a town working daily to try and overcome a difficult history and both acknowledge and account for the past while trying to bring peace to it’s future .
There are so many stories that expertly weave together the tales of an actual Liberian prince sold into slavery in Natchez for 40 years and a modern day couple that decorate 167 Christmas trees In the hostess’s jewelry for their annual party, and the back-biting between two garden clubs (imagine a group referred to as “the hoop skirt mafia” so strong is their control over all things social in a town ), among just a few. It blends tales of the beauty of the homes and the landscapes with the ugliness of the underlying racism . It’s a book that is difficult at times and raucous at others much as Dispatches from Pluto was as well , but it is an important book that keeps you turning the pages - not because you feel you have to but because you want to keep reading this book and Richard Grant’s skilled writing and exceptional story telling . To read more about this book (from the actual publisher’s description ) or to reserve a copy click the link below .
This hardcover book is available on or after Sept 1, 2020 . Runs 274 pages and sells for $26 a copy .
