All Over but the Shoutin'
Originally published in 1997, reading this book now means I’m a little behind the times. What intrigued me about this book was not a stellar review on the book jacket (which is had), but rather I talked to someone who said she hated it. Really hated it. I figured that anything that causes such a strong reaction was worth picking up. And I was right.
Author Rick Bragg has a long and colorful resume as a journalist who worked his way for a small local newspaper to a position as an award-winning reporter at the New York Times. In this memoir, he turns the journalistic lens onto his own impoverished upbringing in Alabama in the 1960’s. His red dust covered youth is juxtaposed with the gritty wartime tales and poverty pieces he writes as an adult. Brilliantly woven together, the memoir illustrates how the tapestry of his experiences as a youth influenced the type of stories he writes as an adult. This book is full of content that will cause a strong reaction, indeed.
 | All Over But the Shoutin' Bragg, Rick 1997/08 - Pantheon Books 0679442588 Check the Library's Catalog A haunting memoir about growing up dirt-poor in the pines of Alabama - and about moving on but never really being able to leave. It is the story of a war-haunted, hard-drinking father and a strong-willed, loving mother who struggled to protect her sons from the effects of poverty and ignorance that had constricted her own life. It is the story of the life Bragg was able to carve out for himself on the strength of his mother's encouragement and belief. And it is the story of his attempts to both atone for and avenge the mistakes and cruelties of his past. All Over but the Shoutin' is a gripping account of people struggling to make sense and solidity of life's capricious promises. ...More |
