New Stories from the South 2008

Summary (from the publisher): Celebrated writer Packer takes the editorial helm of this signature series and selects 20 rock-solid stories that reflect the geography, people, and way of life in the South.

Review: 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.

Stars: 3