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Summary: So Good They Teach it in Collage History Classes
Review: I had to read Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin for a collage class in modern US History and I must say I am glad the professor choose this book. I can easily identify with Mr. Bragg as I can distantly relate to th themes addressed in the story of his life. It is a good read and a insightful one. It will show you that southern people are not all dumb hicks.
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Summary: I was drawn in from the first paragraph
Review: A great story told by a great writer. Southern boy is raised dirt poor by his mother - gains societal approval through attending Harvard and rising to the top of his profession - then comes home to wrestle with his childhood demons. It helps that he's a corespondent for the New York Times and writes like we all wish we could. His style is emotional, direct and very real. Bragg opens himself and his family up completely and we're the better for it. I'll leave it at that and encourage you to take a trip into Rick's world yourself.
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Summary: Southern Truths
Review: Growing up surrounded by a similar background as Rick Braggs, I immediately connected with this story. He touched my inner most fears, describing perfectly the inadequacies I feel as I am surrounded by very intelligent Yankees, all born and bred from the right side of the tracks. And then there is me, barely able to pull myself out of Macon GA and fight for an education and a place where I would not have to feel so bad for myself and my children. Rick Bragg's book drove him for me that people like me do exist, and we can make a difference. As many tears as I shed reading it, I also laughed, shook my head in agreement, and marked passages and pages so many times that no one will be able to borrow my copy! So, go buy this book and by all means READ it!
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Summary: All Over But the Sobbin'
Review: Okay, so the local librarian had to shove this one into my hands with hearty recommendations and stubborn resolve. I was intrigued by Pat Conroy's comments on the jacket and decided to dive in. Shoot, I could always close 'er up and turn 'er back in to the late night book return slot, right?No need for that! Bragg's poignant writing drew me in to the story, wrenching laughs and smiles and grimaces and tears from me like a carpenter pulling nails. His account of growing up as poor white trash, raised by a mom who endured the usually brief and alcohol-scented visits of her husband had sad elements to it, but the dignity of his mom and uncles lifts this from tragedy. By the end, I'd almost come undone. And I don't say that lightly. The emotional impact caught me somewhat off-guard. With tight, yet unpretentious writing, Bragg snuck up on me and I barely maintained control as I worked through the last few pages. A tear-jerker? For some, yes. But they weren't all sad tears--some very happy ones, as well. The bittersweet aspects of life run throughout Bragg's story, and I found myself savoring the good things, pondering the bad. Don't pass this one by. It's worth the time and the energy. The fascinating jumps from Haiti to Miami to the hallowed halls of Harvard all serve as a backdrop to the struggles of self-discovery, forgiveness, and family strength. When I was done, I felt like following Pat Conroy's lead by sending Bragg's mother a bouquet of flowers. Who knows, I might do just that. I just might.
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Summary: Fascinating
Review: Rick Bragg starts life as a poor child in the south, always hopeful things will get better. They do in the sense that he eventually succeeds as a terrific writer. Still, his past has scarred him and I conclude the pain from it will always grip at his heart because of his father who was abusive and abandoned the family. Extremely protective of his mother and honoring his siblings, Rick is well aware of who he is and where he is going. A touching, easy to read (as long as the tears don't get in the way too often) powerful story of the life of a man who starts off in rags and ends in riches. View life from Bragg's sensitive eyes and you will never see it as the same. ---author "Slices of Sunlight, A Cookbook of Memories"
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Summary: The Shoutin' about the Shoutin'
Review: The Shoutin' sure ain't over! All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg is a moving story about how he starts out very poor and becomes successful, all because of his mom's might. One of the best qualities in this book is how descriptive he is. He makes you feel like you are there and experiencing his life and thoughts. An example of one of his descriptive sentences is "It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep-green mountains where redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old woman in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed 'Faded Love and Winter Roses' as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches, and made biscuits too good for this world.'' Even though the sentence is very long it isn't boring. His characters are also vivid and believable. He has great description. I have many mixed feelings about the plot. It has tons of meaning but parts of it are weak. The beginning is very strong because the description is good and you can really tell by his style of writing that his mom tried to make life better for Bragg. Some of of the things she did were, not buy a new dress for herself in 18 years, ironing for money 24-7 , and protecting him and his brothers from their usually drunk father. Later though his writing gets boring but you still can tell how hard it was for him to become a successful writer. In a way the detail made it gory in 2 of the chapters and that was not a good quality. So overall, the beginning and end were good just not the middle. To me, the worst part of his writing was the repetitiveness. It was almost as if he had forgotten that he had said things earlier in the story. He always wrote the word cliche, cliche, cliche. Isn't it ironic that a cliche is a word or phrase used too much! Anyways, that was the worst part of the story and made me really dislike parts. In all All Over but the Shoutin' was a triumphant story about how a mother practically worked herself to death to have her boys have a decent life. Where there is a will there's a way.
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Summary: Pictures From the South
Review: All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg is a moving yet humorous tale about growing up a poor boy from the Deep South. His description of his childhood and constantly moving adult life is fascinating to read about and very easy to relate to. All in all, Bragg offers a glimpse into real Southern living. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Bragg lets you see so far into his world and life that it is like you have on special glasses. The way he describes southern living is wonderful and accurate. Every event that he brings up in the story is supported by reason and background, making it easy to understand where he is coming from. One of the topics that Bragg gives insight to is how important football is to a person in Alabama or in the South. "In Birmingham, I saw Charles White run for what seemed a thousand yards against the Crimson Tide, helping USC beat Alabama like an ugly redheaded stepchild on a lovely fall Saturday in 1978. ABC telegraphed our shame to the entire nation, and grown men and women cried. To this day I blame Charlie White for edging couch Paul "Bear" Bryant a little closer to the grave." "In Auburn, The Loveliest Village on the Plain, I watched Bo Jackson run over pretty much everybody. He didn't do Bear much good either, I suspect." "Football is a cliché, down here. I do not believe the sport is the very essence of Southern life-I know God and family precede football, except perhaps on Alabama-Auburn game day-but what it really is , is the grandest of escapes from that life." With those few sentences, Bragg already is leading you into a world different from your own and it is simply wonderful to read. All Over but the Shoutin' is a book with characters and events that many people can relate to, especially if you are from, the South. Certain events and people he talks about in the book make you think "Oh, I know what that is like." or "I know just what he means." Bragg talks about such real subjects that it is easy to know exactly what he is talking about. When he talks about his momma watching the TV preachers, most people know exactly what he is talking about just from flipping through the channels. "The fact that my momma did not go to church did not mean that she did not seek God. The television preachers-beamed to us from Baton Rouge, from Tulsa, from the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium-brought not only His Word, but salvation. All you had to do was reach out and feel the screen, feel that warmth, that electricity, and be Saved. I reached out to touch it myself once or twice, but all I felt was the hot glow of the picture tube." I think that because Bragg writes in such away that you can relate to him, it makes the book more interesting and easier to read. Humor is one of the more prevalent aspects of this book. Bragg has such a keen eye when it comes to humor, that he adds it in exactly the right place and, just as importantly, knows where to leave it out. Many a childhood memory deal with humorous things so when Bragg tells the tales the humor he adds enhances it greatly. "When I was five as I was then, I had to get a running start from the willow tree to leap high enough to reach the seat, then I was left with the uncomfortable truth that there was no way to shut the door. Sometimes Momma would see me and, understanding, close the door for me, and she would not grin about it. Sam would not only leave the door open but would sneak around the corner of the house and throw rocks at me, once my britches were down, and once he locked a mean tomcat in there with me and just leaned against the door laughing. It sounds, now, like a cartoon. I darn near died." His use of humor takes the book from fact from his childhood to the actual story of his childhood. For these reasons, and many more, I think that this book is very good. I also think that many other people would enjoy reading it too. It I s the way Southern living should be described, and even though he had a hard time living parts of it, Rick Bragg does an excellent job of recapping and telling the story of his life.
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Summary: Better Him Than Me
Review: All Over but the Shoutin' was a great insight into the poor dilapidated side of the south that most of us don't know or choose to forget. Rick Bragg's eloquent yet provocative writing paints a vivid picture for all the world to experience. I think that everyone should read this book because if you have it hard than you will either be able to empathize or be glad it's not that bad. If life is good for you than this will make it seem even better after you've heard his story. Bragg's optimistic outlook towards even the most disheartening experiences was truly an inspiration to me. The book showed me how lucky I am to get to clean my room. Between him and two brothers they didn't even have enough stuff to make a room dirty. Even as Bragg grew up he never forgot what he endured to get so far. Our lives might not be as overwhelming as his but I think that no matter what we do or who we become the things that shaped us should never be forgotten.
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Summary: But the Shoutin's Not Over
Review: Come on in yall! All Over But the Shoutin was a really interesting story that had so much suspense by the chapters' names and the situations that Rick Bragg (the author and the main character) was put in. The book was placed in the Alabama. His father was always gone all of the time and when he was there he was always drunk. They had 4 (not including there father) people in the family to support and that was very hard considering that there mothers income was when she folded then pounds of clothes she got $1.00. There life was hard but somehow they always managed to get along. When you grow-up in the south with nearly nothing to live by it is kind of hard for people to treat you like an equal and not call you white trash. The words that he used were so powerful and the way that he made me jump into the book was very moving. In the second part of the book he gets to have a better life. He moves to New York and gets a good job with good pay. He gets many awards for his articles in the newspaper and his writing skills. The awards don't really matter to him. All that really matter to him is that his mother is proud and that she has a place to go at night after a vigorous day at work. There are some family disagreements in the book that he talks about in very descriptive detail. It may be a little too descriptive but at least he gets the point across. When the book has almost come to an end, he reflects on his childhood and thinks about how much his life ahs changed. All in all, All Over But the Shoutin is a really good book and on a scale from 1-5 I give this book a 4.75.
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Summary: Very Few Complaints.
Review: Rick Bragg writes with a natural charm and emotional intensity that overwhelms the reader. I am an Alabama native like Rick, and I have experienced the poverty and felt the walls of the "box" that he describes. But, like Rick, I have seen the beauty of the place, the warmth, the love, the good things. When Rick told the story about how he threatened to whip the you know what of the fellow at Harvard, I nearly fell over laughing. When Rick described his visit to see his dying father, I was haunted by the same empty feeling he experienced-- not because I have experienced anything quite like that but because Rick told it so well. The man is a master with words, a true genius. If I have any complaint, it is this-- the story is far from finished, or at least Rick is far from finished it would seem. I felt so glad for his mother and probably cried a bit when he set her up in the nice house. She deserved it so much, and that was a mighty honorable thing for him to do. But I still see Rick as being "out there"-- not yet in a house himself, emotionally still wandering through a barren and cold landscape, still battling ancient demons, still a bit unhappy. If he ever finds a "house" for his emotions and overcomes the bitterness of his painful upbringing, I hope that he will write about it. I will read it immediately after it's published. Maybe his mom's faith, which he amply respects,is what he needs and is searching for on some unconscious level. If you like "All Over But The Shoutin," be sure and catch a story or two by Flannery O'Connor, another southern genius-- or "Castle of Wisdom" by Rhett Ellis, an emerging southern writer who tells fantasy stories.
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