All Over But the Shoutin'

Rating:
Summary: a story we all have to tell
Review: rick bragg'a all over but the shoutin is a wonderful tail of those many many people who lived under the "acceptable"..level of poverty in their lives. i am ten years older than him and thought i had it rough..but when i think about his situation..in the time frame...it makes me greatful for my bringing up..great work..and i wish him the best..and i hope he never touches that first whiskey bottle..it will be the end of him...and he knows it...

Rating:
Summary: It was as if there were two separate books in one.
Review: The first section of the book dealt with the author's early years, and it was quite interesting. However, before you knew it, it became an opportunity for the author to brag to a captive audience. Something very important was missing between the two sections. The author seems cold and incapable of any intimacy. Every good writer needs to share acertain intimacy with his readers, and Bragg does not do this. Why did he stop his childhood memoirs so abruptly? Why did he think we would enjoy his detached description of his successes? Actually, he writes well and confidently. However, he is not a very interesting and deep person.

Rating:
Summary: Bragg starts at the top of the hill and slides down quickly.
Review: Bragg's book started well and slid downhill quicker than a lard lathered pig. Bragg writes with a ball peen hammer, not a pen. And that hammer has plenty of anger behind it. Growing up as "poor white trash", an alcoholic father and brother, and a mother who raised suffering to an art form is a full plate for anyone. Bragg's writing on Haiti and its people for example, shows far more emotion and style than when he writes about his family or his personal relationships. When he gets to this personal level, his writing becomes mawkish, repetitive and trite. Considering what he went through to get where he is, this could have been a great read had he reined in his anger, his ego and gotten into the real nitty-gritty stuff. I've read many memoirs over the years and this story had all the elements to be a good one, but I think Mr. Bragg was just too close to the forest to see the trees. Next time he'll do better.

Rating:
Summary: He is a poet writing about the rich rythm of his childhood.
Review: Rick Bragg uses words to landscape the story of his life. He is inspirational and poetic but never sloppy or sentimental. I hope sometime I can do half as well.

Rating:
Summary: My first review, ever, for this oh-so-real memoir.
Review: Rick Bragg tells a tale of family, hardship, hard work, luck, and class,and race realities with humor, honesty, and poignant grace. Real life, real history as only a southern, scrappy, chip-on-his shoulder journalist could tell it. Thank you Rick, and Margaret Marie!

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written But Wanted More About Momma
Review: I confess that when I began this book, I felt the writing was a level above most of the books I have read before it. Bragg weaves you through his childhood in a somewhat summary fashion. I wanted to know more. I felt as if he fast forwarded through parts that were integral to the story he sought to tell. I was turned off by the snipets of his newspaper articles that he included. All in all, I really liked it but wanted to know more about his mother, her feelings and what life was like for her.

Rating:
Summary: Such polar reviews...
Review: I just finished All Over But The Shoutin', and I loved it. Don't ask me why I began to read the reviews after I read the book rather than before...b/c I do not know. The reviews are polar ...5 stars or 1 star...and I am merely adding to the pack. On one side the reviews point out a self congratulatory tone...on the other side his beautiful style. To me it was like reading poetry...and I was sad that it had to end...

Rating:
Summary: A haunting and moving Amercican triumph.
Review: Rick Bragg has told a simple and beautiful tale of sacrifice and love. His sincere and touching tribute to his mother was a gift far greater than anything he could have bought her. He has let the reader essentially grow up with him and see how his hard work and sacrifice has allowed him to thank his mother for the protection and love she provided her sons in their rugged hometown . The universality of the value of work and love being passed on from a mother to a son will connect with men and women of all ages. This is a rare book that touches your heart and makes you feel for the characters. And amazingly, they exist. Truth is better than fiction.

Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous book. Unlike any other memoir you will find.
Review: Usually I find memoirs to be too full of whining and self-involvement. But this book is so lovely, not just in its elegant writing, but its soul. This is a book about love. Motherlove. Love of place. Love of people. And love of good, old-fashioned work. Bragg faces his demons -- guilt, insecurity -- and admits his imperfections, shortcomings and we can't help but come out loving him in the end. I want to know his mother, his world and I am grateful for the introduction. I'm a Northerner -- I might even be characterized as one of those pointy-headed intellectuals he pokes at. I have been South, but not to Bragg's South. After this precious book, I know must, must see this world before I die.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read.
Review: I read this book in bits and pieces over Christmas break - my mom got it as a gift and since I'll read anything I can get my hands on it I peeked at it. Then it was impossible toput down. A very touching book; it actually had me near tears at times. Not your average "I-overcame-a-difficult-childhood-to-achieve-greatness" book.