All Over But the Shoutin'

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Summary: Review
Review: This book is an autobiography about Bragg's life growing up in the South. The book allows Bragg to express emotion and ask questions that he was never able to ask before. This book would be ideal for those who struggle with the demons of their past. One strength in Bragg's book would be his use of language, in particular Chapter 9. Bragg is very descriptive and particular with his experience at church. He described the people there, his feelings of being there and feeling alone, and the baptism. Bragg went to great lengths to describe the food served at the dinner on the ground; the clothes that were worn by the men and women especially those by "responsible men" as oppossed to the "man who had no family had no roots and responsibility was no man at all". One weakness would be his jumping from one chapter to the next and his constant repetition. He repeats several thoughts and skips around alot. Overall, the book was well written but difficult to follow at times. I would not recommend this book for just entertainment purposes but for a reader who enjoys reading and the art of language.

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Summary: All Over But the Shoutin'
Review: This book is a collection of short story personal memoirs. He wrote this book for his mother, to pay tribute to her for the hardwork and self sacrifices she made throughout his life. And, although Bragg denies it, he uses this book as an attempt to finally face the years of confusion and hate for his father. Bragg's book is very descriptive and alive. He loves to play with language and bring life to his stories. However, he constantly refers to his success and lack of success in relation to his childhood. He also fails to let the book flow...each chapter switches to a new topic. This is a good book for those who love language and reading about people's lives. It is not suspenseful or thrilling, but deserves credit in other ways.

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Summary: Review of "All Over But The Shoutin'
Review: This book is a memoir of events and life lessons of Rick Bragg and his family while growing up very poor in the south. Bragg wrote this book because he wanted everyone to know the kinds of sacrifices his mother made for him and his brothers as a result of growning up poor. This book would appeal to anyone interested in southern literature or people that also grew up or lived with being white and poor.
Bragg's strength is his vivid writing which makes you feel like your right there. I especially liked chapter four where he describes using the outhouse, but also how he describes his mother and grandmother going without eating so that their children would have enough food. Bragg's weakness would be that he jumps around to different ages continuously. One paragraph he is talking about when he was eight, then the next thing you know he is twelve, then eight again. I would recommend this book because I felt it was very interesting and hard to put down at times. On a scale of one to ten, I would give Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shoutin'" an eight.

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Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: This book is a collection of memories from the life of Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Rick Bragg. Bragg wrote this book to honor his mother's sacrifice, search for answers about his father, and put his past in perspective. This book is for anyone who has had to overcome a past filled with struggles, and is better for having had experienced them.
The book's greatest strength is the author's honest, straightforward, and descriptive portrayal of his own life, and the lives of those around him. Bragg tells it exactly the way it is and holds nothing back.
Some might consider Bragg's tendency to jump back and forth between memories and lack of transitions a weakness. This might make it difficult for readers to keep up with what is going on as the events of his life unfold.
"All Over But The Shoutin'" is an entertaining and endearing read about a poor southern boy who overcame great odds to become a success in the eyes of the world and his mother. I highly recommend this book to others.

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Summary: Homegrown Good Book
Review: All over but the shoutin is a collestion of personal memoirs about the life of Rick Bragg. This story is a tribute to his mother who spent her life making sure that he was taken care of while his father drank his life away drowning in his sorrows.
This book is very descriptive in detail and explores each aspect of his life. The author takes you on a narrative adventure through the troubled life of a boy who is raised without a father. This book is written at a atrong pace and keeps you on your toes with a wonderful, rich format.
This book is very repetative. Rick Bragg has a story to tell but often returns to his success and lack of success to many times. He dwells on the past in his attempt to keep the story heading toward the future.
This is a good book for a casual reading day. If you like suspense or thrill you will be missing out, but if you like homegrown short stories this is the book for you. If you have a life filled with similar curcumstances this book can be theriputic, because he triumped over his poverty to become a pulitzer prize winning author.

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Summary: Rick Bragg
Review: Rick Bragg describes his journey of life through a collection of childhood memories. His writing releases his emotions that should be captured by all. This book is a wonderful novel for those who havedealt with a troubled childhood.
"When God Blinks" is a great chapter due to his southern home style of life. He gives full detail in the house on the hill. you can close your eyes,and see exactly what he describes.
Bragg's weakness of this novel would be the age of the audience.This novel is suited for an "older" generation or an open minded person willing to read about a southern broken family.
I would recomend this novel to people who are eager to learn about southern living in the 1970's. People from broken homes or people raised by a single parent could grasp a hold of this novel and recollect on their memories.

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Summary: Come learn about the South
Review: All Over But the Shoutin' is a collection of Rick Bragg's most fond childhood memories while growing up in the controversial Southern lifestyle. Bragg writes this book to release his emotions that should be captured by all. This would be a wonderful book for those who know what it is like to live through a troubled childhood with a strong mother's support.
The chapter "When God Blinks" is especially good because of the intimate details and descriptions of their Southern home and way of life. Anyone who does or does not know about Southern lifestyles would be touched by his accuraate descriptions in this chapter. This chapter would be great for those who are not sure if they want to read on.
The main weakness of Bragg's stories are the fact that the audience needs to be older and sophisticated or willing to learn about the southern lifestyle of a broken home in the 1960's and 1970's. Open-minded individuals would love his accurate descriptions and teachings.
I would recommend these writings to those who are willing to learn about Southerners in the 1970's. This book would also be a good read for those who were in single parent families. The great thing about this book is that you can read one chapter to decide whether or not you want to read more.

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Summary: A good read but by far not the best!
Review: All Over but the Shoutin is a memoir of Rick Bragg's life. He tells about what it's like growing up poor and the sacrifices his mother makes for her family, which is who Bragg wrote this book for. All Over but the Shoutin would be very appealing to anyone who enjoys reading Southern Literature as well as those that share similar past experiences.
One primary strength of Bragg's book is his use of vivid imagery. Throughout his book, he provides the reader with amazingly descriptive details, which allows the reader to feel as if he/she actually experiences the same events. His wonderful use of imagery allows the reader to sympathize with Bragg and his family as well.
On the other hand, Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin is difficult to follow at times, which I found to be a weakness in his writing. When telling his stories throughout the book, he tends to skip from one age to another. This makes it very difficult to follow at times.
All in all on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin a 7. I did not find his stories to be very interesting nor worthwhile, especially compared to other books we have read this semester in Southern Literature. There are definitely better choices out there today.

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Summary: All Over But the Shouting, a review
Review: This enriching and colorful book is about the personal memoir of Rick Bragg's mother who sacrificed and endured many hardships for her sons. Rick Bragg wrote this story in honor of his mother and to battle the demons of frustration caused by his father's abondonment. This compelling narrative appeals to anyone of any age that can relate to their own lives and experiences with family and friends.
The book is full of color and imagery that enables the reader to experience life as part of a poor family in Georgia. "It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right, where fearless young men steered long, black Buicks loaded with yellow whiskey down roads the color of dried blood, where the first front meant hog killin' time and the mouth watering smell fo craklin's would drift for acres from giant, bubbleing pots"(3). One can imagine themselves out in the lush, green country eating fried chicken on the grass after a long, refreshing morning at church.
One minor flaw in the book is when the author jumps around in time and place. For some readers, this is like scenes from a projector or slide show. In most reguards, this style of writing gives the story a more inventive and expressive quality than other authors. Yet, some readers may get lost and confused in with this style of narrative.
Overall, this book is an extrodinary and compelling story that wraps the reader within the joy, sadness, and anger that Bragg experienced throughout his life.

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Summary: like butter
Review: In "All over but the shoutin'," Rick Bragg portrays the stark realities of life as a southern boy in the 1960's. This book intends to honor his mother but also serves as a means of therapy. It reaches above specific boundaries for an audience, and is therefore widely readible.
One of the strengths of Rick's style is his wonderfully lyrical voice. His writing flows smoothly like butter off the side of corn on the cob.mmmmmmm! One example is on page 171 where he makes it very comfortable and understandable to relate. There is an underlying grace throughout the text. For instance, on page 166, within a few paragraphs we know what's going on and it happens so easily.
As far as weaknesses go, I believe that if there are any, they are insignificant when compared to the strengths. I don't see any flaws in this book, in my opinion.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Southern Literature, especially when compared to other texts I have read.