The Half-Mammals of Dixie

Rating:
Summary: I think, therefore I think you're wrong.
Review: A little more evolved than the first collection. George is definately establishing himself as one of America's premire short fiction writers!
If you loved the first ccollection, as much as I know you did, you have to get this one.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction or Reality? In the South, it is Difficult to Tell
Review: Fie, fie, what happened to my review? Down the Bayou Teche....so here we go again! It must have had something to do with those Half-Mammals or the Confederate in the Attic...

If you are a Southerner, this book will ring with truth, because Mr. Singleton's characters are so obviously around the block, if not next door. If you know that prosperity can be measured in the number of cars you have up on blocks in the FRONT yard, you're in the neighborhood. If you're afraid to get of I-95 between the Virginia border and Florida, or I-10 between the Louisiana border and Houston, this is the book for you. Or, if you took I-64 thinking you'd go through West Virginia and turned around where it ended (Fie, Senator Byrd!)...you need to get right with Dixie.

I could hardly recommend Mr. Singleton's stories higher--up with Confederates in the Attic (nonfiction), or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (possibly fiction). His characters refer to Nietzche, get regular calls from the FBI and John Walsh, or play 20 questions as a marital ritual, or find themselves thinking about cosines, and sines for "no reason in particular." And, they tend to think of lead pipes for uses not related to who did what to whom in the drawing room. They have no clue, but they're right on.

I highly recommend you get into this book, and it compares in frankness with Walker Percy, without the I Went to Medical School in New York puttin' on airs. Regular folks, who know the difference between a live oak (you can look it up) and poison ivy, at least.

Yep, it ITCHES, y'all. Rather be a lying dog than a dog lyin'.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction or Reality? In the South, it is Difficult to Tell
Review: Fie, fie, what happened to my review? Down the Bayou Teche....so here we go again! It must have had something to do with those Half-Mammals or the Confederate in the Attic...

If you are a Southerner, this book will ring with truth, because Mr. Singleton's characters are so obviously around the block, if not next door. If you know that prosperity can be measured in the number of cars you have up on blocks in the FRONT yard, you're in the neighborhood. If you're afraid to get of I-95 between the Virginia border and Florida, or I-10 between the Louisiana border and Houston, this is the book for you. Or, if you took I-64 thinking you'd go through West Virginia and turned around where it ended (Fie, Senator Byrd!)...you need to get right with Dixie.

I could hardly recommend Mr. Singleton's stories higher--up with Confederates in the Attic (nonfiction), or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (possibly fiction). His characters refer to Nietzche, get regular calls from the FBI and John Walsh, or play 20 questions as a marital ritual, or find themselves thinking about cosines, and sines for "no reason in particular." And, they tend to think of lead pipes for uses not related to who did what to whom in the drawing room. They have no clue, but they're right on.

I highly recommend you get into this book, and it compares in frankness with Walker Percy, without the I Went to Medical School in New York puttin' on airs. Regular folks, who know the difference between a live oak (you can look it up) and poison ivy, at least.

Yep, it ITCHES, y'all. Rather be a lying dog than a dog lyin'.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven but enjoyable collection.
Review: In The Half-Mammals of Dixie: Stories George Singleton uses the thematic device of a focusing locale as the basis for this collection of offbeat, quixotic and lively short stories. The locale in this case is the rural backwater burg of Forty-Five, South Carolina. All of the stories are either set in--or in some way involve the denizens of this little town. There are a few characters that populate several stories to provide thematic coherence throughout the narrative.

The stories themselves focus primarily on the fringes (though a good cross section of those fringes) of Forty-Five society--if such a small town can be thought to have either fringe--or society--for that matter.

While the book is very enjoyable overall the quality of the stories varies considerably. There are moments of incredible hilarity counterpoised by moments of complete boredom. In too many places one senses that Singleton's trying just a bit to hard to make the characters too off the wall, and the whole exercise can then seem a bit too contrived However, a gem of a moment shortly follow and redeems the whole exercise.

On the whole a good read. If Singleton can improve on overall consistency he'll be a first class short story writer. However, at this point he's very good, and that's better than most.

Rating:
Summary: George is the BTO of Southern Fiction!
Review: No one does it better - George's second collection of stories are absolutely great. It's almost like he sneaks up on you, makes you laugh, and then darts away to the next bit of humour. And the whole time you're sort of wondering what has happened, but you've enjoyed every minute of it. Do yourselves a favor - purchase this book, and begin enjoying the finest Southern short story fiction writer around.

Rating:
Summary: Southern Humor
Review: Singleton has done a great job of portraying Southern characters accurately and honestly. He has deep and engaging characters that are so rare in short stories. As a southerner, I hate when southeaster US characters are stereotyped, as they frequently are in stories, novels, and especially Hollywood. However, even though he shows sometimes a dark side or ignorant side of a character, they are entirely believable and recognizable. A strong point of Singleton is his humor, which generally sneaks up on you, in an unexpected or unusually juxtaposed way.

As a fan of a good short story in general, I think this is quite readable and enjoyable. It was recommended to me by a friend, (Mark) a literature professor and personal friend of the author. I pass that recommendation along to you.

Rating:
Summary: Southern Humor
Review: Singleton has done a great job of portraying Southern characters accurately and honestly. He has deep and engaging characters that are so rare in short stories. As a southerner, I hate when southeaster US characters are stereotyped, as they frequently are in stories, novels, and especially Hollywood. However, even though he shows sometimes a dark side or ignorant side of a character, they are entirely believable and recognizable. A strong point of Singleton is his humor, which generally sneaks up on you, in an unexpected or unusually juxtaposed way.

As a fan of a good short story in general, I think this is quite readable and enjoyable. It was recommended to me by a friend, (Mark) a literature professor and personal friend of the author. I pass that recommendation along to you.

Rating:
Summary: Really weird
Review: This book makes me wonder what the author was smoking when he wrote it. It is frustrating, confusing at times, and sometimes totally unrealistic. Some of the stories are okay, but some of them are just weird. This book frequently lost my attention.