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A review by simplymary
Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
5.0
What a fine book. I'd not read Theroux before...quite a way to discover an exceptional author. He traveled the back roads of the Deep South, talking to anyone who would talk to him, eating where the locals congregated, attending gun shows and rousing church services, finding history in overlooked places and, of course, explored the age-old issue of racial tension. I grew up in the South and never encountered half of what he discovers...the extreme poverty, motels all owned by Indians named Patel (he played this point quite hilariously), black farmers who face loan discrimination, the fingerprint of the KKK, transplants trying to make a difference in small communities but finding it unbelievably hard to create any lasting change. He does a superb job of highlighting the warmth and friendliness of the South, with words and phrases spelled phonetically that made me homesick, but also calls out the hostile suspicion towards outsiders that can feel rather isolating.
Theroux focuses on a few states: South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. I was quite disappointed that I didn't get to hear his view on my home state and all its little communities, but I think Louisiana--and Texas, and Florida--have enough of their own character and flavor that they would have each added another 400 pages to an already long book.
His discoveries prompted a lot of thought about my experience in the South, and made me want to go on my own road trip, meandering the overgrown, black asphalt roads, trying out the soul food along the way, maybe stopping for a church service or two with a rousing gospel choir. I was reminded that I need to take the time to read Faulkner, and will be looking for Mary Ward Brown's books (highly recommended from someone who is very well-read). It wasn't just the subject matter that made this an exceptional read: Theroux has such a way with words. The parallel he draws between Old Man River and himself in the concluding paragraphs of the last chapter was so powerful that I was moved to tears. I hope you enjoy, Sarah and Loren! Let me know what think...I'd love to have a discussion on your observations.
Theroux focuses on a few states: South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. I was quite disappointed that I didn't get to hear his view on my home state and all its little communities, but I think Louisiana--and Texas, and Florida--have enough of their own character and flavor that they would have each added another 400 pages to an already long book.
His discoveries prompted a lot of thought about my experience in the South, and made me want to go on my own road trip, meandering the overgrown, black asphalt roads, trying out the soul food along the way, maybe stopping for a church service or two with a rousing gospel choir. I was reminded that I need to take the time to read Faulkner, and will be looking for Mary Ward Brown's books (highly recommended from someone who is very well-read). It wasn't just the subject matter that made this an exceptional read: Theroux has such a way with words. The parallel he draws between Old Man River and himself in the concluding paragraphs of the last chapter was so powerful that I was moved to tears. I hope you enjoy, Sarah and Loren! Let me know what think...I'd love to have a discussion on your observations.