The most recommended books about the Deep South

Who picked these books? Meet our 20 experts.

20 authors created a book list connected to the Deep South, and here are their favorite Deep South books.
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Book cover of God's Little Acre

Lillah Lawson Author Of Monarchs Under the Sassafras Tree

From my list on Southern Gothic with a heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of three novels (with two more set to release next year); Monarchs Under the Sassafras Tree; The Dead Rockstar Trilogy; and I'm happiest when straddling literary genres. I have published works of historical fiction, as well as southern gothic, horror, speculative fiction, dark fantasy, and literary fiction. My debut, Monarchs Under the Sassafras Tree was nominated for Georgia Author of the Year in 2020. In addition to writing, I am a genealogist and recently went back to school to obtain my history degree. My love of writing, history, and family all intersect to inform my writing and I always set my characters in good old Georgia.

Lillah's book list on Southern Gothic with a heart

Lillah Lawson Why did Lillah love this book?

Erskine Caldwell is deeply underrated; for my money, heā€™s one of the best southern gothic writers in the genre. Perhaps itā€™s down to the risque nature of his books and characters, which were especially provocative (and in some cases, downright despicable) for the time period. However, beyond the depravity there is a real beating heart in his books that perfectly capture the desperation and grief of depression-era Georgia. 

By Erskine Caldwell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked God's Little Acre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Like Tobacco Road, this novel chronicles the final decline of a poor white family in rural Georgia. Exhorted by their patriarch Ty Ty, the Waldens ruin their land by digging it up in search of gold. Complex sexual entanglements and betrayals lead to a murder within the family that completes its dissolution. Juxtaposed against the Waldens' obsessive search is the story of Ty Ty's son-in-law, a cotton mill worker in a nearby town who is killed during a strike.

First published in 1933, God's Little Acre was censured by the Georgia Literary Commission, banned in Boston, and once led theā€¦


Book cover of Ava's Man

Mary S. Palmer Author Of Boyington Oak: A Grave Injustice

From my list on understanding people and their motivations.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was intrigued to write this creative nonfiction book because it is a true story. Itā€™s Mobileā€™s oldest and most famous legend. After extensive research, I discovered Boyington had two unqualified jurors, and all was based on circumstantial evidence. Still, he was hanged at age nineteen. A group of Mobilians formed the Boyington Oak Society, and weā€™ve applied for a posthumous pardon. My play is produced annually at Oakleigh Historic Museum. It has also been optioned for a movie, and the script is written.

Mary's book list on understanding people and their motivations

Mary S. Palmer Why did Mary love this book?

Rick Braggā€™s obsession with a grandfather he ever knew was fascinating. This was a man who lived during the Great Depression. He didnā€™t wear clothes with holes in them because that was popular, he did it because those were the only clothes he owned. It unveiled the ability of an ordinary man to do extraordinary things, an impressive accomplishment.

By Rick Bragg,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Ava's Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ā€¢ With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutinā€™ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South.

This time heā€™s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his familyā€™s table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerateā€¦


Book cover of Wise Blood

Wes Blake Author Of Pineville Trace

From my list on how it feels to be an outsider.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always loved books about outsiders and stories that make you palpably feel what others do. In real life and fiction, the characters that interest me most are often outsiders. Because characters on the outside of social groups and norms are often isolated and lonely, there is something so powerful about works that can bring you inside their experience and relate what their inner life is like. Interiority is the great strength of literature, and stories that convey the inner architecture of outsiders have always attracted me. I love books that make me feel deeply connected and that linger in my subconscious long after Iā€™ve read them. 

Wes' book list on how it feels to be an outsider

Wes Blake Why did Wes love this book?

This book haunted me for days after I finished reading it. I felt like someone I loved had died. Few works of art have stuck with me the way Oā€™Connnorā€™s book did. Its main charactersā€”Hazel Motes and Enoch Emeryā€”are the epitome of outsiders. I grew up in a religious family in Kentucky, so I can understand Motesā€™ struggle with faith. The way that Motes and Emery are so severely separated from the rest of humanity is affecting them.

The book caused me to passionately take their side, rooting for them and their cause, sharing in their anger towards the rest of mankind. This book had such a powerful emotional impact and influence on me, leaving me with a palpable feeling of hopelessness and catharsis over several weeksā€”unlike Iā€™ve experienced with any other work of art. 

By Flannery O'Connor,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Wise Blood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor's first novel, is the story of Hazel Motes who, released from the armed services, returns to the evangelical Deep South. There he begins a private battle against the religiosity of the community and in particular against Asa Hawkes, the 'blind' preacher, and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter. In desperation Hazel founds his own religion, 'The Church without Christ', and this extraordinary narrative moves towards its savage and macabre resolution.

'A literary talent that has about it the uniqueness of greatness.' Sunday Telegraph

'No other major American writer of our century has constructed a fictional world so energeticallyā€¦


Book cover of For Us, the Living

Derek R. King Author Of The Life and Times of Clyde Kennard

From my list on lesser-known Civil Rights.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been fascinated by the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South in the 1950s and 60s for many years. Keen to understand not just events in that timeframe, I also needed to understand how those entrenched and diametrically opposed positions had occurred. What triggered the responses of water cannon, German shepherd dogs, and Billy clubs to seemingly peaceful students marching or seated in a particular section of a cafĆ©? Over a period of seventeen years, I amassed a private collection of books, magazines, newspapers, over two hundred in all, along with material from various state-run Departments of Archives of History, further amplifying my fascination and providing fodder for my book.

Derek's book list on lesser-known Civil Rights

Derek R. King Why did Derek love this book?

This was the book, which truly drew me into the world of the Civil Rights struggle in America, a personalized account by Myrlie Everā€™s of her life (and that of their children), with her civil rights worker husband and father, until his untimely assassination in 1963.

It is a very personal and moving account of their family life, their passion, and pursuit of the American Dream of equal rights for their family, set against the backdrop of a deeply segregated social order of their time in the Deep South. 

I found this book compelling, enlightening, and touching.

By Myrlie Evers Williams, William Peters,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked For Us, the Living as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1967, when this brave book was first published, Myrlie Evers said, ""Somewhere in Mississippi lives the man who murdered my husband.""Medgar Evers died in a horrifying act of political violence. Among both blacks and whites the killing of this Mississippi civil rights leader intensified the menacing moods of unrest and discontent generated during the civil rights era. His death seemed to usher in a succession of political shootings--Evers, then John Kennedy, then Martin Luther King, Jr., then Robert Kennedy.

At thirty-seven while field secretary for the NAACP, Evers was gunned down in Jackson, Mississippi, during the summer of 1963.ā€¦


Book cover of Red Clay Suzie

Robert Gwaltney Author Of The Cicada Tree

From Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Dreamer Dog lover World builder Dragon slayer Bon vivant

Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Robert Gwaltney Why did Robert love this book?

I loved this beautiful book because it took me back to my own childhood as an outsider in rural Georgia, a time when I was lonesome and frightened.

If only I had access to a novel tender and poignant as Red Clay Suzie growing up, I would have experienced much needed representation of myself within the pages, discovering a sort of transcendent hopefulness and acceptance I was desperate to find.

By Jeffrey Dale Lofton,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Red Clay Suzie as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A novel inspired by true events

The coming-of-age story of Philbet, a gay, physically-misshapen boy in rural Georgia, who battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider-before finding acceptance in unlikely places.

Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay boy in rural Georgia. He's happiest when helping Grandaddy dig potatoes from the vegetable garden that connects their houses. But Philbet's world is shattered and his resilience shaken by events that crush his innocence and sense of security; expose his misshapenā€¦


Book cover of Paris Trout

Kathleen George Author Of Taken

From my list on novels in which children survive incredible odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher, a college professor, and a lifetime reader. I came from a small town, went to college to study writing, ended up getting graduate degrees in theatre, became a theatre director, and then went back to my first love, writing. Throughout my childhood, I bonded with my siblings, and we often feared our mother, who was a fascinating creature but often rough on us.  She expected perfection and wasnā€™t in tune with her childhood. So even then, stories of children in dangerā€”abandoned or scolded or shamedā€”have resonated with me.

Kathleen's book list on novels in which children survive incredible odds

Kathleen George Why did Kathleen love this book?

It's a great novel. I have never seen the film made in the 90s. Evil abounds in the character of Paris Trout, a miserly user who preys on the black community. He will kill for twenty cents.

My experience of reading was bonding with his victims, one of them a young girl, feeling I was as helpless as she was against Troutā€™s relentless hatred. 

The value was bonding, witnessing, acknowledging this much badness, and measuring out the beauty of innocence, too. Again, I think it is one of the great American novels.  

By Pete Dexter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Paris Trout as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Pete Dexterā€™s National Book Awardā€“winning tour de force tells the mesmerizing story of a shocking crime that shatters lives and exposes the hypocrisies of a small Southern town.
 
The time and place: Cotton Point, Georgia, just after World War II. The event: the murder of a fourteen-year-old black girl by a respected white citizen named Paris Trout, who feels heā€™s done absolutely nothing wrong. As a trial looms, the crime eats away at the social fabric of Cotton Point, through its facade of manners and civility. Troutā€™s indifference haunts his defense lawyer; his festering paranoia warps his timid, quiet wife;ā€¦


Book cover of Deep South

Catyana Skory Falsetti Author Of Facing Death: A Julia Rawson Mystery

From my list on solve mysteries & learn something at the same time.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always wanted to be a detective. I remember writing stories on my mom's old typewriter and playing pretend investigator with my childhood friend. I have had an appetite for stories and mysteries for as long as I remember. I was intrigued by human behavior and had the desire to find justice. This led me to study forensics and use my fine art ability and critical mind to get answers for victims and their families. I have a Master's Degree in Forensic Science and years of government and experience as a forensic artist and investigator, making my writing as authentic as possible. My story and personal struggles, and life's discoveries are highlighted by my stories.

Catyana's book list on solve mysteries & learn something at the same time

Catyana Skory Falsetti Why did Catyana love this book?

I enjoy murder mystery series where you can get to know the protagonist and be exposed to things I would never imagine. Nevada Barr does this in a fun way through the eyes of Anna Pigeon, a National Parks Ranger. The details about the job ring true because Barr herself worked as a ranger in National Parks. Through Deep South, we learn about sexism in the workplace. She highlights society's and nature's complexity and how it feels to be an outsider and hold onto your own worth.

By Nevada Barr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Deep South as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nevada Barr's ever-popular Anna Pigeon series is consistently praised as "exceptional" (Denver Post), "stunning" (Seattle Times), and "superb" (New York Times Book Review). In Deep South, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon heads to Mississippi, only to encounter terrible secrets in the heart of the south...

Anna Pigeon finally gives in to her bureaucratic clock-and signs on for a promotion. Next thing she knows, she's knee-deep in mud and Mississippi. Not exactly what she had in mind. Almost immediately, as the new district ranger on the Natchez Trace, Anna discovers the body of a young prom queen near a country cemetery, aā€¦


Book cover of Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama

Kathleen Stone Author Of They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men

From my list on family biographies with regional history as a role.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read (and write) biography as much for history as for an individual life story. Itā€™s a way of getting a personalized look at an historical period. When the book is a family biography, the history is amplified by different family members' perspectives, almost like a kaleidoscope, and it stretches over generations, allowing the historical story to blossom over time. The genre also opens a window into the ethos that animated this unique group of individuals who are bound together by blood. Whether it's a desire for wealth or power, the zeal for a cause, or the need to survive adversity, I found it in these family stories.  

Kathleen's book list on family biographies with regional history as a role

Kathleen Stone Why did Kathleen love this book?

After the Civil War, the South was in turmoil, with ruined farms, destitute people, and existential uncertainty about the future.

John Hollis Bankhead of Alabama was one who stepped forward to ensure that little would change. He voted against the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments and helped institutionalize convict leasing. As author Kari Frederickson writes, "Confederates may have lost the war, but white men like Bankhead were determined to thwart any possible political or social revolution."

Other Bankheads continued in the same vein including Marie who, as director of the Alabama state archives, embraced the Lost Cause narrative, rejected symbols of Reconstruction, and, in the name of stateā€™s rights, opposed voting rights for women. Learning about this familyā€™s success in molding the post-war South gave me new insight into issues of today.

By Kari A. Frederickson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Deep South Dynasty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The sweeping story of an ambitious and once-powerful southern family.

From Reconstruction through the end of World War II, the Bankheads served as the principal architects of the political, economic, and cultural framework of Alabama and the greater South. As a family, they were instrumental in fashioning the New South and the twentieth century American political economy, but now the Bankhead name is largely associated only with place names.

Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama is a deeply researched epic family biography that reflects the complicated and evolving world inhabited by three generations of the extremely accomplished-if problematic-Bankhead familyā€¦


Book cover of The Book of Lost Friends

Lynn Shurr Author Of Lady Flora's Rescue

From my list on historical novels picked by a librarian.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a reference librarian, I love doing research for myself and others. By reading a well-written historical novel, we can learn about the past and compare and contrast it to our present. All but the last of my choices have strong female characters who must overcome the customs of their time. The struggle goes on today. Let these books remind you of how far we have come and how far we have to go.

Lynn's book list on historical novels picked by a librarian

Lynn Shurr Why did Lynn love this book?

This is another story of Reconstruction in the Deep South but told from a very different angle.

Three girls, the masterā€™s daughter, his mulatto offspring, and his former slave who seeks to buy her small parcel of land, are totally dependent on the man for their futures, but he has disappeared into Texas. Despite their youth and sex, they go off to find him. The book begins in modern times and flashes back to this story.

I could not wait for the author to continue telling their tale.

By Lisa Wingate,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Book of Lost Friends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain

From the author of the No.1, two million-copy bestseller Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic story of a family separated, their search for answers, and an epic journey to reunite the missing . . .

Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. For heiresses Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites anā€¦


Book cover of Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You: A Memoir

Laurie Kaye Author Of Confessions of a Rock N Roll Name Dropper: My Life Leading Up to John Lennonā€™s Last Interview

From my list on rock and roll cool talented creators.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a music fanā€“especially pop and rock and rollā€“since I was a toddler, thanks to my dysfunctional family upbringing that led me to spend the bulk of my time attached to my transistor radio! Not only did I listen to rock radio stations, but I also learned about musicians, including the Beatles, thanks to magazine articles and books once I started to read at an early ageā€“I went to my local library daily and continued to do so all the way through my school years!

Laurie's book list on rock and roll cool talented creators

Laurie Kaye Why did Laurie love this book?

Iā€™ve been a tremendous fan of Lucinda Williams since seeing her perform on nearly a weekly basis back at the Barndance at the Palomino in the late 80ā€™s and early 90ā€™sā€“sheā€™s an incredibly talented singer and musician, and it turned out sheā€™s a great memoir writer too, able to describe how she came up from traumatic childhood in the Deep South, to her years of being overlooked in the music industry, to her eventual successful country and pop music career which includes being a three-time Grammy winner!

By Lucinda Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Williams's memoir is as flinty, earthy and plain-spoken as her songs' New York Times
'The often hilarious, occasionally harrowing Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You is a bracingly candid chronicle of a sui generis character plotting a ramshackle but ultimately triumphant trajectory' Wall Street Journal
'An engaging read and beautifully written' MOJO

The beloved and iconic singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy winner opens up about her traumatic childhood in the Deep South, her years of being overlooked in the music industry, and the stories that inspired her enduring songs.

Lucinda Williams's rise to fame was anything but easy. Raisedā€¦


Book cover of God's Little Acre
Book cover of Ava's Man
Book cover of Wise Blood

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