Friday, April 2, 2010

The Most They Ever Had

I just finished reading this book:

It's written by Rick Bragg, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. My mom told me for a long time that I would love his books, and true to form, I fought her on it. I don't know why I insist on doing that! The lady may know me better than I do...she's always right. Always. Anyway, Rick Bragg is a professor at UA who writes stories about life in blue-collar Alabama. This one is about the generations of people who worked in the old cotton mill in Jacksonville, AL, barely scraping by. I find it fascinating to read about days gone by. I was also humbled by how these folks were able to find bright spots in what seem to be very hard, meager lives.

I've read three others (All Over but the Shoutin', Ava's Man, and Somebody Told Me), and I'm hooked. His books are pretty gritty and sometimes unpleasant, but they paint a such a clear picture of the rural South "back in the day". There's one more I haven't read (The Prince of Frogtown) so I plan to jump on that one soon. I hope ol' Rick cranks out another one ASAP; I'm about to catch up with him!

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