Bound South: A Novel

by Susan Rebecca White

By turns hilarious and poignant, the lives of three vibrant and unique Southern women -- a proper Atlanta matron, her rebellious teenage daughter, and their housekeeper's young daughter -- intersect in unexpected and extraordinary ways in this richly compelling debut novel of family, friendship, and folly.

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Chick Lit, Book Club, Contemporary, Adult, Womens Fiction

345 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2009

About the author

Susan Rebecca White is the author of four novels: Bound South, A Soft Place to Land, A Place at the Table, and the forthcoming We Are All Good People Here, which will be published by Atria / Simon & Schuster on August 6, 2019. A graduate of Brown University and the MFA program at Hollins University, Susan has taught creative writing at Hollins, Emory, SCAD, and Mercer University, where she was the Ferrol A. Sams, Jr. Distinguished Chair of English Writer-in-Residence. Susan lives in her hometown of Atlanta with her husband Sam Reid and their son.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald]

Got to pg. 45 and declared it a DNF. Definitely not what I expected from the cover description.

[Whitney Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I read a different book than others have that loved this one. I kept waiting on the funny moments. My mother recommended this to me saying 'This one isn't as good as 'The Help' but it's funny-you'll like it.' I didn't like it. I hate not finishing a book so I read it through but was disappointed. I felt myself becoming annoyed by the characters. As a young Southern woman I didn't identify with the characters or their situations; instead I became increasingly aggravated at the sacreligious tones and the gross over generalizations of Southern culture.

[Vivian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I absolutely love Southern fiction. This book has gotten endless positive reviews from both critics and readers, but I didn't care for it and I'm not sure why. I generally read about 50 pages of a book before before I decide whether or not it's worth my time. Because of the glowing reviews, I read another 50 and finally stopped. Although Ms. White writes well, I didn't care about the characters or the storyline. Nothing grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. However, I'd be curious to see what Ms. White does with her next effort.

[Antof9 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was … not good. It had potential, especially with the way it opened, but I’m sort of bummed I read it.

What's worse is that I just went to BookCrossing where I have this book registered, and found this journal entry from August 18, 2009: I read this as part of my "junk food summer", and although I turned several pages down, I don't even remember the book just 2 or 3 months later.

Now I'm even more bummed I read it.

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I cannot say that this is a very thought-provoking book, it does provide some interesting commentary on Southern (and American in general) values. I was entertained throughout the book and did eagerly read each chapter to find out what would happen next. The story-line follows a family in Atlanta across several generations and confronts a series of important issues: teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, racism, divorce, religion.

All in all, this was just some light mind-less reading, good for the beach. I picked it up as something to read in between more substantial/serious novels.

[Macie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this book, can't wait to read her next book...waiting til paperback though. Great story about a family living in Atlanta and how her children evolve around her. I really like how other characters in the book narrate certain chapters!

[Kim Bakos · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun reading a story that takes place in Atlanta - it always makes a book come to life when you know exactly where it is taking place, where they are going, etc...
The author does a great job of telling the story in the first person of three different characters. She gets the differing voices just right - the main character Louise, a middle-aged Southern housewife, her rebellious free-spirited daughter Caroline, and the young mixed-race Christian Missy.
I liked the story itself, and way it was written but could have done w/o all the swearing and sex scenes in it. I would probably have given it a four if it weren't for that.
I don't know if there was a sequel to this story - if there is, disregard this. But I would like to have seen the revelations at the end of the story be explored and developed. Louise's choice not to do anything was quite disappointing to me and showed that really nothing had changed from her mother's generation to her in regards to racism in the South :(

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to Bound South, mostly because I thought it would be light and funny, an amusing alternative to the seriousness of life. One of the reviews in the book states, "From chapter one, you are in the unsentimental, annoying and enormously funny new South." I read almost eight chapters and I was still asking the same question: when does the "funny" start?

On the outside, this book was about a clash between new and old Southern manners and attitudes. However, I found it hard to have much sympathy for any of the characters, most of whom are born into a life of privilege. I couldn’t help but think about how these people had accumulated wealth and social position, but had really lost all that was valuable in life. Louise wonders why she is out of touch with God, but it clearly isn’t God who has moved away. She even has in her living room a giant portrait of Jesus wearing a prom dress done by a local folk artist whom she visits later in the book.

There is so much enlightened modernity involved in this thinking too; it is much more important to accumulate wealth and even to set aside Sunday morning for a roll in the hay than it was to bother believing in anything, much less going to church. I didn’t like Louise, someone who is vaguely trying to hold the household together, or the incredibly bratty yet beautiful Caroline, but I felt a bit sorry for Missy, someone whom I thought was black until the end of the book. However, after she steals the ceramic bird, she’s just another person rationalizing modern life. Personally I find all the early episodes a bit pathetic and empty.

The problem is that no one knows that there is anything wrong: it’s just modern life. In fact, Caroline’s high school, a prestigious Christian school (attended only because of its status) is mostly the brunt of jokes and a running commentary about Christian hypocrisy. After Caroline is caught giving a hummer to her teacher/director, Louise wants to defend her actions when the principal threatens to expel her. Louise goes so far as to call the principal a bitch, albeit not aloud. There’s nothing unusual about parents who come to school to protect their malefacting kids. Some of them are just like Louise, too and some of them probably use the same epithets. This is depicted as a modern and enlightened attitude, but I find it barren and disturbing, devoid of spiritual content and deeply troubled.

I certainly recognized the attitudes, some of the snottiness and the preconceived ideas in the way I grew up in the South. I wasn't terribly shocked by the dead transvestite, but the teenaged girl, Caroline, forced to give up sex so she could cheat on her math tests was a bit traumatic and made my blood boil. Even the third female voice of the book, Missy, the only practicing Christian, becomes a pathetic hypocrite in many ways. Oddly enough, until the end I thought the whole family was black. I am pretty sure that was the only place it was revealed.

I have to admit that I did enjoy the chapter intended perhaps as an homage to Flannery O’Connor, titled Every Woman Has Some Jesus in Her. Louise and her best friend Tiny get a bit buzzed one morning and then go to visit an artist in Milledgeville. When Louise discovers the artist lives in the house of his deceased mother alone with some fourteen cats, there are some funny lines such as Oh Lord. Tiny has trapped me in a house with a cat-loving Norman Bates.

A little further on as the artist explains his attachment to Christianity, he says, You see, I read this book that the shock of the gospels has worn off after all these years of us hearing it every Sunday. That’s why we get bored at church. That’s why we’re unmoved. So I got to thinking I might make me some Jesuses that would startle me into believing. I started with the party dress series, now I’ve moved on to this.
All this time I have been thinking that maybe people get bored with church because nothing in their impoverished lives belongs to God any more. Silly me!

In the book’s defense, the characters are realistic and the details are well combined. For the most part, the chapters tend to stand alone so that it is easy to pick up again where I left off. However, looking at the composition of the entire book, part one is spent on the early life and it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. In part two, Caroline has run away and matures in San Francisco (like I found that reasonable!) The parents visit their daughter and resolve things and we meet the only likable man in the entire book, Caroline’s first husband. After that we get into some of Missy and Charles’ adventures to find Missy’s real father. I did love the bit of humor that Charles was named Charlie Parker. Maybe it was another homage to the jazz great but maybe not.

Finally, in part three, one gets the impression that someone suggested that the author would have to end the book in some way. End it she does but in a somewhat unsatisfactory manner, an attempted denouement in a collective at a restaurant. It tries to state that this is their lives, warts and all. I don’t think it works mostly because I think the author had no idea of where she was going with the book when she started it.

I find myself liking none of the women, being able to generate only a limited amount of sympathy, and finding the tired cliché of all the men portrayed as shallow rat-finks somewhat overwrought. Thus I cannot even imagine Thomas Wolfe being worried about this book supplanting his reputation; it’s not a Look Homeward Angel by any stretch. If nothing else, this book is an easy read. I just can’t say that much of it was fun.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two things I love. Reading new authors and southern fiction. . I stumbled across this book online a couple months ago and was intrigued by its premise.

Louise is the mother of two children, living a cushy life in Atlanta with her lawyer husband and two children. Caroline is Louise's teenage daughter with a mind of her own. Missy is the young daughter of Louise's housekeeper who has her own ideas of how one should live their life. It's interesting to follow the lives of these three southern women through what becomes eight very important years in each of their lives.

As Louise's children are growing up, she realizes that her life is also changing. She begins to look back on the choices she has made, sometimes feeling regret. At the same time we learn a lot about her childhood and how she became the woman she is today. We meet Caroline when she is seventeen years old, very headstrong, thinking she has the world figured out. As the story unfolds we see her grow into a responsible adult and in her relationships even seemingly moving backward towards some of the patterns she used to criticize her mother for. Missy was very young when her father walked out on her and her mother without ever looking back. She always had the idea that one day he would come back and the bond between them would never again be broken. Missy's quest to find her dad is enlightening for her.

This is a book I enjoyed very much. Each cleverly titled chapter is written in the first person alternating between each of our three protagonists. This gives you a sense of who will be telling that part of the story. The year is also given to indicate how much time has passed since we last heard from them. This enables the story to move through time smoothly and without slow parts. This technique works wonderfully for this book. The story begins in 1999 and ends in 2008.

One of the things I liked about this book was the beautiful cover. It's vibrant colors and the femininity of the barefoot woman in a sundress carrying her high heel is appealing. They used the technique of the 'headless' girl, which is very popular with publishers these days. It gives an anonymity to the character, allowing the reader to form their own images in their minds eye.

I also liked the characters, but my favorite is Louise. I liked the way she dealt with the changes in her life as her children grew up and she realizes that there's more to her than being a mother and a wife. She's not afraid of new challenges. My favorite thing about this story is the bond that forms between Caroline and her mother. Louise wants Caroline to be true to herself and not sacrifice her dreams for someone else. She and Caroline also discover qualities in each other that were always there, but were skewed by normal parent/child conflicts.

This is a great book for anyone who loves southern fiction with equal parts of drama and humor. It's a quick read that I really enjoyed, mainly because I liked the characters. I wanted to keep reading to see what happened to them. I also liked the ending. I could picture it in my mind and I felt happily content upon finishing the book. This is Susan Rebecca White's first novel and I think it is very good. I will not hesitate to pick up her next book. She will always have a spot on my bookshelf.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say that Bound South is a group of connected short stories. There's not really one plot that connects the chapters. Instead, I would say that the author uses these stories, told from the points of view of three different Southern ladies, to explore issues they each face and how hard it can be to move past them, even when they try.

I thought the author did a fantastic job giving each character her own voice. With each story being written in first person, it was very important that she get this right and she did. Louise, the upper-class society matron who holds some surprising views; Caroline, her teenage daughter who is constantly seeking; and Missy, their housekeeper's daughter who tries to hold tight to religion in an increasingly sinful world. Each told her own story in her own way and had something to contribute to the story.

At times funny, sometimes sad, and always thought-provoking, some of the issues the women face are the obvious, such as race, sexual orientation/identity, poverty, religion, and a middle-aged woman's constantly shifting role in her children's lives. Some of the others are not so obvious, such as the surprising directions exploitation can come from, stupid choices that can affect your whole life, how sometimes you're not the only one who carries the weight of your sins, and how hard it is to watch your children make mistakes. But these women face each challenge as it comes, do the best they can, and try to learn from it.

I loved this passage, as Louise is thinking about her daughter:

"How do I tell her that what I want is to know her, to know the woman who made these birds, to see what she might become if she is allowed to spread out, to expand. How do I say, Darling, please. Don't shrink yourself so soon." (Emphasis is the author's)

But I like to feel a connection to the characters I'm reading about and that never happened for me in this book. I loved that I was forced to think about my own beliefs and values, but I did miss that connection. That's why I only gave it three stars. But readers who don't mind that and who want to see what a Southern woman has to say about some current issues, should pick this up.

[Judy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Susan Rebecca White has become my new top favorite author! BOUND SOUTH was so compelling and kept me laughing and entertained until the wee hours of the morning!

Being I am from the south (Carolinas) and spent my career living in Atlanta in the media industry and she was right on about stereotypes, old pretenses and the way they hide their true feelings.

Each of the main three characters was authentic and loved the first person narrative from each perspective. Wow, family secrets, scandals, and lots of humor and plenty of growth from the characters. I really started loving Louise by the end and would love to see a sequel as want to hear more from Missy and her dad and the possible connection to this family. Great writing!!!

I also love the tidbits of Atlanta as lived on Biscayne Drive off Peachtree in a high-rise (south of Peachtree Battle area) and could walk to Houston’s on Peachtree where she mentions as their place for celebration at the end of the book to praise her mother-in-law’s life. Love Ansley Park and makes me want to move back (since I now reside in South Florida). Sure miss the Silver Comet Bike Trail!

I would encourage readers to read all her books – I loved her latest – “A Place at the Table” (excellent). It has been some time since I read “A Soft Place to Land’ so may need to re-read. Looking forward to much more from this author!

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick and enjoyable read focusing on the lives of three women in present-day Atlanta, and how their lives intersect one another's. I ran across a review for this book in one of the magazines I subscribe to, and because the author of the review recommended it for people who enjoyed "The Help" (see previous review I wrote a few months ago), I decided to pick it up at the library. Like "The Help", the story in "Bound South" is told from three Southern women's viewpoints. I don't feel that "Bound South" confronted racial issues as head-on as "The Help" did, but these are intrinsic to the story nonetheless. Socio-economic stratification of Atlanta seemed more at the forefront here, in my opinion. White has a really engaging way of telling the story that makes you want to keep turning the pages (I read the entire ~350 pages in about three sittings). The one thing that really irked me was in two instances, she had characters saying "here, here" in response to toasts, when the proper spelling is "hear, hear"--These were in the last chapter of the book and I found that it distracted from my pleasant feelings of the story wrapping up. (Obviously, the editor missed this too, so not all of the blame rests on White.)

[Anne-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author was at the Decatur Book Fest last year - I didn't go but my mom did and she said that she felt so sorry for this lady because what's-her-face that wrote The Help was there too and she was the only one on the panel getting asked questions. I hate book covers with shoes on them. Do publishers think that the only way a woman will pick up a book is if there are a pair of shoes on the fucking front? This was a pretty good book though. One of the better known authors who had their review on the second page of the book said something like, "None of the characters were stereotypes." I agree - I think White should get lots of credit for originality. Also, another Atlanta book which makes me happy becuase I know where all the neighborhoods and stuff are that are mentioned . . . it makes me wonder how I deal with reading books that are based some place I've never been. So yeah, I liked Bound South despite the shoes. I would have given it four stars had the last chapter not turned me off so much . . . forced dialogue pisses me off more that shoes. No, wait. Shoes piss me off more.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read BOUND SOUTH while on four flights this past weekend, and it definitely took my mind off the hours in the air! The story is told from three different viewpoints and sometimes jumps ahead. I enjoyed Louise's chapters the most. She's the mother of Charles and Caroline, daughter-in-law of Nanny Rose. I enjoyed her perspective on being a Southern woman, and I admired how she changed and handled her children as the book went on. Caroline, the rebel child, also shares her POV, and I really liked her as a character until she makes a sudden turn that I didn't buy about two-thirds of the way in. The third point of view is Missy's. She's the daughter of Louise's maid, Faye, and also loosely tied to Louise in another way. I didn't find Missy's chapters as engaging, and I was always glad to get back to Louise, who seemed the strongest of the three anyway. All in all, a well-written novel of the South that made my flying time go by rather pleasantly.

[Ireland · Rating 2 out of 5]

A more accurate rating would be 1.5 stars. The writing is nice, but the story is non-existent. There is literally nothing happening in this book. The main character is flat and one-dimensional. Her daughter's life takes big shifts and there is no transition or explanation between events. The only interesting characters are only mentioned briefly. One young girl has an interesting situation, but she only gets a few chapters and no real ending to her story. The mother-in-law is great when you are introduced to her in the first chapter, that is what hooked me. Unfortunately, she then disappears until the end of the book. Even though there are plenty of events she would have had an interesting perspective on. The best friend is fun, but she gets too little ink.
Bottom line- I should have quit by page 25 and saved myself some time.

[MaryJo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been great chick lit but fell short. By the end of the book I felt like I was reading a diatribe by the author on her world views --- women without careers can't feel satisfied (and child rearing is burdensome), a person of faith is either a red neck or a nut, and abortion is the only common sense answer --- very whiney!

[Rachele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit predictable. Enjoyed reading about my Atlanta neighborhood and those surrounding me, although I did not relate to the characters!

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I LOVED this book. It's been sitting in my book case for years and upon cleaning said case out, I found this and decided to have a go. I am so happy that I did.

Set in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding areas, we meet our three narrators -- Louise, Caroline, and Missy. Each has their own stories to tell, yet all three of these ladies lives are woven together in different ways.

I love books set in the South. I love different narrators telling their tale. Louise, the main character in the book, seems to have the ideal life. She has married well, has money, has two children, Caroline and Charles. She wants for nothing...or does she have needs? The mother/daughter relationship between Louise and Caroline is not what she had hoped it would be. Missy is Louise's cleaning lady's daughter. She is young, helps her mom, and is super religious. When all three of them relate their life stories they knit together a fantastic story.

You will meet such great characters, in different situations. The writing is beautiful. You will laugh, you will cry, you will just enjoy a great read.

I honestly was surprised by how good this book was and hated to see it end. I am thankful that White has other books available that I have yet to enjoy.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean I did keep wanting to get back to it in a page-turny way.

It's very Atlanta, it has little bits of precise humanity observations sprinkled throughout, and it's got three women's points of view which weave the story together well.

I found Missy to be the least compelling character and narrator and her chapters got a bit tedious. Caroline was frustrating but fun to read. Louise was charming and flawed and trying her best in her way.

Everybody had issues and crazy things happening, usually in their homes and families, in that Designing Women kind of Southern way.

The opening chapter was such a weird loose end. And the explorations of racism and privilege were often...well maybe two stars at best.

I'd read another by this author.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe Georgia women are supposed to be more southern than us Texas ladies! lol but I disagree!
I read this book but kept expecting more to happen! I think Missy should have been left out or at least given more chapters at least to finally talk to her dad! Finally, in the last few pages of the last chapter a revelation is told about Missy's dad might be Louise half-brother! This should have been brought out more earlier in the book and dealt with! Maybe some rich southern women are very naïve like Louise but I doubt it!

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably more of a 2.5 stars. I almost put this book down after the first few chapters. I think the author was trying to make race and class a big theme for the book, but I don’t think she did it well. The three stories of Louise, Caroline, and Missy all just seemed to be unfinished and jumpy, especially Caroline and Missy’s. What unlikeable characters. I also have an extremely hard time believing that Caroline, for all of her independence and stubbornness, would have gotten married so young.

[Amy Cochran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read good reviews of this novel, I thought perhaps it was just me when I didn't share those sentiments. I rarely give up on a book, but after forcing myself into three restarts I got to page 85 and could go no further. I found this novel to be little more than a saga of serial foolish mistakes made in the name of pride and anger by characters with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The stereotypes cast upon these characters in every possible negative way are, in my humble opinion, embarrassing to the genre of Southern fiction.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tahought this was going to be much more humorous than it was. However, it was a good read about a family’s struggles in facing various contemporary society issues within the context of the southern society in Atlanta. One could tell the author knew Atlanta well Including the churches and schools. However, giving the elite prep school located on the south side of Atlanta a fictious name did not disguise it if one knew anything about Atlanta schools.

[Alisa Henrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another free book from a retiring middle school English teacher. I am sure glad I stopped at that table… I mean, who can pass up free books?! It is a good story with characters that you get to know and like! In fact, I would like to know what happens after the story ends as they travel down the road of life. It’s a great beach read- a lot like Anne Rivers Siddons’ books! Sit back and enjoy!!

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really sure who gave this book to me. It is one that should be read when you have lots of time to read and you don't use it as a "go to" book when you are out of other books. I found it hard to follow as I read it over a long period of time. The story line was kind of hard to follow even when I finally took the time to finish reading it.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story - but silly, silly, silly. The references to Atlanta are SO forced - as if to prove to the reader that the author knows the area and wants us southerners to love the book because we know the streets and the restaurants. The story is trite - oh, poor, poor rich people! Such Buckhead problems! The ending wraps up just as the matriarch would have it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out I CAN enjoy a book even though the author forces her liberal views on the reader. It painted most Southerners as either rich or poor, and straight and close-minded or gay and snarky. But I still liked it. It was a difficult book, with all the characters in some sort of turmoil, so be ready for that.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting weaving of plot lines and different times. Sometimes it took me a minute to make the switch because she would leave on a cliffhanger scene, and then start a different year/POV. Ultimately she did tie it altogether and it was so interesting, but I prefer not to have blanks filled in later. 🤣

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was a good story. It was filled with fun and relatable characters and I enjoyed the author's writing style. There week a lot of details and language that I didn't think added anything to the story and it gave the story a lower class, cheap feel to it....

[Rex Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I had read another of her's (A Place at the Table), and I couldn't help thinking that another work by her would have the same effect on me. I was wrong, though. This wasn't a bad read, it just didn't live up to A Place at the Table.