Southern Sin: True Stories of the Sultry South and Women Behaving Badly

by Lee Gutkind (Editor), Beth Ann Fennelly (Editor), Dorothy Allison (Introduction)

23 strange-but-true stories of women flirting with perdition... In the steamy South, temptation is as wild and plentiful as kudzu. Whether the sin in question is skinny-dipping or becoming an unlikely porn star, running rum or renting out a room to a pair of exhibitionistic adulterers, in these true stories women defy tradition and forge their own paths through life—often learning unexpected lessons from the experience.

As Dorothy Allison writes in her introduction, “The most dangerous stories are the true ones, the ones we hesitate to tell, the adventures laden with fear or shame or the relentless pull of regret. Some of those are about things that we are secretly deeply proud to have done.”

A diverse array of contributors—mothers, daughters, sisters, best friends, fiancées, divorcees, professors, poets, lifeguards-in-training, lapsed Baptists, tipsy debutantes, middle-aged lesbians—lend their voices to this collection. Introspective and abashed, joyous and triumphant (but almost never apologetic), they remind us that sin, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Genres: Anthologies, Nonfiction

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Lee Gutkind has been recognized by Vanity Fair as “the godfather behind creative nonfiction.” A prolific writer, he has authored and edited over twenty-five books, and is the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, the first and largest literary magazine to publish only narrative nonfiction. Gutkind has received grants, honors, and awards from numerous organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. A man of many talents, Gutkind has been a motorcyclist, medical insider, sports expert, sailor, and college professor. He is currently distinguished writer in residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University and a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

Reviews

[sarah gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know, it's a book with my essay in it, I'm hardly going to give it one star. But not only is my essay, 'No Other Gods,' objectively good (I maintain); the whole compilation is an illuminating, thought-provoking, highly-scented description of what it is to be a woman in the south in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Longer review to come when I'm not typing with my thumb.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was a fun read. Various naughty tales of women in the south. Each short story tells of encounters, questions and thoughtful reflections on true accounts that vary in degrees of sultriness.

[Dee brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. I didn't finish it.

[Kme_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book from first reads.I liked this book. Like any collection some are better then other. However , all are well written. I love the feeling of this book. In every story you can almost picture the south from the way the speak to the scenery. As a southern myself i really enjoyed that. However it did take me a little bit to get in the flow with this book. Fast read when you do get into it. I recommend this one for anyone looking for good short stories and it makes a great summer fun read.

[Randall Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway. It was an easy book to get through due to the shortness of the stories, but the content wasn't all that engaging. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, but others fell short of expectations. Though there might be some people who find it more interesting, this just simply wasn't a book I would typically read.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

liked: The On Ramp
Dancing in New Orleans

Rum-Running Queen
Willie drove muscle car to occupy cops while moonshine did their business.
They moved 1 million gallons of whiskey and 100 million gallons of moonshine.
She went to court but witnesses blamed Capone and she went free. Willie retired and disappeared.

[Lisa Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-curated collection of non-fiction essays. Current and telling about women's experiences, I'd recommend this for female readers.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well curated diverse collection of women's writing -- Short essays made it good bedtime reading.