Appalachee Red: A Novel

by Raymond Andrews, Benny Andrews (Illustrator), Richard Bausch (Foreword by)

Bawdy and sometimes horrifying, hilarious on the way to being tragic, Raymond Andrews's Muskhogean County novels tell of black life in the Deep South from the end of the First World War to the beginning of the 1960s, from the days of mules and white men with bullwhips to the moment when the pendulum began to swing.

Andrews's first novel, Appalachee Red , is one of hard labor in the midday sun and sweet jukebox nights, of howling passion and gunpoint negotiations, of a mean white sheriff and of the enormous red-skinned black man who changed it all.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Southern, African American

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think this book as good as the other part of this trilogy that I've read, "Rosibelle Lee Wildcat Tennessee", but that's not to say that it isn't a very good novel indeed. The dialogue is not as extensive as in the other novel, probably because the title protagonist is known for being quite laconic, but the description are just as rich and lusty.

[Michael W Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good novel

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing novel. It tells it like it was for rural African Americans in the rural South in the early and mid 20th Century.

[Girard Bowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended to me by my b-i-l. What an excellent read! Appalachee Red is an almost mythic character. Most of what we know about him comes from the observations of and rare interactions with other people. The characterizations of major and minor players (and there are many) are well-done, with a wealth of detail - the story is foremost and never flags.

Andrews is a particularly gifted storyteller. His narrative voice hits all the right notes, telling a tale of a black community in Appalachee, Georgia, from about 1945 to 1963. Andrews' brother Benny did the most wonderful line drawings.

[George Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel falls in my top twenty of all time. The writing is precise, the storyline is compelling.
This book actually came out in October of 1978 by Dial Press, I have a publisher's edition with a typed letter from Dial Press introducing Raymond Andrews.
My only regret is that the author did not follow up with a sequel that included Apalachee Red.

[Kathy Kattenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is many things, but what jumps out the most to me is how it shows the poisonous, twisted interrelationship between race hatred and sex. Incest and twisted connections between men and women run all through the novel.

Raymond Andrews' lively, colloquial writing style, and Benny Andrews' humorous line drawings make reading "Appalachee Red" a pleasure.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see the the writining is superb. And characters are so well drawn. It is just that I did not want to read any more abouthow tough it is growing up Black. Maybe someday I will come back to it.

[Romaine Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

While working in the local public library in the early 90s, I came across this gem and then read them all. I loved his work, this book is very entertaining. Very lively characters and set in Georgia. Worth reading and his brother is the illustrator. I was very disappointed when he committed suicide.

[Nadine Brown]

2/19/11 Requested from Mtn View Library Links Sys

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!!