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Sweet and Low: Stories
At first glance, the stories in Sweet and Low seem grounded in the everyday: they paint pictures of idyllic Southern landscapes, characters fulfilling their roles as students, wives, boyfriends, sons. But they are not what they seem. In these stories, Nick White deconstructs the core qualities of Southern fiction, exposing deeply flawed and fascinating characters—promiscuous academics, aging podcasters, woodpecker assassins, and lawnmower enthusiasts, among others—all on wildly compelling quests. From finding an elusive bear to locating a prized timepiece to making love on the grave of an iconic writer, each story is a thrilling adventure with unexpected turns. White's honest and provocative prose will jolt readers awake with its urgency.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2018
48 people are currently reading
1850 people want to read
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Nick White
40 books23 followersLibrarian note: This page contains works from multiple authors with the same name
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
February 13, 2018
I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars.
The characters in Nick White's soon-to-be-published story collection Sweet and Low are all trying to figure out their next steps. These are all different kinds of people—widows, ex-lovers (or on the verge of becoming ex-lovers), teenagers, men become rapidly disillusioned with the path their lives are taking—yet each struggles with questions, decisions that could impact their lives.
I first became familiar with White's writing when I read his debut novel, How to Survive a Summer (see my original review), last year. That story, about a young man who can't seem to shake the experience of attending a gay conversion camp when he was younger, had a searing, haunting quality at times, and demonstrated White's talent for creating powerful emotion in quiet moments.
White's stories don't share the same subject, but they reinforce his talent, and I found many of them tremendously compelling, poignant, and beautifully told. The first half of the collection is composed of miscellaneous stories; linked stories comprise the second half, following Forney Culpepper from boyhood to disillusioned adulthood. Some of the stories are longer than others, and some honestly felt like they could be expanded into full-length novels.
Among my favorite stories in the collection were: "The Lovers," which follows a widow trying to figure out life without her husband, and his lover, who has become obsessed with getting back a family heirloom he gave the man before his death; "These Heavenly Bodies," about a troubled adolescent who is bewitched by a beautiful pair of conjoined twins; "The Exaggerations," which tells of a young boy living with his aunt and uncle, and only starting to understand the mysterious paths adults travel; "Gatlinburg," about a couple trying to give their relationship one more try on a vacation to the Smoky Mountains; "Break," the story of three college friends who get more than they bargained for on a weekend trip; and "Lady Tigers," in which a high school senior haunted by family scandal can't keep his mind off the school's basketball coach—with disastrous consequences.
I'm not always a fan of linked stories, but I thought they worked well here. White's characters are tremendously appealing, and at times I found myself disappointed that a story ended because I wanted to know more of what happened to the characters. I always view that as a mark of a talented writer. One warning: two of the stories have brief moments of animal cruelty—the stories don't glorify it, and both incidents are over quite quickly, but I know some people like to be prepared.
Even when a story didn't quite click for me, I was still drawn to White's writing ability, his ability to draw me in. He's definitely going to be an author whose career I'll continue to follow, and I hope this collection earns him some notice. Once again, I am reminded of why I love reading short stories.
NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
The characters in Nick White's soon-to-be-published story collection Sweet and Low are all trying to figure out their next steps. These are all different kinds of people—widows, ex-lovers (or on the verge of becoming ex-lovers), teenagers, men become rapidly disillusioned with the path their lives are taking—yet each struggles with questions, decisions that could impact their lives.
I first became familiar with White's writing when I read his debut novel, How to Survive a Summer (see my original review), last year. That story, about a young man who can't seem to shake the experience of attending a gay conversion camp when he was younger, had a searing, haunting quality at times, and demonstrated White's talent for creating powerful emotion in quiet moments.
White's stories don't share the same subject, but they reinforce his talent, and I found many of them tremendously compelling, poignant, and beautifully told. The first half of the collection is composed of miscellaneous stories; linked stories comprise the second half, following Forney Culpepper from boyhood to disillusioned adulthood. Some of the stories are longer than others, and some honestly felt like they could be expanded into full-length novels.
Among my favorite stories in the collection were: "The Lovers," which follows a widow trying to figure out life without her husband, and his lover, who has become obsessed with getting back a family heirloom he gave the man before his death; "These Heavenly Bodies," about a troubled adolescent who is bewitched by a beautiful pair of conjoined twins; "The Exaggerations," which tells of a young boy living with his aunt and uncle, and only starting to understand the mysterious paths adults travel; "Gatlinburg," about a couple trying to give their relationship one more try on a vacation to the Smoky Mountains; "Break," the story of three college friends who get more than they bargained for on a weekend trip; and "Lady Tigers," in which a high school senior haunted by family scandal can't keep his mind off the school's basketball coach—with disastrous consequences.
I'm not always a fan of linked stories, but I thought they worked well here. White's characters are tremendously appealing, and at times I found myself disappointed that a story ended because I wanted to know more of what happened to the characters. I always view that as a mark of a talented writer. One warning: two of the stories have brief moments of animal cruelty—the stories don't glorify it, and both incidents are over quite quickly, but I know some people like to be prepared.
Even when a story didn't quite click for me, I was still drawn to White's writing ability, his ability to draw me in. He's definitely going to be an author whose career I'll continue to follow, and I hope this collection earns him some notice. Once again, I am reminded of why I love reading short stories.
NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
May 25, 2018
The short story… what a wonderful medium for the written word. A subject not always wholly developed. Just enough to tantalize and tease.
May is Short Story Month. Reading Sweet and Low is a wonderful way to celebrate it. The stories are not ‘sweet’ however. Each one seems to speak of a difficult subject. Certainly not for the faint of heart. But the writing is exquisite and the thoughts are honest, though frequently troublesome.
My favorite of all the stories was the fourth: THESE HEAVENLY BODIES. Its plot kept me mesmerized as Benjamin thought of and encountered the Cade sisters.
Others are good too. They describe relationships with peers, parents and others!!
And the stories, shortly described, ARE:
PART I HEAVENLY BODIES
THE LOVERS
Do you really want to know a person? This question is asked and maybe answered!!
COTTONMOUTH, TRAPJAW, WATER MOCCASIN
The snake – not ALWAYS bad.
GATLINBURG
Bears and Love?
THESE HEAVENLY BODIES
Benjamin and the Cade sisters
PART II THE EXAGGERATIONS
SWEET AND LOW
Forney and Mama, the singer
THE EXAGGERATIONS
Forney and Uncle Lucas, the exaggerator
What a quote: ‘my uncle could stretch the truth so thin that you could read the newspaper through it.’
BREAK
Forney, Regan and Tucker – one spring break at Mama’s house
LADY TIGERS
Forney, the coach, and Rusty, the team bus driver. And, the Lady Tigers, are a ______ team. On page 1, I assumed wrong. The clue was on page 2.
THE CURATOR
The Author – never identified, but he IS, at least loosely, based on someone famous. And the narrator of this story is the curator of his museum home.
THE LAST OF HIS KIND
An American ivory-billed woodpecker comes to call.
***********
Nick White really knows how to turn a phrase. I recommend this book.
4.25 stars
May is Short Story Month. Reading Sweet and Low is a wonderful way to celebrate it. The stories are not ‘sweet’ however. Each one seems to speak of a difficult subject. Certainly not for the faint of heart. But the writing is exquisite and the thoughts are honest, though frequently troublesome.
My favorite of all the stories was the fourth: THESE HEAVENLY BODIES. Its plot kept me mesmerized as Benjamin thought of and encountered the Cade sisters.
Others are good too. They describe relationships with peers, parents and others!!
And the stories, shortly described, ARE:
PART I HEAVENLY BODIES
THE LOVERS
Do you really want to know a person? This question is asked and maybe answered!!
COTTONMOUTH, TRAPJAW, WATER MOCCASIN
The snake – not ALWAYS bad.
GATLINBURG
Bears and Love?
THESE HEAVENLY BODIES
Benjamin and the Cade sisters
PART II THE EXAGGERATIONS
SWEET AND LOW
Forney and Mama, the singer
THE EXAGGERATIONS
Forney and Uncle Lucas, the exaggerator
What a quote: ‘my uncle could stretch the truth so thin that you could read the newspaper through it.’
BREAK
Forney, Regan and Tucker – one spring break at Mama’s house
LADY TIGERS
Forney, the coach, and Rusty, the team bus driver. And, the Lady Tigers, are a ______ team. On page 1, I assumed wrong. The clue was on page 2.
THE CURATOR
The Author – never identified, but he IS, at least loosely, based on someone famous. And the narrator of this story is the curator of his museum home.
THE LAST OF HIS KIND
An American ivory-billed woodpecker comes to call.
***********
Nick White really knows how to turn a phrase. I recommend this book.
4.25 stars
June 21, 2019
It's rare to find a short story collection where you enjoy pretty much every story. But honestly, I think there were maybe 2 in this that I didn't like too much. So glad I picked this up as it's been on my tbr for ages!
May 6, 2018
Nick White's short story collection is an important contribution to Southern Gothic literature. Filled with flawed and often haunted characters across the Delta, both the mundane and the oddities of everyday is found here.
The second half of the book contains stories that are interconnected with many of the same characters, focusing on important moments in their lives and revealing information that paint a clearer picture of previous stories.
That being said, short stories are hit or miss for me. While I see the value of this collection, the abrupt endings without resolutions left me unable to connect with the characters or their stories on even a basic level.
Thanks to the Penguin Random House for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The second half of the book contains stories that are interconnected with many of the same characters, focusing on important moments in their lives and revealing information that paint a clearer picture of previous stories.
That being said, short stories are hit or miss for me. While I see the value of this collection, the abrupt endings without resolutions left me unable to connect with the characters or their stories on even a basic level.
Thanks to the Penguin Random House for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 3, 2020
I attended a book talk at my local indie store, Gramercy Books, in January 2020 in order to discover some anticipated works coming out later this year. While all four of the panelists were well-read and gave me a delightful list of books to tackle, author and OSU MFA professor Nick White presented his selections in a compelling, entertaining manner. I felt like his tastes were synonymous with mine. Ultimately, it made me curious to read his work, too.
Right as school shut down and I learned that the local library would close (indefinitely), I rushed out to grab a "quarantine stash," and as I wandered the stacks looking to throw a few additional books on the pile, White's pink and yellow spine winked at me from the back corner of the library. I added it, headed home, wiped down my books, and began my adventures to finish my stack.
Admittedly, I sometimes struggle with short story collections, I think because the prose can be uneven or because you want some kind of underlying thematic connection or signature stylistic moves, and you find yourself saying, "This didn't quite work." Such is the case with a short story collection I borrowed when I still lived in Hawaii (both borrower and lender are now in Ohio...and someday, I will get this one returned...but for now, What Is Not Ours Is Not Ours still sits on the nightstand, partially read).
Not the case with White - whoa, he delivered! Every story in his collection was artfully and seamlessly executed, and it filled that void that I'm always left with when I finish reading the southern greats like O'Connor, Welty, Capote, and Faulkner. Back when I was in high school, I think I drove the librarians berserk, asking them to search for something that would satisfy me as much as To Kill a Mockingbird had. Eventually, they pointed me to Carson McCullers, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter buoyed me after feeling like I was swimming aimlessly for so long. I feel like Nick White is worthy of inclusion among this contingent. Also, I can't pinpoint it, but there was something about the way he writes that I feel like demonstrates his skill both as writer and also as instructor of writing. I would venture to guess that his students love his class. With Sweet & Low, I juggled this at the same time as other books, occasionally assigning myself a story per day. In retrospect, I regret this approach because I think I would have appreciated it even more if I had tackled it the way I do with singular stories.
Right as school shut down and I learned that the local library would close (indefinitely), I rushed out to grab a "quarantine stash," and as I wandered the stacks looking to throw a few additional books on the pile, White's pink and yellow spine winked at me from the back corner of the library. I added it, headed home, wiped down my books, and began my adventures to finish my stack.
Admittedly, I sometimes struggle with short story collections, I think because the prose can be uneven or because you want some kind of underlying thematic connection or signature stylistic moves, and you find yourself saying, "This didn't quite work." Such is the case with a short story collection I borrowed when I still lived in Hawaii (both borrower and lender are now in Ohio...and someday, I will get this one returned...but for now, What Is Not Ours Is Not Ours still sits on the nightstand, partially read).
Not the case with White - whoa, he delivered! Every story in his collection was artfully and seamlessly executed, and it filled that void that I'm always left with when I finish reading the southern greats like O'Connor, Welty, Capote, and Faulkner. Back when I was in high school, I think I drove the librarians berserk, asking them to search for something that would satisfy me as much as To Kill a Mockingbird had. Eventually, they pointed me to Carson McCullers, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter buoyed me after feeling like I was swimming aimlessly for so long. I feel like Nick White is worthy of inclusion among this contingent. Also, I can't pinpoint it, but there was something about the way he writes that I feel like demonstrates his skill both as writer and also as instructor of writing. I would venture to guess that his students love his class. With Sweet & Low, I juggled this at the same time as other books, occasionally assigning myself a story per day. In retrospect, I regret this approach because I think I would have appreciated it even more if I had tackled it the way I do with singular stories.
February 4, 2022
The second portion of this collection is far better than the first. It’s very Faulkner in that it just seems wild but there is hidden meaning behind it. What that meaning is I have absolutely no idea. This is a very niche writing style that you either love or hate. I definitely recognize the greatness of White’s writing, but I think I just get too lost in it and not in a good way.
February 9, 2019
The Lovers, Gatlinburg, The Exaggerations, and Break are four vivid stories stepped in realism. “The Lovers” begins in death. A radio host named Rosemary dedicates a tribute to her late husband Arnie. She also finds his another intimate life beyond what he represented to her. This story sets the tone for the rest of the collection which delves into the bridge between image and reality.
The familiar idols: football star, story writer, story teller, weathered matriarch, and disgruntled father are common to the type of “local color” in the Deep South. In White’s case, Mississippi.
White’s writing presents his characters’ flaws but also their neuroses. “Sweet and Low”, the short story for which the collection is named, centers around a forlorn mother who wants desperately to resurrect a singing career. Her love affair with a popular country DJ sends her on adventure that stretches the bounds of her relationship with her son, Forney.
Forney and his mother discover more about their unhealed past and fight to hope for a new beginning while still holding on loosely to their mutual present. I characterize White’s collection as regional color because it feels very much like a more elaborate, more visceral catalog akin to “Rosemary’s Baby”. He writes with compassion about GLBT characters. Forney Culpepper is the picaresque star of this collection. He’s the guy trying to correct a decades old past deep in the heart of Mississippi.
The familiar idols: football star, story writer, story teller, weathered matriarch, and disgruntled father are common to the type of “local color” in the Deep South. In White’s case, Mississippi.
White’s writing presents his characters’ flaws but also their neuroses. “Sweet and Low”, the short story for which the collection is named, centers around a forlorn mother who wants desperately to resurrect a singing career. Her love affair with a popular country DJ sends her on adventure that stretches the bounds of her relationship with her son, Forney.
Forney and his mother discover more about their unhealed past and fight to hope for a new beginning while still holding on loosely to their mutual present. I characterize White’s collection as regional color because it feels very much like a more elaborate, more visceral catalog akin to “Rosemary’s Baby”. He writes with compassion about GLBT characters. Forney Culpepper is the picaresque star of this collection. He’s the guy trying to correct a decades old past deep in the heart of Mississippi.
June 20, 2019
I did not click with these at all. I just couldn't figure out what White was trying to say with most of these. They all read as if they had the same protagonist at different stages of his life - and then one section of this book did exactly that except on purpose. Neither way really worked for me. I wish White had just focused in on one narrative and written this as a novel instead. Perhaps it would have been more impactful.
June 27, 2019
I loved this collection. The independent stories worked well for me, and I always like linked stories, so the second part of the book was very satisfying. "The Exaggerations" is a gut-punch that broke my heart, but all of these stories are strong.
July 12, 2018
One of the best books I’ve read to date. Vibrant character development. Made me miss the Deep South.
July 6, 2018
Southern. Gothic. Goodness.
Southern writers are the world's best storytellers.
Nick White will only get better.
Southern writers are the world's best storytellers.
Nick White will only get better.
December 17, 2018
[3.5 stars] I heard Nick White speak at the Texas Book Festival this year and I was intrigued by how he spoke about his characters as queer people who didn’t leave the South and still lived full, meaningful lives; he countered the idea that LGBT people need to leave the south (in his book, Mississippi) to go elsewhere (NYC, etc). The first half of the book is independent stories and the second half is linked stories. Overall, I preferred the first half, in particular: Cottonmouth and Gatlinburg but The Exaggerations from the second half broke my heart.
May 5, 2018
I decided to rate each story of this collection individually and then round out their total for the book as a whole. Taking into account the rating of each story individually, this book gets 3.4 stars from me. Essentially, that means it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great. For the most part, the stories in this collection were just okay. I found the first stories in this collection to be the best ones. I can confidently say I really enjoyed Cottonmouth, Trapjaw, Water Moccasin; Gatlinburg; and Sweet and Low. The rest of the stories were a hit or miss for me. In addition, considering the fact that most of the stories in this collection were interconnected, I couldn't understand why this wasn't a novel. it didn't make a lot of sense for this to be a collection of short stories when, a lot of the time, we were dealing with the same characters. It was just odd. Another thing about this book that bothered me was that most of the stories ended abruptly. Their endings were either unsatisfactory or too sudden for me to enjoy.
In the end, I only wish the stories had been as good in the second half of this book as in the first half.
I'll include under spoilers my brief thoughts on each story individually.
The Lovers // 3 stars
Um. So that was something. I can't say I enjoyed it much. Personally, unless I'm reading a mystery or thriller, I hate reading about people being such a huge mess that they make disturbing decisions. This little story delivered two messed up characters essentially stalking each other, and it was just weird. Stalking is not cute nor normal, so I can't help but find Hank and Rosemary to be mildly unhinged. Normal people don't stalk and/or break into people's houses. Just saying. I know this is meant to be a collection of stories of people when they're at their lowest, but I'd much rather deal with people being a**holes because they're messed up over something than being creeps. That's all. Also. I felt like White was trying too hard to give Rosemary a personality while he gave Hank a personality without coming across as forceful. . . Anyway. The uncertainty of the ending was pretty rad, I must admit.
Cottonmouth, Trapjaw, Water Moccasin // 4 stars
I really enjoyed this story. It was strange as hell, but I kind of liked that about it. In the end, I couldn't help but feel like Pete got what he had coming. The uncertainty of what happens to him, though, I think added a nice touch to this short story.
Gatlinburg // 4.5 stars
This was another good one. It showcased the sort of mild horror experience of staying in a relationship with someone only because you're too scared of not finding someone else. Mostly, I felt sad while reading this story. Both of the characters felt so estranged with one another that I couldn't help but feel like they would be better off apart. The fact that the tension between them brewed and then spilled over in the form of a fight only felt natural, so did the aftermath of the fight. I thoroughly wish this story had been a bit longer.
These Heavenly Bodies // no rating
I cannot safely give this short story a star rating. As a whole, it was too bizarre and strange for me. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to get out of it. I found it very disturbing how Benjamin was kind of micro-obsessed with Bella and Beth. It just...No. I have no more to say about this story.
Sweet and Low // 4 stars
There was something so melancholy about this story. The writing style, the word choice, sort of made me a bit sad from the beginning. It's the sort of sadness that comes from the inevitable. You could slowly see where the story was going and it was mildly upsetting, but you weren't left hoping for anything else. To me, it felt like a story about the inevitable*. About how things just sort of happen in a predictable manner and we're sometimes helpless to change that pattern.
The Exaggerations // 3.7 stars
The ending of this story really got to me. The last paragraph was really impactful. It was sad. The whole story was about how we wish things were more beautiful in real life than they actually are. I can't say I enjoyed the out of chronological order aspect of this story, but I still liked this story as a whole. The writing was good and I was invested in what would happen to the characters. The ending felt bittersweet.
Break // 2.5 stars
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this story. Often times, when the behavior of characters feels bizarre to me, I tend to not enjoy a story/book/whatever. That's what happened with this story. I couldn't understand Regan. I couldn't understand Forney. When they finally started making sense, they backtracked and turned incomprehensible again. I just couldn't get it. The whole story made me feel uncomfortable. The dynamic between Tucker, Regan, and Forney didn't make sense. The only time they made sense was when they had a threesome, and then things immediately fell apart after that and I just couldn't make sense of it all.
Lady Tigers // 3 stars
This story was just okay. There was nothing exceptional about it, but nothing quite terrible to it. It felt like it didn't really go anywhere, so I didn't really see the point of it. The fact that Rusty's father had molested/raped one of the girls on the team didn't really have any emotional impact. Nor did Rusty going "I didn't know!" over and over have any emotional impact either. Overall, it was meh.
The Curator // 2.5 stars
This story annoyed me. The narrator felt too much like a straight white male, and it infuriated me. I couldn't get past it. Whenever I started to be able to focus on the actual story, he would do or say something that would just make me think "Ugh. This straight white man. I can't deal with him." Apart from that, the story was meh. I would have enjoyed the story of the Author more if it had not been narrated by a character. If this had been solely about the Author, I would have actually liked it. As it stands, though, I can't say this story was truly enjoyable.
The Last of His Kind // 3.5 stars
This was...something. It had the perfect mixture of pleasantness and unpleasantness. I liked watching the trainwreck Culpepper had become. It made a tragic sort of sense that he ended up back in his old childhood home, living with his mother and his only son. I also found the story of Barfoot interesting. The way it all came to an end just. . . It was only logical.
In the end, I only wish the stories had been as good in the second half of this book as in the first half.
I'll include under spoilers my brief thoughts on each story individually.
The Lovers // 3 stars
Um. So that was something. I can't say I enjoyed it much. Personally, unless I'm reading a mystery or thriller, I hate reading about people being such a huge mess that they make disturbing decisions. This little story delivered two messed up characters essentially stalking each other, and it was just weird. Stalking is not cute nor normal, so I can't help but find Hank and Rosemary to be mildly unhinged. Normal people don't stalk and/or break into people's houses. Just saying. I know this is meant to be a collection of stories of people when they're at their lowest, but I'd much rather deal with people being a**holes because they're messed up over something than being creeps. That's all. Also. I felt like White was trying too hard to give Rosemary a personality while he gave Hank a personality without coming across as forceful. . . Anyway. The uncertainty of the ending was pretty rad, I must admit.
Cottonmouth, Trapjaw, Water Moccasin // 4 stars
I really enjoyed this story. It was strange as hell, but I kind of liked that about it. In the end, I couldn't help but feel like Pete got what he had coming. The uncertainty of what happens to him, though, I think added a nice touch to this short story.
Gatlinburg // 4.5 stars
This was another good one. It showcased the sort of mild horror experience of staying in a relationship with someone only because you're too scared of not finding someone else. Mostly, I felt sad while reading this story. Both of the characters felt so estranged with one another that I couldn't help but feel like they would be better off apart. The fact that the tension between them brewed and then spilled over in the form of a fight only felt natural, so did the aftermath of the fight. I thoroughly wish this story had been a bit longer.
These Heavenly Bodies // no rating
I cannot safely give this short story a star rating. As a whole, it was too bizarre and strange for me. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to get out of it. I found it very disturbing how Benjamin was kind of micro-obsessed with Bella and Beth. It just...No. I have no more to say about this story.
Sweet and Low // 4 stars
There was something so melancholy about this story. The writing style, the word choice, sort of made me a bit sad from the beginning. It's the sort of sadness that comes from the inevitable. You could slowly see where the story was going and it was mildly upsetting, but you weren't left hoping for anything else. To me, it felt like a story about the inevitable*. About how things just sort of happen in a predictable manner and we're sometimes helpless to change that pattern.
The Exaggerations // 3.7 stars
The ending of this story really got to me. The last paragraph was really impactful. It was sad. The whole story was about how we wish things were more beautiful in real life than they actually are. I can't say I enjoyed the out of chronological order aspect of this story, but I still liked this story as a whole. The writing was good and I was invested in what would happen to the characters. The ending felt bittersweet.
Break // 2.5 stars
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this story. Often times, when the behavior of characters feels bizarre to me, I tend to not enjoy a story/book/whatever. That's what happened with this story. I couldn't understand Regan. I couldn't understand Forney. When they finally started making sense, they backtracked and turned incomprehensible again. I just couldn't get it. The whole story made me feel uncomfortable. The dynamic between Tucker, Regan, and Forney didn't make sense. The only time they made sense was when they had a threesome, and then things immediately fell apart after that and I just couldn't make sense of it all.
Lady Tigers // 3 stars
This story was just okay. There was nothing exceptional about it, but nothing quite terrible to it. It felt like it didn't really go anywhere, so I didn't really see the point of it. The fact that Rusty's father had molested/raped one of the girls on the team didn't really have any emotional impact. Nor did Rusty going "I didn't know!" over and over have any emotional impact either. Overall, it was meh.
The Curator // 2.5 stars
This story annoyed me. The narrator felt too much like a straight white male, and it infuriated me. I couldn't get past it. Whenever I started to be able to focus on the actual story, he would do or say something that would just make me think "Ugh. This straight white man. I can't deal with him." Apart from that, the story was meh. I would have enjoyed the story of the Author more if it had not been narrated by a character. If this had been solely about the Author, I would have actually liked it. As it stands, though, I can't say this story was truly enjoyable.
The Last of His Kind // 3.5 stars
This was...something. It had the perfect mixture of pleasantness and unpleasantness. I liked watching the trainwreck Culpepper had become. It made a tragic sort of sense that he ended up back in his old childhood home, living with his mother and his only son. I also found the story of Barfoot interesting. The way it all came to an end just. . . It was only logical.
March 19, 2019
(4.5 stars!) really interesting portraiture of queer masculinity in the south, and the prose is crisp and clean.
April 1, 2020
Really enjoyed this collection of contemporary southern gothic short stories.
March 3, 2024
This book was better than I expected! The stories within these pages was full of unexpected tales that will captivate many readers. Definitely a great summer read or something to pick up and read during breaks. It's definitely worth putting it on your TBR shelf!😉❤️📚
May 29, 2018
This book is published in two parts, and, although I normally find that type of thing to be gratuitous in story collections, in this case it works. The obvious, superficial reason that it works is that the second half of the book features a recurring cast of characters, all of whom are absent in the first half. But the better reason to separate the book into two parts is that the second part is, in my opinion, unquestionably stronger and more compelling than the first.
On my reading, the first half feels like a trip through Generic MFA Writer-land, with only the sparsest of indicators that the author has any particular voice or perspective. One of these stories didn't even feel like a story to me but seemed instead to be a set piece in search of a story. By the time I reached the second block of stories, I was almost ready to write White off altogether - honestly, you can find Generic MFA Writer stories any which way you turn these days, and I've never found them to be terribly appealing in the first place.
But in the second half of the book, White redeems himself somewhat by allowing his voice to come through a little. I'd still like to see him do even better - overall, I find that his narrative voice varies little to none across age, socioeconomic, and sexual lines, which is slightly disappointing; I think that his dialogue, likewise, often does little to establish character, tone, or setting; his cadences and structures continue to feel very MFA-ish almost all the way through; and so on - but in the second half of the book you can at least see that he has clear potential.
His strengths, in my mind, are these: he doesn't shy away from difficult subjects (be they philosophical, political, or other), he knows the territory and culture that he's writing about, his southern voice has the wryness and ache that you'd want from a southern writer, and every so often he finds a very poetic turn of phrase. The downsides, however, are that he sometimes seems to trust that his subject matter means more to the reader than the prose and that for the most part his voice is, to reiterate, muted and restrained by what seems to be his training.
Basically, in short, I'd say that White is suffering from Ben Folds syndrome. If I had to sum up this collection, I'd use one of the lyrics from Folds's immortal "Best Imitation of Myself": "Do you think I should take a class," White seems to be asking, "to lose my southern accent?" But whereas Folds got away with homogenizing himself, I don't think that White can or should try to do the same. I'll remember his name for the future, but, to be honest, unless his next book strikes me with the force of its southern-ness right off the bat, I might avoid it just to save myself the frustration of knowing the distance between White's potential and his reality.
(Incidentally, I received this book through this site's giveaway program.)
On my reading, the first half feels like a trip through Generic MFA Writer-land, with only the sparsest of indicators that the author has any particular voice or perspective. One of these stories didn't even feel like a story to me but seemed instead to be a set piece in search of a story. By the time I reached the second block of stories, I was almost ready to write White off altogether - honestly, you can find Generic MFA Writer stories any which way you turn these days, and I've never found them to be terribly appealing in the first place.
But in the second half of the book, White redeems himself somewhat by allowing his voice to come through a little. I'd still like to see him do even better - overall, I find that his narrative voice varies little to none across age, socioeconomic, and sexual lines, which is slightly disappointing; I think that his dialogue, likewise, often does little to establish character, tone, or setting; his cadences and structures continue to feel very MFA-ish almost all the way through; and so on - but in the second half of the book you can at least see that he has clear potential.
His strengths, in my mind, are these: he doesn't shy away from difficult subjects (be they philosophical, political, or other), he knows the territory and culture that he's writing about, his southern voice has the wryness and ache that you'd want from a southern writer, and every so often he finds a very poetic turn of phrase. The downsides, however, are that he sometimes seems to trust that his subject matter means more to the reader than the prose and that for the most part his voice is, to reiterate, muted and restrained by what seems to be his training.
Basically, in short, I'd say that White is suffering from Ben Folds syndrome. If I had to sum up this collection, I'd use one of the lyrics from Folds's immortal "Best Imitation of Myself": "Do you think I should take a class," White seems to be asking, "to lose my southern accent?" But whereas Folds got away with homogenizing himself, I don't think that White can or should try to do the same. I'll remember his name for the future, but, to be honest, unless his next book strikes me with the force of its southern-ness right off the bat, I might avoid it just to save myself the frustration of knowing the distance between White's potential and his reality.
(Incidentally, I received this book through this site's giveaway program.)
June 6, 2019
Sweet & Low, by Nick White
🌟🌟🌟🌟
“Sweet & Low” is a fantastic short story collection which turns the pages over to a variety of voices from the South. Nick White is clearly a master storyteller and used the opportunity to paint complex characters in the beautiful, complicated scenery of southern culture both past and present. I especially appreciated that there was a definitive queerness to the narratives, less so in the sexuality of the characters and more in vibrant articulation of and against static identity. Queer sexualities were certainly an integral part of the collection, but I found more comfort in that the voices were never assured of who they were, instead always exploring the dialectical tension of standing out or fitting in, the struggle made that much more nuanced by the question of what “southern values” really are.
White’s writing was absolutely wonderful, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there was room for this to be a novel instead. Toward the end of the collection many of the stories interwove and featured the same characters at different points in their lives. Each their own contained work of beauty, but I couldn’t help but be dragged out of the narrative and left wondering what lines were left unwritten and what stories these voices could have told had they not been truncated by genre. Perhaps I am missing the point implicit in the format, but I wish some of these characters had been given more cohesive space instead of multiple smaller spaces.
This is my one quibble in an otherwise gorgeous piece of work. Nick White has shown himself to be an excellent writer and I will definitely be adding more of his works to my “to read” list. Highly recommend, especially for queer readers.
#sweetandlow #nickwhite #shortstorycollection #shortstories #shortfiction #booklist #booksofinstagram #bookshelves #books📚 #reading📖 #readingtime📖 #readingchallenge #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2019 #goodreadschallenge #bookrecommendations #bookreview #queer #queerlit #queerness #queerreads
🌟🌟🌟🌟
“Sweet & Low” is a fantastic short story collection which turns the pages over to a variety of voices from the South. Nick White is clearly a master storyteller and used the opportunity to paint complex characters in the beautiful, complicated scenery of southern culture both past and present. I especially appreciated that there was a definitive queerness to the narratives, less so in the sexuality of the characters and more in vibrant articulation of and against static identity. Queer sexualities were certainly an integral part of the collection, but I found more comfort in that the voices were never assured of who they were, instead always exploring the dialectical tension of standing out or fitting in, the struggle made that much more nuanced by the question of what “southern values” really are.
White’s writing was absolutely wonderful, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there was room for this to be a novel instead. Toward the end of the collection many of the stories interwove and featured the same characters at different points in their lives. Each their own contained work of beauty, but I couldn’t help but be dragged out of the narrative and left wondering what lines were left unwritten and what stories these voices could have told had they not been truncated by genre. Perhaps I am missing the point implicit in the format, but I wish some of these characters had been given more cohesive space instead of multiple smaller spaces.
This is my one quibble in an otherwise gorgeous piece of work. Nick White has shown himself to be an excellent writer and I will definitely be adding more of his works to my “to read” list. Highly recommend, especially for queer readers.
#sweetandlow #nickwhite #shortstorycollection #shortstories #shortfiction #booklist #booksofinstagram #bookshelves #books📚 #reading📖 #readingtime📖 #readingchallenge #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2019 #goodreadschallenge #bookrecommendations #bookreview #queer #queerlit #queerness #queerreads
December 28, 2018
White caught my attention last year with his underrated debut novel, How to Survive a Summer, a rather devastating account of a gay-to-straight conversion camp in the heart of Mississippi. So I was glad to see he had another book out so soon. Sweet and Low (published June 5) is a book of short stories, tackling themes of masculinity and sexuality in the contemporary American South, and it doesn’t disappoint. This is a superbly executed collection, a real showcase for its author that cements him as one of our most promising and exciting queer-fiction writers.
Particularly, Sweet and Low is an exemplary study in how to draw in your reader quickly and deeply: I read these stories while on a short vacation, during bumpy airplane rides and lazy beach days, and found every one totally immersive, bite-sized treats filled with meaning and humor and empathy. The first entrant is also among the best, a quiet story centered on a widow and her late husband’s lover, both grieving and finding their paths gradually converging. As in the rest of the book, the way these characters behave feels so strange and inexplicable and, yet, lifelike. And the final image White describes is so acutely, subtly haunting it quite literally took my breath away, and stayed with me for days. White is particularly great at endings: finding ways to so succinctly and thoughtfully cap narratives of only a few pages.
Read the rest of the review at Entertainment Weekly: https://ew.com/books/2018/06/26/book-...
Particularly, Sweet and Low is an exemplary study in how to draw in your reader quickly and deeply: I read these stories while on a short vacation, during bumpy airplane rides and lazy beach days, and found every one totally immersive, bite-sized treats filled with meaning and humor and empathy. The first entrant is also among the best, a quiet story centered on a widow and her late husband’s lover, both grieving and finding their paths gradually converging. As in the rest of the book, the way these characters behave feels so strange and inexplicable and, yet, lifelike. And the final image White describes is so acutely, subtly haunting it quite literally took my breath away, and stayed with me for days. White is particularly great at endings: finding ways to so succinctly and thoughtfully cap narratives of only a few pages.
Read the rest of the review at Entertainment Weekly: https://ew.com/books/2018/06/26/book-...
May 4, 2021
Sweet & Low by Nick White is a collection ten short stories set in the South. Often poor and with little opportunity, the characters bear little resemblance to who I usually read in books but White does an excellent job bringing them to life.
Most of the short stories include an LGBT character, which is a good reminder that all gay men don’t live in cities or suburbs, nor are they all wealthy, despite what you see on television. The opening story, The Lovers, provides insight into several of the themes that run through all the stories, touching upon struggle and loneliness. My favorite story was perhaps one of the saddest. The Exaggerations is told by a nephew abandoned by his mother and raised by his aunt and uncle. The final paragraph of this short story is perhaps White’s best in the entire book.
If you enjoy reading before going to bed, the short story format is ideally suited to you. In 20-30 pages, White weaves a story full of depth meaning at defining moments of each main character. While I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, their stories still resonated and is why I would recommend reading this book.
You can read my full review here: https://bosguy.com/2021/05/04/book-re...
Most of the short stories include an LGBT character, which is a good reminder that all gay men don’t live in cities or suburbs, nor are they all wealthy, despite what you see on television. The opening story, The Lovers, provides insight into several of the themes that run through all the stories, touching upon struggle and loneliness. My favorite story was perhaps one of the saddest. The Exaggerations is told by a nephew abandoned by his mother and raised by his aunt and uncle. The final paragraph of this short story is perhaps White’s best in the entire book.
If you enjoy reading before going to bed, the short story format is ideally suited to you. In 20-30 pages, White weaves a story full of depth meaning at defining moments of each main character. While I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, their stories still resonated and is why I would recommend reading this book.
You can read my full review here: https://bosguy.com/2021/05/04/book-re...
May 11, 2018
I received a kindle arc of this book in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
I appreciated each short story that the author presented and could relate to the locations found within most because I’ve lived in the Midwest most of my life and have moved to the South. So, a lot of the places and references were well known to me. I liked the rawness and realism that Nick White portrayed in each story. I felt that he didn’t sugar coat anything and presented it without hesitation so that the reader could feel exactly what he was attempting to portray for themselves.
I am also a bit on the fence for short stories… as I do like them, I am usually left wanting more from the story as it ends and this is how I felt with several of the stories within this collection. I felt that I was really getting to know a character throughout each story and was intrigued by the story telling and then it would abruptly end. Otherwise, I found the writing very descriptive and the stories well-written and feel that Nick White is a great storyteller.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy for me to review.
I appreciated each short story that the author presented and could relate to the locations found within most because I’ve lived in the Midwest most of my life and have moved to the South. So, a lot of the places and references were well known to me. I liked the rawness and realism that Nick White portrayed in each story. I felt that he didn’t sugar coat anything and presented it without hesitation so that the reader could feel exactly what he was attempting to portray for themselves.
I am also a bit on the fence for short stories… as I do like them, I am usually left wanting more from the story as it ends and this is how I felt with several of the stories within this collection. I felt that I was really getting to know a character throughout each story and was intrigued by the story telling and then it would abruptly end. Otherwise, I found the writing very descriptive and the stories well-written and feel that Nick White is a great storyteller.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy for me to review.
September 26, 2018
I appreciate Nick White's overall project here; he seems to be coming to the Southern Gothic genre and really elevating the queer subtexts of so many of the canonical texts into explicit text, examining the challenges of living queerly in the new (and old) weird south. There are many gratifications to be found in these stories. Where they falter a bit for me is in how close all of those intentions are to the surface. Most of the stories here bear their purpose on their shirtsleeves, and I wish there was a bit more craftiness going on. That being said, I have no reason to argue with the intentions themselves. Maybe I should circle around to White's novel, which I imagine gives itself more room for digression. Overall, it's good stuff, something I could imagine pushing into the right folks' hands.
May 4, 2024
The writing in this short story collection is really tight and definitely evokes a sense of place (the south). The first half are separate stories that all pack a punch (I was really drawn into the first two stories). The second half features linked stories that all stand on their own but mainly orbit around a boy named Forney and his family (sometimes we hear directly from him and sometimes we get a story from a person observing him). To me it felt like White was playing homage to the South, while also showing that there is a place for the LGBTQ community there as well. This has been on my TBR list for a while and I picked it to read on a trip to the Smoky Mountains because there is a story in here (Gatlinburg) about a couple struggling in a relationship who visit the Smoky Mountains (hoping to spot a bear they discover the more animalistic side of human nature).
June 5, 2019
Expertly crafted, desperately sad stories about how the demands of white Southern manhood crush the tenderness out of each generation. The first story was a masterpiece of unexpected plot twists revealed without fanfare. However, the unrelieved despair and sordidness of the linked stories in the second half was fatiguing. I guess I don't have it in me anymore to hold space for people (fictional or otherwise) who become completely self-absorbed in their wounds, like the protagonist, Forney Culpepper. A book I admired but didn't enjoy. Skip this one if you're upset by animal abuse, and read his excellent novel, "How to Survive a Summer", which offers a better blend of emotional highs and lows.
July 15, 2018
Modern-day Southern Gothic short stories that I think O'Connor, Faulkner and McCullers would all enjoy. My favorite story in the collection is the opener, The Lovers, but I also was quite taken by the closing cycle of six stories that all revolved around Forney Culpepper—which, can we just marvel at the Southern Gothic clout that name carries—a would-be poet that White checks in on throughout various stages of his life from various perspectives.
All in all, a wonderful collection of punchy stories written in simple, beautiful language with hints of the grotesque always peeking between the lines. Loved it.
All in all, a wonderful collection of punchy stories written in simple, beautiful language with hints of the grotesque always peeking between the lines. Loved it.
March 16, 2019
Loved this collection of southern short stories. Part II The Exaggerations is comprised of six interconnected stories, which is one of my favorite genres. Vividly drawn characters, intriguing interior portraits, exploration of identity and sexuality, and absolutely evocative of the South. Loved watching Forney Culpepper change over the years.
The independent stories in Part I were equally well done and reminded me a little of Flannery O’Connor in parts. Maybe a little Welty though it’s been a while since I’ve read her. These Heavenly Bodies probably a favorite.
The independent stories in Part I were equally well done and reminded me a little of Flannery O’Connor in parts. Maybe a little Welty though it’s been a while since I’ve read her. These Heavenly Bodies probably a favorite.
June 6, 2022
Admittedly, it has been a few years since I read this book, so I will tell you what has stayed with me. Often, Southern writing gets pigeonholed as romantic, dark, you know, the Flannery O'Connor of it all. Nick White is a Southern writer whose syntax itself, whose imagery itself, and ultimately, whose voice, redefines Southern writing. These coming of age and coming of sexuality stories are tender, heartbreaking, and incorporate beautifully into creative writing syllabi (for those interested). Get this book! It also looks great on a shelf, I must say.
March 26, 2023
It's a deep exploration of the shadier side of humanity that kind of leaves a weird taste in your mouth after reading it. White is no doubt a superb writer, but I don't know what it is about this kind of writing that is so off-putting to me. I didn't particularly enjoy any of the stories, not because they were bad. They were just really, really weird. The story that stood out the most to me is 'These Heavenly Bodies' about a main protagonist, Benjamin, who has a weird fetish for the conjoined-twins, the Cade sisters.
May 13, 2018
A pleasant read of short stories: Since the death of her husband Dr. Arnie Greenlee, Rosemary speaks of him derogatively on her 25th podcast episode. Her life is in disarray and her daughters marriage is falling apart. >> Mr. Tuttleworth an avid painter alone in his old victorian house now teaches only two students, Benjamin and Lucy. >> Living in a big old dusty farmhouse Forney and his mother are dealing with the death of Forneys father Thank you Goodreads for this free book!!!!
May 11, 2020
This book is two sections, the first a random collection of shorts and the second an almost “Olive Kitteridge” collection telling the life of an author through sadly uneven stories.
It ends with a gut punch and one of the best shorts I’ve read in a long time, “The Last of Its Kind”, though I imagine you have to read all of part 2 to appreciate it.
Highly recommend for lovers of short stories, queer literature, and a good old Southern Gothic yarn.
It ends with a gut punch and one of the best shorts I’ve read in a long time, “The Last of Its Kind”, though I imagine you have to read all of part 2 to appreciate it.
Highly recommend for lovers of short stories, queer literature, and a good old Southern Gothic yarn.
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