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Southern Living
Welcome to the utterly eccentric world of Selby, Georgia, where the folks sprinkle three things liberally over their daily lives: sugar, religion, and the wicked fun of Southern living.
Margaret Pinaldi is the quiet daughter of a hell-raising abortion-rights advocate who recently died—bequeathing Margaret a house in Georgia. Finally free from her mother’s demanding presence, this transplanted Yankee is finding herself for the first time, courtesy of the Deep South. And, much to her surprise, she likes it.
A former International Dogwood Festival Queen, Donna Kabel once had cute male suitors chase her like hounds to the fox. But all that changed after a car accident left her with a huge facial scar. Now Donna works in the produce section of Kroger. But it seems that the scar that could have cost Donna her inner strength has actually spurred her to reinvent herself.
Thirty-four-year-old Suzanne Parley, the chardonnay-alcoholic wife of a fifth-generation Selby neurosurgeon named Boone, longs to have the most exquisitely decorated house in the affluent Red Hill Plantation community. Childless and directionless, Suzanne suddenly comes up with a bold plan to make her bored husband love her again: she'll simply fake a pregnancy.
On the eve of this year's all-important Dogwood Festival, the disparate lives of these three women will converge in a brilliant comedy of Southern manners like none other. With this funny and poignant novel, Ad Hudler joins Fannie Flagg and Adriana Trigiani as one of our best chroniclers of Southern life.
Margaret Pinaldi is the quiet daughter of a hell-raising abortion-rights advocate who recently died—bequeathing Margaret a house in Georgia. Finally free from her mother’s demanding presence, this transplanted Yankee is finding herself for the first time, courtesy of the Deep South. And, much to her surprise, she likes it.
A former International Dogwood Festival Queen, Donna Kabel once had cute male suitors chase her like hounds to the fox. But all that changed after a car accident left her with a huge facial scar. Now Donna works in the produce section of Kroger. But it seems that the scar that could have cost Donna her inner strength has actually spurred her to reinvent herself.
Thirty-four-year-old Suzanne Parley, the chardonnay-alcoholic wife of a fifth-generation Selby neurosurgeon named Boone, longs to have the most exquisitely decorated house in the affluent Red Hill Plantation community. Childless and directionless, Suzanne suddenly comes up with a bold plan to make her bored husband love her again: she'll simply fake a pregnancy.
On the eve of this year's all-important Dogwood Festival, the disparate lives of these three women will converge in a brilliant comedy of Southern manners like none other. With this funny and poignant novel, Ad Hudler joins Fannie Flagg and Adriana Trigiani as one of our best chroniclers of Southern life.
330 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2003
3 people are currently reading
430 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 13, 2018
While this book will still be useful for a writing project I’m working on, I was disappointed in its actual execution. The characters were more stereotypes than anything, including the “Yankee” outsiders who were supposedly providing perspective on the wacky southerners.
March 20, 2018
To be honest, this bored me. I don't know why I stuck with it, and wish I had just given in gracefully.
January 15, 2008
This is a mean-spirited book that (quite accurately) details the strange ways of rich Southerners. As a misplaced Yank living in the South, you would have thought that I would appreciate this book, but I did not. The only thing I really liked was that that the book was organized around a fictional newspaper column called "Chatter" which is based on my favorite section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called "The Vent." To add insult to injury, I made the mistake of getting the worst audio recording ever made, in which the white Georgia characters all had Tennessee hill country accents, the black Georgia characters sounded like white people from the Andy Griffith Show, and the guy from Kansas City sounded like a backwoods hillbilly from West Virginia. And if the accents weren't bad enough, the narrator--Cynthia Darlow--repeatedly mispronounced kudzu, muscadine, and pecan. Ack!
June 23, 2009
If you're from Middle GA or have even lived in Middle GA, you MUST read this book! It's hilarious! Overall just a funny book! A quick read that will have you laughing at the ways of North Macon. :)
December 5, 2022
A book about women written by a man... and it shows.
This book is about three women living in a small town in Georgia. One is a transplant from the north who grew up sheltered by her gynecology mother. She is dealing with the death of her mother and the fact that her mother often performed abortions on her patience. Another is a rags-to-riches housewife who pretends to make dinner every night and lacks any real people skills. The third is a young woman, coming to age and her identity is under the should of an overbearing, religious father and other men whom all have s convoluted roles in her life.
I grew up in Kentucky, which likes to think of itself as the deep south as much as it can. From my upbringing, I recognized a lot of the substance present in this book. The "bless your heart" backhands, competitive friendships, and the importance and the aggressive way in which the southern hold onto custom.
The author introduces a major change in the community early on: a new Japanese company has arrived bringing foods and businesses the locals don't know what to do with. But instead of engaging in this change, the author uses it merely as fodder for racist commentary about outsiders and those who do not fit the accepted norm.
I found this story weak, pandering, and lacking. The three characters are interesting in summary, but lack life on the page. I would not recommend this book.
This book is about three women living in a small town in Georgia. One is a transplant from the north who grew up sheltered by her gynecology mother. She is dealing with the death of her mother and the fact that her mother often performed abortions on her patience. Another is a rags-to-riches housewife who pretends to make dinner every night and lacks any real people skills. The third is a young woman, coming to age and her identity is under the should of an overbearing, religious father and other men whom all have s convoluted roles in her life.
I grew up in Kentucky, which likes to think of itself as the deep south as much as it can. From my upbringing, I recognized a lot of the substance present in this book. The "bless your heart" backhands, competitive friendships, and the importance and the aggressive way in which the southern hold onto custom.
The author introduces a major change in the community early on: a new Japanese company has arrived bringing foods and businesses the locals don't know what to do with. But instead of engaging in this change, the author uses it merely as fodder for racist commentary about outsiders and those who do not fit the accepted norm.
I found this story weak, pandering, and lacking. The three characters are interesting in summary, but lack life on the page. I would not recommend this book.
January 3, 2022
I don't often feel compelled to write a review about an author vs content but today is a new day...
When I completed the book I looked up the author just because I had to see if woman wrote the book or a man.
This book gave me a perspective that I absolutely needed and perhaps it is because of the authors background and family in journalism but I found it refreshingly honest with a twist of irony that made me say- YAY for the development of characters that show the benefits of people speaking out about what is important to THEM,
This author nailed it.
P.S. I really liked that I liked the book even when I didn't like what was being said.
When I completed the book I looked up the author just because I had to see if woman wrote the book or a man.
This book gave me a perspective that I absolutely needed and perhaps it is because of the authors background and family in journalism but I found it refreshingly honest with a twist of irony that made me say- YAY for the development of characters that show the benefits of people speaking out about what is important to THEM,
This author nailed it.
P.S. I really liked that I liked the book even when I didn't like what was being said.
April 7, 2021
I laughed out loud several times reading this very humorous book, and I kept reading the funny parts to my husband. Nice change from the mysteries and historical fiction books that I have been reading. So funny!
November 27, 2017
Light, quick, funny. Fluff read.
October 1, 2018
I started reading this because my mystery was keeping me up. I think this kept me up instead, fun read.
November 28, 2019
Incredibly detailed and accurate satire of the culture of non-urban Georgia, specifically Macon.
July 16, 2023
I read this book at the beach this weekend. It was fun because I love southern lit. There were some parts that reminded me of some scenes from The Help as far as the racial disparities.
July 6, 2025
Loved that the author included areas from my hometown in a satirical manner. Funny book with an interesting twist...or two.
August 20, 2015
This book displays just about all of the Northern prejudices against the South in a most cliched way. Racism and slavery are discussed in a most superficial manner being "illustrated" by having an old black man, employed in a Frame shop being required to wash the business owner's car. We are supposed to be shocked that his obviously racist customer notices his apron is wet, and asks him to cover the framed painting before putting it in her car. . The main character spends the first half of the book discovering how hateful churchgoing Christians are and making fun of a velvet Jesus, and Southern food. She states a few weeks after moving to the South that she is sure there must be nice church people out there, she just has not met any yet. Margaret redeems herself somewhat after discovering there are a few things to like about the South such as her Southern gentleman boyfriend and his Southern biscuit recipe. Her earlier mocking overshadows this mild redemption, she still goes ahead and buys a Velvet Jesus and puts it on her mantelpiece as a permanent admonishment to her cultural superiority in getting to laugh over it. Her "makeover" is as shallow as she is. The book was selected by my Book Club and I would have stopped reading it a few chapters in if it had not been. Reviews that find it funny are incomprehensible, it is as funny as a train accident, nasty, sarcastic, characters thinking they are so clever emulating David Letterman and an overall narrative point of view that overwhelmingly selects "Yankee" cultural mores as superior to Southern ones. The war between North and South is not over and it is a sad thing to see that a book that is so promising as a possible medicine for what ails us be more memorable as a petty diatribe
May 31, 2009
I loved this book! But first let me tell you a bit about it...
Margaret Pinaldi's mother has recently passed away and left Margaret a house in Selby, Georgia. Ruth Pinaldi left quite a mark on the world when she was alive as an abortion rights advocate in New York.
Margaret packs up her car and moves to Selby and meets all manner of characters as the novel unfolds. The colloquialisms are hysterical as well as the portraits Ad Hudler paints with his words of the townsfolk. I wish I could go to Selby and meet them.
The book also follows Donna Kabel a former International Dogwood Festival Queen that now works in the produce section of Kroger and Suzanne Parley the chardonnay guzzling wife of a fifth generation neurosurgeon.
Once again food plays a prominent role in the book as well as the daily lives of all the main characters. But unlike Hudler's Househusband there are no recipes.
You will fly through the pages like butter - it is just that enjoyable!
My only wish is that we find out more about what happens to Margaret and friends at the end of the story. Surely there are more things to be uncovered. Yes - Ad -- I'm wishing for a sequel!!
A lovely delightful read with characters and stories that will entrance you. I am so glad I stumbled upon this author - it was truly a serendipitous find!
Margaret Pinaldi's mother has recently passed away and left Margaret a house in Selby, Georgia. Ruth Pinaldi left quite a mark on the world when she was alive as an abortion rights advocate in New York.
Margaret packs up her car and moves to Selby and meets all manner of characters as the novel unfolds. The colloquialisms are hysterical as well as the portraits Ad Hudler paints with his words of the townsfolk. I wish I could go to Selby and meet them.
The book also follows Donna Kabel a former International Dogwood Festival Queen that now works in the produce section of Kroger and Suzanne Parley the chardonnay guzzling wife of a fifth generation neurosurgeon.
Once again food plays a prominent role in the book as well as the daily lives of all the main characters. But unlike Hudler's Househusband there are no recipes.
You will fly through the pages like butter - it is just that enjoyable!
My only wish is that we find out more about what happens to Margaret and friends at the end of the story. Surely there are more things to be uncovered. Yes - Ad -- I'm wishing for a sequel!!
A lovely delightful read with characters and stories that will entrance you. I am so glad I stumbled upon this author - it was truly a serendipitous find!
March 9, 2011
While the book is enjoyable for the most part I dislike the mentions of the poisoning of several local dogs. The conversation between Boone and the Sheriff indicates that men thing women are so crazy during pregnancy that poisoning dogs might be a result. This male writer is either typical or deliberately provocative. It was kind of hateful toward Southerners, but many of them got in their "bless their heart" comments and some of the yankees even understood.
May 26, 2015
The main characters in this book were interesting and it was a quick read. However, I am from the area that the book was supposedly set in, and found it annoying that real places from GA were used as locations in his fictional town of Selby, GA. It was very distracting to have him mention streets from Macon and Savannah, as if they were in the same town, and I felt it showed a lack of imagination on his part. I doubt I would recommend this book to friends.
May 17, 2012
It was a fun read. Did NOT like the part of the story pertaining to dogs. Some of the characters (esp. Suzanne) were 'over the top' but I liked the way others were developed. This is more of a human interest story. I appreciated the final wrap-up of the story. There were definately true-isms of Southern lifestyles.
September 30, 2009
I read this book in a day and a half. It is a real page-turner. It is set in small town Georgia and deals with the very different lives of 3 women and how they intersect. It is filled with food and cooking references so the foodie in me really enjoyed it. :)
June 14, 2013
I want to be Ad Hudler when I grow up. This book was funny, witty and well-written. I would really recommend this book to any Northerners (Yankees) that move to the South and suffer a bad case of culture shock.
May 17, 2014
Good light hearted beach read. A few minor annoyances with the author and plot details, and I'm not a huge fan of books that tie up all the details in a short, pat epilogue; but overall a fun, easy read.
January 13, 2026
Third time through. I saw through more stuff this time, didn't care for one of the character's story line but really enjoyed the other two, Donna and Margaret. Ending seemed a bit of a mish mash, could have been edited better.
August 15, 2007
Anyone who has moved to the south should read this book. Between the plot and characters there are answered questions about southerners that you always wanted to ask.
January 4, 2008
Another woman's mid-life crisis book- set in a tiny Georgia town w/ quirky characters.
June 1, 2008
Another really funny one...especially those of us who lived in Macon, GA! :)
September 11, 2011
For a man, he does a pretty accurate job writing about Southern woman. I am going to read his first novel which is about being a Southern house husband.
September 11, 2008
Ignorant of the Southern customs, the book is funny and insightful, easy to relate to, as these crisis are present everywhere, I am surprised that the author is a man.
April 27, 2009
The author nailed the southern culture. The book will make you laugh so hard at times you will cry laughing.
May 5, 2009
My bookclub pick. Ugh, it was ok.
May 30, 2009
Didn't like it...found that the parody was more critical of Southerns in general. Felt like I was being laughed "at" versus laughed "with".
December 5, 2009
My good friend, Ad Hudler, wrote this book. We went to HS together in Burlington, CO. I can see his personality all through this book. I would give it a PG-16 rating.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews