mckenna_elese's review against another edition
2.0
I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. Let me start off by saying that I interpreted it as existential and mundane. The main character seems to carry no hope and no ambition, which almost gives the book a “what’s the point” kind of feel. It is dull and you almost can’t help but read it in a monotone voice. HOWEVER, for some reason it kept my attention. I’m a sucker for the written word in general, so maybe that’s why - it’s written BEAUTIFULLY! But all in all, what’s the point...?
momwrex's review
3.0
Uneven. I loved the description of the locale and the flooding, etc. The characters are compelling. It also reads like a book written by a male. (Yeah, maybe it was supposed to reflect how women were “back then.” But it actually is more a reflection of how male authors have depicted women “back then.”
I had to really push myself to not put it aside and let it drift into the “didn’t finish reading” pile.
I had to really push myself to not put it aside and let it drift into the “didn’t finish reading” pile.
mrbadger63's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sure there is a decent book here somewhere, but it's just too dang hard to find underneath so much pretentiousness
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
3.0
Well, there was a microburst of buzz about this novel, in large part because Bill Cheng was said to have "gotten" the Deep South without ever having lived there. (Cheng was born in Queens and lives in Brooklyn.) I found the writing to be perfectly capable and even smooth, with only one passage that glaringly, blindingly, obviously impersonates Faulkner. But, through and through, it's hard for me to say that any passage in the book is not an impersonation, in some way, of a Deep South that US culture writ large enables Cheng to put on paper. The Blues! The Cajuns! The Poverty! Actually, I think that Cheng tries to create a main character who IS the blues -- kind of like what might happen if EVERYthing about a character's life might could be a line in a blues. Does it work? Maybe. As I say, this is a perfectly readable novel; but it is undeniably derivative.
valchanelle's review against another edition
2.0
This book truly had the potential to be great. There's a compelling set of characters and a wonderfully tragic setting (the time/place surrounding the Mississippi flood of 1927). However, the stories here just seem to ramble around each other. In this way, "Southern Cross the Dog" reminds me of "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie." Good concept, shaky execution.
There are flashes of genius in Cheng's writing: His descriptions of the flood scenes are beautiful. But some of the language seems forced and corny - the way Northerners imagine Southerners speak. But mostly, I found myself fighting the urge to skim passages, especially toward the end. It's unfortunate that Cheng doesn't really "dig in" to these characters the way a more experienced writer could. There's a sense of distance, especially toward the women (Lucy, Etta, and Dora) that detracts from the narrative.
I'd suggest reading the first half if you want a taste of Cheng's writing style, but skip if you're looking for a compelling plot.
There are flashes of genius in Cheng's writing: His descriptions of the flood scenes are beautiful. But some of the language seems forced and corny - the way Northerners imagine Southerners speak. But mostly, I found myself fighting the urge to skim passages, especially toward the end. It's unfortunate that Cheng doesn't really "dig in" to these characters the way a more experienced writer could. There's a sense of distance, especially toward the women (Lucy, Etta, and Dora) that detracts from the narrative.
I'd suggest reading the first half if you want a taste of Cheng's writing style, but skip if you're looking for a compelling plot.
taylakaye's review against another edition
2.0
I'll echo those who've noted this is very well written, but...
After finishing it a few days ago and turning it over since, I'm still not sure what it's about. Obviously it's about a young boy and his experience growing up black and poor in the 20s - 40s in the South. It's about progress, and the lack thereof. It's about awfulness and desperation and what that does to people and what it makes them do. But in a story so bleak it's hard to see what we're supposed to take from the tale other than it being a bit of historical fiction that tell some interesting tales. There's import and value in that, but...what am I missing?
After finishing it a few days ago and turning it over since, I'm still not sure what it's about. Obviously it's about a young boy and his experience growing up black and poor in the 20s - 40s in the South. It's about progress, and the lack thereof. It's about awfulness and desperation and what that does to people and what it makes them do. But in a story so bleak it's hard to see what we're supposed to take from the tale other than it being a bit of historical fiction that tell some interesting tales. There's import and value in that, but...what am I missing?
exurbanis's review against another edition
2.0
(Fiction, HIstprical)
First, I discovered that the “dog” is really a railroad: where the Southern crosses the (Yellow) Dog is a place where two railroad lines—the U.S. Southern and the Yazoo Delta—cross in Moorhead, Mississippi.
Southern Cross the Dog by Bill Cheng photo southern cross the dog_zpseaz5iqgm.jpgWhich should have been wonderful, since I really love railroads. But this book is a debut centering on the Great Flood of 1927 along the Mississippi, a tragedy that killed 246 people and left countless families homeless. The flood led to the great migration of African American families toward other states, and Bill Cheng’s first novel hones in on one fictional family whose experiences seem to represent an endless cycle of grief and loss.
This was a chance for a rich history lesson for me but, I don’t know, maybe I was just getting worn out again with the sorting and packing. I was greatly disappointed. 2½ stars
First, I discovered that the “dog” is really a railroad: where the Southern crosses the (Yellow) Dog is a place where two railroad lines—the U.S. Southern and the Yazoo Delta—cross in Moorhead, Mississippi.
Southern Cross the Dog by Bill Cheng photo southern cross the dog_zpseaz5iqgm.jpgWhich should have been wonderful, since I really love railroads. But this book is a debut centering on the Great Flood of 1927 along the Mississippi, a tragedy that killed 246 people and left countless families homeless. The flood led to the great migration of African American families toward other states, and Bill Cheng’s first novel hones in on one fictional family whose experiences seem to represent an endless cycle of grief and loss.
This was a chance for a rich history lesson for me but, I don’t know, maybe I was just getting worn out again with the sorting and packing. I was greatly disappointed. 2½ stars
wentingthings's review against another edition
3.0
the writing here is a true work of beauty - the words drip with humidity, mud, blood, life. it's so super evocative, i almost don't care about accuracy (which i can't judge, a stranger to the south), and i swallowed event after unlikely, mystical event. it was just too satisfying to not keep on, every single scene a crystalline & perfectly formed image. i'm a huge fan of elliptical tellings, and the spare, disordered way things are laid out (with lots of detours into side characters who eventually loop back into robert chatham's story) was an excellent trail of crumbs. which made the section that featured feel like an unwelcome disvaluing of the reader's ability to read between the lines. and that ending i think was just a step too far for me into his vision.