A review by taylakaye
Southern Cross the Dog by Bill Cheng
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?