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Original poster

southern gothic recommendations

33 replies

beavington · 18/06/2015 22:33

I love any books / tv set in the deep south, especially when theres a hint of the supernatural about it, and I've just discovered this is a genre! I had no idea!

Now that i know this, i realise there must be a LOT of books out there that I'm gonna love. Could anyone kindly give me some recommendations Grin

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Taranta · 06/07/2015 22:02

Ditto ouch and cote I was thinking of the Nick Cave book - preferably while listening to Henry's Dream for a complete southern gothic experience...

tripfiction · 06/07/2015 21:59

Try this link from the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/04/southern-gothic-fiction-harper-lee-go-set-watchmen

thisfalseinsight · 03/07/2015 21:06

Flannery O'Connor is basically THE southern gothic writer. You might be able to find some of her stories online (they may have gone into the public domain by now?) for a taste. She is dark as it gets but with a wicked shot of humour.

I love Katherine Anne Porter, but she's a little more southern and a little less gothic (although definitely in the genre). 'Pale Horse, Pale Rider' is a collection of her novellas/short stories and they are absolutely beautiful.

Carson McCullers is another one ('The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'). Also Eudora Welty.

I'm a transplanted southerner so I read most of these writers in school...and never noticed before how dominant women are in this genre. Wonder why that is?

Fluz · 30/06/2015 13:38

If you don't object to straying into Young Adult territory, the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl is rather good - deep south, supernatural, voodoo etc.

unicornspecial · 24/06/2015 17:24

I second The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I couldn't put it down. And Faulkner is always a classic...

FlysInDreams · 24/06/2015 15:03

I like both of them too, FrancesHB

FrancesHB · 23/06/2015 21:21

'We Have Always Lived In The Castle' by Shirley Jackson

'Something Wicked This Way Comes' by Ray Bradbury

FlysInDreams · 23/06/2015 20:51

Anne Rice - Mayfair Witches
Poppy Brite
Caitlin R Kiernan

tripfiction · 23/06/2015 11:11

Great Southern book = The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener set in South Carolina + mountains...

burblish · 22/06/2015 21:19

I see Anne Rice has been mentioned - her Mayfair Witches books fit the genre. YY to Beloved by Toni Morrisson. You could also try Harry Crews, although less of the supernatural touch in his works.

CoteDAzur · 21/06/2015 19:53

Ooh yes, Nick Cave's book And The Ass Saw The Angel is a great example of this genre!

OuchLegoHurts · 21/06/2015 18:41

And the Ass saw the Angel by Nick Cave (the singer) is very unusual, and I think it fits your genre... Also Beloved by Toni Morrison is set in times of slavery in the deep South, and has touches of magic realism, it's a fantastic read

efeslight · 21/06/2015 10:38

Yes, really enjoyed midnight in the garden of good and evil.

Original poster
beavington · 21/06/2015 07:53

Thanks everyone for the extra suggestions as Im trying to get my books from either the library or super cheap and not doing so well! I got Donna Tartts The Little Friend from the kindle 99p deal that was on another thread but no other suggestions have been in my library (which is usually not too bad!) Sad will check these new ones out!

mmack no, heard of John Connolly but overlooked him. Not a fan of John Grisham and just lumped them together! I love a good book series, it makes getting your next book simple and stops that 'what am i going to do when i finish this' feeling Smile

che thats interesting, i really liked the setting of Gone Girl in Missouri so will look into Flynns other books.

ohwhatfuckery nic cage was hot?! I must see Wild At Heart Wink

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EnormousDormouse · 21/06/2015 00:03

It's 'true crime' not fiction but Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a fab evocation of Savannah.

Ohwhatfuckeryisthis · 20/06/2015 23:59

Yy to efes and Mrsdb. Knockemstiff is by my bed right now. Also (and don't know how gothic you deem them) but The Ballad of Sailor and Lula by Barry Gifford is excellent. It's tge basis of Wild at Heart (when Nic Cage was hot)
Also Joe Lansdale-Captains Courageous is a good start. Some of his stuff is shite though.

SunnyBaudelaire · 20/06/2015 23:35

Carson McCullers - the ballad of the sad cafe
William Faulkner - As I lay dying

TwinsetBeck · 20/06/2015 23:29

James Lee Burke- Dave Robicheaux series

mmack · 20/06/2015 22:07

Cheboludo, I think you might be on to something. I like Southern Gothic and I really enjoyed Dark Places and Gone Girl. On the other hand I wasn't impressed by The Girl on the Train or Apple Tree Yard or a lot of the other domestic thrillers that I've read recently. Dark Places definitely has an In Cold Blood vibe.
OP, Have you read the John Connolly Charlie Parker books? They are mainly set in Maine but are very dark and gothic. I'm a big fan of True Blood as well.

CheBoludo · 20/06/2015 21:40

This might seem strange but I'd definitely term Gillian Flynn's first 2 books as Southern Gothic.

Dark Places is the much stronger of the 2. Flynn really pushes the story, she goes further than most writers would - which for me is the gothic aspect, the almost melodrama.

I actually found Sharp objects too much when I read it, too dark, too melodramatic. But, if I had been reading it from a Gothic perspective, I think I might have been more forgiving of the melodrama. And I think Gone Girl's third act might make more sense if viewed as Southern Gothic. But YMMV.

mrsdavidbowie · 20/06/2015 20:15

Donald Rae Pollock..Knockemstiff

efeslight · 20/06/2015 20:11

Try poppy z brite, a new orleans writer i think, who writes quite sinister southern stories

Original poster
beavington · 19/06/2015 14:49

Ahhh thanks everyone. Shouldve included in my OP that ive read and watched the true blood / sookie stackhouse series. And true detective. Read to kill a mocking bird and got a truman capote book from the library when i discovered the southern gothic genre but i borrowed Summer Crossing which was set in New York so it didnt fit the bill really. I now know i need to read In Cold Blood Smile

Ive got Huckleberry Finn on my to read list but I'm going on holiday soon and the front cover showing it as a Classic put me off a bit! I like to read Classics but I've gotta be in the mood really.

Gonna check out all these suggestions on library website Grin

OP posts:
scarfaceace · 19/06/2015 13:09

Anne Rice might fit the bill.

CoteDAzur · 19/06/2015 08:11

You are going to love the TV series True Detective. Don't even think about it, just watch it Grin

And then, read the book The King In Yellow - it's not Southern Gothic but it's where all the Sarcosa, Yellow King etc references in True Detective come from.