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Summary: Hilarious because I live here and see people like this...
Review: This book is quite a jewel. I am a Southerner, born and bred, and yet I can laugh at myself as well as the next person. Each culture has its own idiosyncracies, and this book explores the unsaid rules of the South that slyly keep outsiders at arm's reach. For example, how was Princess Margaret to know that ladies didn't smoke, chew gum in public, or wear white shoes after Labor Day? I certainly am not the extremist pictured in the book, but I did attend the University of Georgia and rushed a sorority, and got to witness girls talking about being in the New Orleans Day parades, and attending the Old South ball, and yes, I was a baton twirler (although according to the book, that would never win you Miss America). It very accurately personifies a particular eschelon of Old South behavior that still exists, and makes some of it seem as rediculous as it really is. Definitely worth a read!!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book is wonderful, funny, and totally true. Finally, a book to show to all my Yankee friends who don't know what a deviled egg plate looks like, don't like sweet tea, and don't understand what I mean when I say they look nice! I especially loved the silver pattern zodiac. My mom and I were laughing about it for days! A very entertaining book for any belle, or anyone else for that matter. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Ten stars please
Review: This book was one of the most interesting reads I've come across in a long time. Funny, informative, and well-written, it is a MUST for anyone interested in the South and the culture that surrounds it. All I can say is "Thank you" Maryln Schwartz!Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and Flagg's FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!
Rating:
Summary: A Comedy of Manners
Review: This book, although classified as humor, treads a very fine line drawn somewhere between affectionate mockery and homage to manners. As a Brit I was immediately attracted to the subtitle - "Or Why Princess Margaret Will Never Ne a Kappa Kappa Gamma". It's good to know that ladies in the Land of the Free recognize bad manners when they see them. They know that HRH may be a princess but she'll never be a lady. I am happy to confirm that Princess Margaret's manners are every bit as bad as those attributed to her in the book - those foolish enough to share a dinner table with her in Britain soon find that self-indulgence is the order of the day. No wonder those Southern belles were mortified! The book has plenty of humorous anecdotes in it and some wonderful accounts of triumphs of snobbery and sang froid. It also offers a range of exquisitely crafted put-downs that Dorothy Parker would have been proud to have coined. Despite the humorous approach there is quite sufficient information for those unfamiliar with the original to gage their mettle. It's a pity that E F Benson came before this book - had he known the characteristics of the Southern Belle, one of the species would have posed a far more worthy opponent for Lucia than anything she met in Tilling. Mack trucks disguised as powder puffs, indeed!
Rating:
Summary: A Good Reminder of Where One Comes From
Review: when i was given this book, i believe it was a joke. none of my friends know i attended "ballet, tap, and charm" as a preteen. it is an excellent refresher. i highly recommend it for anyone marrying into a southern family (man or woman.) it will help you adjust and figure out what a sip-and-see is, along with other wedding musts.
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