Red Clay, Blue Cadillac: Stories of Twelve Southern Women

Rating:
Summary: A voyeuristic look into the lives of Southern women....
Review: Although I'm not prone to reading short stories, anything by author Michael Malone is usually priceless. This collection is no exception. A terrific concept is this, the grouping of Malone's fictional observations of a dozen Southern women, as diverse a group as the real tapestry of women in the south.

Led by Malone's award-winning "Stella, Red Clay" - which is more of a look into the relationship between a father and son, both of whom admire ex-Hollywood star Stella, from a distance, this story was worth the price of the book and definitely deserved the two national awards it garnered. In the collection, about 7 of the pieces are well-developed, and the rest fall a little short of the artistry you've come to expect from Malone's novels. My personal favorite was the look into the soul of a battered woman in "Charmain, White Trash Noir" - Malone perfectly captures the lack of self-esteem, yet the ladylike manner a real Charmain would display when confronted with the dilemma of airing her marital dirty laundry in order to save herself from a conviction.

I granted 4 instead of 5 stars because I particularly disliked the snapshot of Malone's "Justin-Cuddy" series...all about a local deb in Hillston (Patty, Love & Other Crimes). It definitely did not do the series justice.

From the creation of the concept, the cleverness of the cover in the oversize paperback, the ebb and flow of Malone's poetry written as prose, you'll enjoy this collection. And, if you do, be sure to gather Malone's other gems, his novels, which are amazing!

Rating:
Summary: A voyeuristic look into the lives of Southern women....
Review: Although I'm not prone to reading short stories, anything by author Michael Malone is usually priceless. This collection is no exception. A terrific concept is this, the grouping of Malone's fictional observations of a dozen Southern women, as diverse a group as the real tapestry of women in the south.

Led by Malone's award-winning "Stella, Red Clay" - which is more of a look into the relationship between a father and son, both of whom admire ex-Hollywood star Stella, from a distance, this story was worth the price of the book and definitely deserved the two national awards it garnered. In the collection, about 7 of the pieces are well-developed, and the rest fall a little short of the artistry you've come to expect from Malone's novels. My personal favorite was the look into the soul of a battered woman in "Charmain, White Trash Noir" - Malone perfectly captures the lack of self-esteem, yet the ladylike manner a real Charmain would display when confronted with the dilemma of airing her marital dirty laundry in order to save herself from a conviction.

I granted 4 instead of 5 stars because I particularly disliked the snapshot of Malone's "Justin-Cuddy" series...all about a local deb in Hillston (Patty, Love & Other Crimes). It definitely did not do the series justice.

From the creation of the concept, the cleverness of the cover in the oversize paperback, the ebb and flow of Malone's poetry written as prose, you'll enjoy this collection. And, if you do, be sure to gather Malone's other gems, his novels, which are amazing!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful beach book
Review: Malone's skill with prose -- and knowledge of southern women -- are well doemonstrated in this wonderful collection of short stories. While not the stories are not all of the same even level of writing, there is a good range of character types and plot twists to tease and stimulate the imagination. Malone is a good story teller. Some of his lines are memorable -- and quotable. Enjoyed reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Okay for short stories
Review: Mr. Malone, I wish you would stick with Cuddy and Justin as they are your finest, in my opinion. The very best story here is Maddie and I wish you had developed her into a full length book. That story was greeeeat. A good mystery, good historical stuff and a good twist in the end although I think I saw it coming. I cannot get enough of Cuddy and Justin so please carry them on into the future. Please????

Rating:
Summary: Okay for short stories
Review: Mr. Malone, I wish you would stick with Cuddy and Justin as they are your finest, in my opinion. The very best story here is Maddie and I wish you had developed her into a full length book. That story was greeeeat. A good mystery, good historical stuff and a good twist in the end although I think I saw it coming. I cannot get enough of Cuddy and Justin so please carry them on into the future. Please????

Rating:
Summary: Word Wizard at Work
Review: The Italians have a word for it: "sprezzatura," meaning "the art of effortless mastery." Michael Malone, North Carolina's twenty-first century Prospero has exactly this kind of prestidigitator's touch with the short story form. His collection entitled: "Red Clay, Blue Cadillac" has a natural flow which makes reading it pleasurably easy. Proof of his legerdemain? Presto! Two of these stories garnered national prizes: "Stella, Red Clay" won the Edgar Allen Poe award and "Meredith: Fast Love" the O.Henry laurel.

A notoriously difficult literary form, the short story usually entails a five point structure: 1. situation 2. generating circumstances 3. rising action 4. climax and 5. denouement. Such literary strictures apparently pose no hardship for Malone who, while maintaining his necromancer's panache with narrative, never loses his inventive prowess. His humor and command of southern speak shine. Here, the novelist presents the reader with a dozen distillate vignettes, every conception dazzlingly real.

Each story bears a woman's name and there are as many types as stories: the omnipotent femme fatale, the psychologically abused wife, the easy sexpot, a feisty and unsinkable old African-American... to name only a quarter ot the total. Malone doesn't limit his magician's sleight of hand to the distaff side either; there are fascinating guys too: a good ole boy hunter type personifying bumpkinhood, a clueless, abusive husband, a slick upper class lawyer, and a harried sports manager. These lists omit many memorable minor characters.

I was delighted when Malone's sleuthing duo, police chief Cuddy Mangum and chief detective Justin Savile whom we know from "Time's Witness" and "Civil Seasons" showed up in the seventh story: "Patty: Love and Other Crimes." A Cahner's Business Information, Inc. critic called this story, "pedestrian." I found it anything but. "Patty" fits the classic pattern snugly; plus it has an ingenious plot, insight into the human psyche, really funny dialogue, and enough twists and surprises to keep the reader happily engaged. Loving Savile, as I do, I was disappointed that Cuddy has more hilarious conversations with "Bubba Percy, the star (in his opinion) reporter for the Hillston Star," than he does with his chief detective.

I always envy those who have yet to succumb to the enchantment of a Malone book for the first time. My initial reading brought Robert Louis Stevenson's appreciative lines to mind: "The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be happy as kings." Malone's version of the new south is on target and fits this quotation. I'll betcha it'll prove even more rewarding the second time around.

Postscript: When reading a work so full and varied, surely, one must wonder about the inscrutable interior stratagems involved in the creative process. In the fourth story "Charmain: White Trash Noir" there are four words which may hold subtle clues to the internal windmills turning inside the learned, labyrinthine mind of Michael Malone. Tenuous intimations to be sure, but ones too plain to be coincidence. Charmain's patrician young lawyer's name is Tilden Snow and his ancestral home is called "Heaven's Hill." These phrases may jangle, even fibrillate your mindsprings if you have read "The Last Noel," Malone's novel which begins as a rare southern snow is falling. It's memorable heroine's name is Noelle Katherine Tilden and her old southern mansion is known as Heaven's Hill. Mysterioso!

Rating:
Summary: I hoped to read about Aura, or Red.
Review: These student assignments, character studies, and dry runs are riding on the exceptionally broad shoulders of Times Witness and Handling Sin.