My Top Ten: Novels set in Great South (Top Five)

The Great Southern States has been the setting for many of great novels. 

Now for my final TOP FIVE.

5.  Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Through the eyes of Henry Fleming, a young Civil War soldier, we see the fears of battle and the inexplicable courage that comes when soldiers unite in a wartime machine. he novel features a young recruit who overcomes initial fears and shame to become a hero on the battlefield.

4. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on black female, Celie’s life during the 1930s in the Southern United States, addressing the numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture.

3. Roots by Alex Haley

This outstanding novel tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S. down to Haley.

2. Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

Forrest Gump experiences adventures ranging from shrimp boating and ping pong championships to thinking about his childhood love. The Vietnam War and college football are all part of the story. Throughout his life, Gump views the world simply and truthfully. Throughout the course of the book, he really doesn't know what he wants to do in life. Author and narrator Groom uses intonations that capture Gump's personality. Gump is full of wisdom, but is considered an "idiot" because of his low IQ and disability. According to him, he "can think things pretty good", but when he tries "sayin or writin them, it kinda come out like Jello". He is also physically strong and falls into amazing adventures.

AND NOW........DRUM ROLLL.......

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE NOVEL ABOUT THE "OLE SOUTH IS.....

1. NORTH AND THE SOUTH by John Jakes

The saga tells the story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point but later find themselves and their families on opposite sides of the war. The slave-owning Mains are rural gentleman planters while the big-city Hazards live by manufacturing and industry, their differences reflecting the divisions between North and South that eventually led to the Civil War.