The Half-Mammals of Dixie: Stories

About this book

George Singleton whos had many stories published in the best literary journals has recently burst into the big time with appearances in Playboy Zoetrope The Atlantic Monthly Harpers Magazine and Book. The stories in his new collection are wild and wooly - or maybe we should say wild and half-wooly. In any case theyre definitely not for the creationist crowd or for the laughter impaired. For example: - A self-described "primitive artist " getting rich off religious canvases is mistaken for a faith healer. - A lovelorn dad woos his third graders teacher with very special show-and-tells including long lost love letters to Shakespeare from Anne Hathaway to Fred Astaire from Ginger Rogers and to Henry VIII from all of his wives. - A boys reputation is ruined forever when he accepts the starring role in a documentary on diagnosing head lice. Off-the-wall. But also utterly believable and written with tremendous affection for the people and their place-a place called Forty-Five part of the contemporary South thats far removed from big city Atlanta or proper Charleston and in fact much like Singletons own hometown of Dacusville South Carolina. As he says of his characters "Theyre regular people just trying to get by. Most of them arent jaded by everyday life though perhaps they should have been long ago. There are some with physical and mental limitations but I hope all of them have heart." They do indeed just like their stories.