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Vine That Ate the South
Vine That Ate the South | J D Wilkes
14 posts | 9 read | 26 to read
In a forgotten corner of western Kentucky lies a haunted forest referred to locally as "The Deadening," where vampire cults roam wild and time is immaterial. Our protagonist and his accomplicethe one and only, Carver Canuteset out down the Old Spur Line in search of the legendary Kudzu House, where an old couple is purported to have been swallowed whole by a hungry vine. Their quest leads them face to face with albino panthers, Great Dane-riding girls, protective property owners, and just about every American folk-demon ever, while forcing the protagonist to finally take stock of his relationship with his father and the man's mysterious disappearance. The Vine That Ate the South is a mesmerizing fantasia where Wilkes ambitiously grapples with the contradictions of the contemporary American South while subversively considering how well we know our own family and friends."
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Rebnhill
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Best and worst covers: I believe I bought The Vine that Ate the South for the cover alone. I had a reason to buy this book about cults, which I feel bad for posting because it was self-published - but this is just a terrible cover even if the author is a leading authority on cults. @24in48

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DannyOlda
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Mehso-so

This was definitely a fun read with some beautiful language at times. The novel gets better as it progresses, wrapping up with a great ending.

A few complaints: There are many tangential stories that severely undermine the larger narrative and especially its rhythm. It almost comes off as filler at times. The depiction of the South is magical but almost comes off as a caricature for the benefit of Yankee hipsters (source: I'm a yankee hipster)

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Zoe_reads_books
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#SWEETSUMMERSTACK This book oozes summertime vibes! It's so atmospheric you can almost feel the humidity while you're reading it @Liberty

25 likes2 stack adds
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raffiegrrl
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So I'm reading along, and these words sound familiar. I realize this is the melody and first verse to 'Blood on the Blue Grass' by the Legendary Shack Shakers! So awesome! And perfect for my run of Southern gothic novels I seem to be working through...

4 likes1 stack add
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raffiegrrl
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This book is a treasure so far! I love these Southern gothic type pieces!

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Zoe_reads_books
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Look what just arrived! I'm exited to get to this one asap!

OffTheBeatenShelf.com It's so good!! 8y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Just read about this one on Litreactor the other day. Sounds like my kind of bizarre. 8y
25 likes2 comments
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OffTheBeatenShelf.com
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Pickpick

I've been telling everyone I know about this book for MONTHS and it's finally out! I actually loved The Vine That Ate the South so much that I wrote about it for two magazines. The first is Deep South Magazine and it includes an interview with the author, who's also the frontman of the band The Legendary Shack Shakers. http://deepsouthmag.com/2017/03/17/southern-tales-of-mythic-proportions-come-to-...

tpixie Fun! Awesome! thanks for sharing!! 8y
Maria514626 Is it a little Carl Hiaasen + Christopher Moore? It sound weird and fun! 7y
28 likes2 comments
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the.bookish.valkyrie
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Bambolina_81 On my tbr too 😊 8y
Lacythebookworm Lumberjanes! ❤❤❤ 8y
bitterbear @Bambolina_81 Did you read it yet? 8y
Bambolina_81 @bitterbear Not yet! But I have listened to the Eclectic Book Club discussion about it 😂 have you had a listen? 8y
110 likes4 comments
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OffTheBeatenShelf.com
Pickpick

Alright, y'all. Trust me on this one... preorder, preorder, preorder! This is one you don't want to sleep on, so you'll be glad you did. It's hilarious and horrifying and features nearly every southern folk demon that my Alabamian self has ever heard of. It's the modern Southern mythology novel I've literally wanted my whole life and it delivers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

JackieSmith The cover is fabulous! 8y
37 likes7 stack adds1 comment
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MatthewBurris
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In the mail. Pretty stoked.

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OffTheBeatenShelf.com
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Oh.
My.
God.

This book is killing me. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh this hard!! ???

Also, I googled "shit knife" and apparently it's a thing?! I'm from Alabama, but my family isn't as country as all that. ?

NovelGirl82 I have to read this! Your posts alone are killing me! 😂😂😂 8y
8little_paws I have a close friend from Alabama near Athens and she told me this was a thing for some families 8y
Leelee08 @8little_paws I only live 30 minutes from Athens!😀 8y
See All 7 Comments
mrsh62010 Wow, yeah my family is from Mobile, going way back... never heard of this one 😵😷😝 8y
LeahBergen 😂😂 8y
Reecaspieces Omg!! I am dying!!! 8y
Maria514626 Oh dear god. I need to read this. 7y
30 likes7 comments
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OffTheBeatenShelf.com
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Have you accepted Cheese Sauce as your personal lord and savior?

Omg, I'm dyyyyyying. 😂 The observations about religion in this book are so on par with what I grew up with in Alabama.

Hooked_on_books I've definitely accepted cheeses into my life! 🧀🙌🏽😂 8y
Reecaspieces I am going to have to dive into this one!! 8y
NovelGirl82 Louisiana girl here, and I understand! Lol! 8y
38 likes1 stack add4 comments
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mjseidlinger
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Pickpick

Did somebody say books?

vivastory Did someone say Two Dollar Radio and Europa Editions books? 8y
Devlindusty Europa Editions where where I love that publisher! 8y
raffiegrrl Sooooo excited about the J.D. Wilkes book!!! I've been waiting on that one for like a year now!!! 8y
39 likes6 stack adds3 comments
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OffTheBeatenShelf.com
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I've literally never been this excited about an ARC in my life!

Southern folk demons, scary cult happenings in the woods, and kudzu threatening to strangle everything in its path. For this Midwesterned Southerner and lover of weird fiction, this novel was practically written with me in mind.

I can't wait to read and review this! 😍

39 likes4 stack adds