Bound South

Bound South
Susan Rebeca White
****(4)

I was so excited to get started reading this book. I saw it in BN and months ago and ordered it off amazon.com making sure to save it for my husbands and I am beach vacation. I woke up early our first morning there and headed out to t he beach to get started.
I was interested in this book for many reasons, the first of which is that it takes place in my hometown Atlanta. I love books about Atlanta, especially with the homesickness I’ve been feeling lately.
Bound South is the story of three different woman- typical southern belle- Louise, her rebellious daughter Caroline and the family’s maid and her daughter Faye and Missy. The story is told in points of view from Caroline, Louise and Missy and alternates chapter as it takes place over a span of 4 years. The story touches on some, important subjects such as race, socioeconomic level, sexuality, religion and marital issues. It touches on many of these points in some rather subtle ways which do not fail to still get the point across. I loved the books for the richness of experiences that each character brings to the table.
I do have to mention that this book was not what I was expecting, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised and still enjoyed it. The way in which the author handles many of the sensitive issues in the book was well thought-out and executed.
The cast of supporting characters- Louise’s son, husband and mother-in-law, also add a nice element of depth to the story.

The one thing that I was a little disappointed in was that there wasn’t much attention paid to the marital issues between Louise and her Husband, although we saw bits and pieces of where it came from and how it manifested itself. At times, I felt like I was missing something from the story.

Overall, Bound South was a perfect beach read. Not all chic-lit, but the perfect balance of substance, good real life characters, plot and great writing.