Welcome to the South as only Kirk Neely can describe it. In Banjos, Barbecue and Boiled Peanuts, Kirk Neely uses his precise eye, keen ear, and down home voice to capture those small truths of life in the South, as he spins yarns about groundhogs and black snakes, mockingbirds and bluebirds, pound cake and cypress knees. A fitting sequel to A Good Mule Is Hard To Find, 2010 finalist for best book of nonfiction from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, this collection delves even deeper into the humor and lore of Southern life, the mysteries and truths that are wedged between its mountains, snake down its rivers, stalk its gardens and graveyards, lie hidden in its abandoned boxcars, collect beneath its fingernails. Banjos, Barbecue and Boiled Peanuts pulls back the curtain of kudzu to reveal a place of weirdness and wonder, a place where a five-string banjo may lead to insanity, the art of preparing slow-cooked barbecue is compared to making love, and the texture and taste of boiled peanuts startle visitors from above the Mason-Dixon Line. These are stories of warmth and wit, of heart and humor. Thoroughly engaging and undeniably touching, Banjos, Barbecue and Boiled Peanuts is a delight for folks of all ages. So familiar and yet so fresh are these tales that, once you leave, you may want to come back.
