Book Review - Safe From the Neighbors

Steve Yarbrough is a favorite author of mine, and his new novel Safe From the Neighbors (2010) confirms it once again. It is a story of family, infidelity and race relations in Mississippi, spanning a couple of generations, and shows how the past continues to affect the future. As always, Yarbrough does an excellent job of portraying his setting, such that a lifelong northeasterner like me actually feels a bit of understanding for rural Mississippi, and what the race-charged 1960's might have been like in the deep South. An effortless read. My only complaint, if I were to have one, would be that there is a lot of thematic similarity here with his prior novel The End of California, which I also loved. I would hope to see something a little more different next time out. It would be disappointing to see a third straight book centered around a middle-aged man who cheats on his wife and tears apart his family.

4.5 stars out of 5.

Books read in 2010: 9 (totalling 1917 pages)
New authors: 6
Published in 2010: 3
Classics: 3

While I have been lazy about getting around to posting this, I am also nearly finished William Trevor's Love and Summer...