CONFESSIONS OF A FAILED SOUTHERN LADY: Recently finished Florence King’s autobiography. I’d told myself that I would be good, and stick to my reading list, but King was just too tempting! This is definitely the kind of book you devour–engrossing and a fast read. It takes you through King’s childhood (caught between Granny’s fevered discourse on “woman troubles” and Mama’s fierce tomboyisms), college, brief stint as a lady Marine, grad school at Ole Miss (easily the best part of the book), and budding career as a true-confessions writer and virago.

King is a passionate writer (especially about books and sex) and a wry one. COAFSL was immensely fun and often moving. (Although there were several blushworthy moments when I somewhat regretted reading it on the Metro, where people could glance over my shoulder!)

King is also, as The Rat (who gave me the book as a birthday present) pointed out, pretty blatant in her egoism and amorality.

But that too is very Southern. There’s a long Southern tradition of elevating personal ties, loyalties, wants, and attempts to establish oneself as a “character” over moral laws. In that respect, King, like the polite bohemians at Ole Miss with their embroidery hoops, didn’t quite achieve escape velocity; but then, I don’t get the impression that she wanted to.