Buttered Biscuits

In this collection of award-winning short stories, Cynthia Boiter writes with sensitivity and intellect about characters from the South and the social constructs that attempt to define them in the 20th century. With a keen eye toward gender roles and family dynamics, Boiter writes about characters that are as grounded in their sense of place as they are committed to integrity, fidelity, and intellectual veracity. The 14 short stories in this collection share the narratives of smart Southerners as they address issues of love and tradition, birth and death, growing up and growig old with an underlying but unobtrusive sociological analysis. Whether the relationships explored are those of mother and daughter, father and son, husband and wife, daughter and gender-confused father, or nephew and closeted-gay uncle, they are approached with a kind of honesty and intimacy that demonstrates what happens when good people demand the best of one another, even under conditions in which the best is the least likely behavior to expect. Most importantly, Buttered Biscuits brings to light an unexpected brand of Southern feminism and an intense sense of honor and social justice in characters who live and die in a part of the country where the traits are often assumed non-existent.