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Bragg writes, "The youngest, cutest children make a little more money as they tap dance for tourists outside the two-drink minimum bars, the lethargic striptease acts, and the walk-up daiquiri stands. Most weekends, there are a least a dozen dancers her in the Quarter, all children" (Bragg 160). Bragg shows people the underbelly of life in America, but shows it is not all bad, and that even the most desperate people have hope, dreams, and a desire to make their lives better. Late in the book, one simple sentence seems to sum up what Bragg is trying to accomplish with his book. He writes, "This is a place that has learned to cherish a slow day" (Bragg 246). He writes like that throughout the book, and captures his subjects with tact and understanding.
The book is charming, disturbing, joyful, and intensely difficult to read in places, but it serves the author's purpose well. It introduces the reader to real Americans with real problems and real solutions. It shows America to be a troubled land filled with people who want to do something about that trouble and make it better. This book would be a fine addition to just about anyone's bookshelf. It is relatively easy to read, except for some of the most disturbing subject matter, such as murders, old prisoners who die in prison, the Susan Smith story, and others. There is something about the book that keeps the reader turning pages for "just one more page," long after they planned to stop reading. It is compelling, distressing, enlightening, and just plain sad in places. Perhaps...
Bragg is a fine writer, and after reading this book, this reader would like to read some of his other works. He has a way with the language and puts sentences together with skill and thought. Late in the book he writes, "It is called, simply, a jazz funeral, a true celebration of life that makes the wakes and eulogies of other cultures seem deadly dull in comparison" (Bragg 275). He shares tradition, culture, and sadness with the reader, and it is not a book easily forgotten after the last page is turned.
In conclusion, "Somebody Told Me" by Rick Bragg is an engrossing glimpse into the fabric of American life. It does not deal with celebrity or fame, but simply the everyday people who survive and thrive in America today. It is exceedingly well written and readable, and difficult to put down once the reader begins. The stories are real, the hopes, dreams, and fears are real, and Bragg has a wonderful way of getting people to open up and tell him the stories of their lives. While this book is non-fiction, it often reads like fiction, and that makes it all the more readable and enjoyable.
References
Bragg, Rick. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2000.
Author Biography." BookBrose.com. 1 Aug. 2001. 3 Aug. 2006. http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=77
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