THE REST OF THE BEST: SOUTHERN NOVELS

Here it is—the list you've been waiting for! Every novel outside the top ten that received at least one vote from our judges. (The number of votes each book received is indicated in parentheses after the author’s name.)

For more information about our esteemed Judges, please click here.

“Such lists are fun but ultimately silly; I  could do this tomorrow and change my mind.” —from Allen Wier's ballot

“Ten! Only ten! I started out with about fifty, and then had to (painfully) narrow down. What I ended up with is a mostly emotional list—the books that I come back to and reread over and over  again.” —from Joy Dickinson Tipping's ballot

11. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER

by Carson McCullers (32 votes)

“Almost a laboratory for examining the effects of alienation characteristic of the wider America.” —Thomas Bonner, Jr.

12. A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES

by John Kennedy Toole (27)

“Just to know that Ignatius J. Reilly is out there somewhere, sucking the jelly out of a dozen jelly doughnuts or screaming insults at a downtown movie screen, has saved me untold psychiatrist’s bills.” —William Caverlee

13. LIGHT IN AUGUST

by William Faulkner (26)

14. A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

by James Agee (25)

15. LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL

by Thomas Wolfe (24)

16. BELOVED

by Toni Morrison (22)

“Though Morrison is an Ohioan and the bulk of BELOVED takes place across the river Eliza Harris crossed so memorably in UNCLE TOM’S CABIN, the novel is ‘Southern’ in that it is in profound conversation not only with UNCLE TOM’S CABIN but also Faulkner’s GO DOWN, MOSES, ABSALOM, ABSALOM!, and THE UNVANQUISHED (among others). Morrison makes authentic the voice of the slave…. Besides, as Henry Louis Gates has said of African Americans, no matter where they were born, ‘we are all Southerners’.” —Diane Roberts

17. THE AWAKENING

by Kate Chopin (21)

18. THE COLOR PURPLE

by Alice Walker (18)

19. NATIVE SON

by Richard Wright (16)

Tied for #20 with 15 votes each

THE OPTIMIST'S DAUGHTER

by Eudora Welty

SUTTREE

by Cormac McCarthy

“Oprah loved THE ROAD, and everybody loved his cowboy books, but this one—a Knoxville Ulysses—is McCarthy at his best.” —John Grammer

Tied for #21 with 14 votes each

GO DOWN, MOSES

by William Faulkner

GONE WITH THE WIND

by Margaret Mitchell

22. THE GOLDEN APPLES

by Eudora Welty (13)

Tied for #23 with 12 votes each

CANE

by Jean Toomer

“Full of blood-burning moons and unvarnished truths, beguiling and stark.” —Catherine Clinton

THE KNOWN WORLD

by Edward P. Jones

Tied for #24 with 11 votes each

BLOOD MERIDIAN: OR THE EVENING REDNESS IN THE WEST

by Cormac McCarthy

DELIVERANCE

by James Dickey

THE LAST GENTLEMAN

by Walker Percy

A LESSON BEFORE DYING

by Ernest J. Gaines

Tied for #25 with 10 votes each

BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA

by Dorothy Allison

THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER

by William Styron

“What a brave act it was to step into Mr. Turner’s skin and show us something new about the way slavery perverted faith, loyalty, and courage.” —Melissa Delbridge

The following books received 9 votes each
CHILD OF GOD by Cormac McCarthy
GERONIMO REX by Barry Hannah

The following books received 8 votes each
RAY by Barry Hannah
A SUMMONS TO MEMPHIS by Peter Taylor
WOLF WHISTLE by Lewis Nordan

The following books received 7 votes each
COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier
DELTA WEDDING by Eudora Welty
THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING by Carson McCullers
NORWOOD by Charles Portis

The following books received 6 votes each
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN by Ernest J. Gaines
ELLEN FOSTER by Kaye Gibbons
THE HAMLET by William Faulkner
OUTER DARK by Cormac McCarthy
SERENA by Ron Rash
THE VIOLENT BEAR IT AWAY by Flannery O’Connor

The following books received 5 votes each
CAN'T QUIT YOU, BABY by Ellen Douglas
THE DOG OF THE SOUTH by Charles Portis
A GATHERING OF OLD MEN by Ernest J. Gaines
THE GRANDISSIMES by George Washington Cable
JOE by Larry Brown
LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS by William Styron
THE MEMORY OF OLD JACK by Wendell Berry
OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW TELLS ALL by Allan Gurganus
ORAL HISTORY by Lee Smith
TRUE GRIT by Charles Portis

The following books received 4 votes each
EDISTO by Padgett Powell
FAIR AND TENDER LADIES by Lee Smith
LANCELOT by Walker Percy
A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE by Reynolds Price
LOSING BATTLES by Eudora Welty
THE PRINCE OF TIDES by Pat Conroy
SOPHIE’S CHOICE by William Styron
TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell

The following books received 3 votes each
THE AUTIOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN by James Weldon Johnson
THE DOLLMAKER by Harriette Arnow
I AM ONE OF YOU FOREVER by Fred Chappell
IT IS TIME, LORD by Fred Chappell
JUJITSU FOR CHRIST by Jack Butler
LOVE IN THE RUINS by Walker Percy
A MAN IN FULL by Tom Wolfe
THE MARROW OF TRADITION by Charles W. Chesnutt
OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS by Truman Capote
RANEY by Clyde Edgerton
THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
THE THANATOS SYNDROME by Walker Percy
YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN by Thomas Wolfe

The following books received 2 votes each
ALL THE PRETTY HORSES by Cormac McCarthy
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD by Ron Hansen
BARREN GROUND by Ellen Glasgow
BREAKING AND ENTERING by Joy Williams
THE CHANEYSVILLE INCIDENT by David Bradley
THE CLEARING by Tim Gautreaux
CORREGIDORA by Gayl Jones
DIRTY WORK by Larry Brown
THE DIXIE ASSOCIATION by Donald Hays
FATHER AND SON by Larry Brown
THE FATHERS by Allen Tate
FLIGHT TO CANADA by Ishmael Reed
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
HELL AT THE BREECH by Tom Franklin
HERE TO GET MY BABY OUT OF JAIL by Louise Shivers
KATE VAIDEN by Reynolds Price
THE KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE by Shirley Ann Grau
LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry
MAMA DAY by Gloria Naylor
PARIS TROUT by Pete Dexter
THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver
THE PONDER HEART by Eudora Welty
RICH IN LOVE by Josephine Humphreys
THE SECOND COMING by Walker Percy
THE SHARPSHOOTER BLUES by Lewis Nordan
THE SHELTERED LIFE by Ellen Glasgow
THE SPORTSWRITER by Richard Ford
STONER by John Williams
THE THIRD LIFE OF GRANGE COPELAND by Alice Walker
A VISITATION OF SPIRITS by Randall Kenan
WHY DID I EVER by Mary Robison

The following books received 1 vote each
THIRTEEN ALBATROSSES: (OR, FALLING OFF THE MOUNTAIN) by Donald Harington
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain
ALECK MAURY, SPORTSMAN by Caroline Gordon
THE ANGEL OF FORGETFULNESS by Steve Stern
THE ANNUNCIATION by Ellen Gilchrist
ANOTHER GOOD LOVING BLUES by Arthur Flowers
THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE OZARKS by Donald Harington
BABY OF THE FAMILY by Tina McElroy Ansa
BEULAH by Augusta Jane Evans
BIG FISH by Daniel Wallace
BIRDS OF PARADISE by Vicki Covington
BOB THE GAMBLER by Frederick Barthelme
BRIGHTEN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE by Fred Chappell
BURTON AND SPEKE by William Harrison
CALL HOME THE HEART by Fielding Burke (Olive Tilford Dargan)
CANE RIVER by Lalita Tademy
CAR by Harry Crews
CHITA: A MEMORY OF LAST ISLAND by Lafcadio Hearn
THE CHOIRING OF THE TREES by Donald Harington
THE CLANSMAN: AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN by Thomas Dixon, Jr.
THE COCKROACHES OF STAY MORE by Donald Harington
COLD SASSY TREE by Olive Ann Burns
COMING THROUGH SLAUGHTER by Michael Ondaatje
CRAZY IN ALABAMA by Mark Childress
CROOKED HEARTS by Robert Boswell
THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS by Chris Fuhrman
THE DEAD FATHER by Donald Barthelme
DEATH OF THE FOX by George Garrett
DEVIL'S DREAM by Lee Smith
THE DISTANT LANDS by Julian Green
DO, LORD, REMEMBER ME by George Garrett
DREAMS OF SLEEP by Josephine Humphreys
THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE by Forrest Carter
ERASURE by Percival Everett
EVENINGS AT FIVE by Gail Godwin
THE EYE OF THE WORLD by Robert Jordan
A FAMILY'S AFFAIRS by Ellen Douglas
FATHER MELANCHOLY'S DAUGHTER by Gail Godwin
FAY by Larry Brown
A FEAST OF SNAKES by Harry Crews
THE FLOATPLANE NOTEBOOKS by Clyde Edgerton
THE GAUDY PLACE by Fred Chappell
THE GAY PLACE by Billy Lee Brammer
THE GOD FILE by Frank Turner Hollon
HARPSONG by Rilla Askew
THE HEAVEN OF MERCURY by Brad Watson
HELLO TO THE CANNIBALS by Richard Bausch
THE HOUSE OF BREATH by William Goyen
THE HOUSE ON COLISEUM STREET by Shirley Ann Grau
HUNTER’S HORN by Harriette Simpson
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Anne Rice
JIM THE BOY by Tony Earley
JOHN HENRY DAYS by Colson Whitehead
JOINER by James Whitehead
JUBILEE by Margaret Walker
JURGEN by James Branch Cabell
THE KEYS TO TULSA by Brian Fair Berkey
KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler
THE KING IS DEAD by Sarah Shankman
KNEE-DEEP IN WONDER by April Reynolds
LIVES OF THE SAINTS by Nancy Lemann
THE MARCH by E.L. Doctorow
MERIDIAN by Alice Walker
THE MISSING by Tim Gautreaux
A MORNING FOR FLAMINGOS by James Lee Burke
MUSIC OF THE SWAMP by Lewis Nordan
THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET by Edgar Allan Poe
NATURAL SELECTION by Frederick Barthelme
THE NEXT STEP IN THE DANCE by Tim Gautreaux
NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS by Mac Hyman
ON THE ROPES by Otto Salassi
ONE FOOT IN EDEN by Ron Rash
THE ORCHARD KEEPER by Cormac McCarthy
OXHERDING TALE by Charles Johnson
PEACE by Richard Bausch
THE PINK INSTITUTION by Selah Saterstrom
PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver
PROPERTY by Valerie Martin
PROVINCES OF NIGHT by William Gay
PURPLE CANE ROAD by James Lee Burke
THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT by Walter Tevis
A RECENT MARTYR by Valerie Martin
RIDES OF THE MIDWAY by Lee Durkee
RIVER OF EARTH by James Still
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM by Eudora Welty
ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor
RUBY RED by William Price Fox
RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE by Rita Mae Brown
RUN WITH THE HORSEMEN by Ferrol Sams
THE SALT EATERS by Toni Cade Bambara
SAVING GRACE by Lee Smith
THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt
SHIP OF FOOLS by Katherine Anne Porter
A SHORT HISTORY OF A SMALL PLACE by T.R. Pearson
SO FAR BACK by Pam Durban
SONG OF SOLOMON by Toni Morrison
SOUTH MOON UNDER by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
STUCK RUBBER BABY by Howard Cruse
SWALLOW BARN by John Pendleton Kennedy
TEN SECONDS by Louis Edwards
THEY DON'T DANCE MUCH by James Ross
THE TIME OF MAN by Elizabeth Madox Roberts
TRAIN WHISTLE GUITAR by Albert Murray
THE TRUEST PLEASURE by Robert Morgan
TWILIGHT by William Gay
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Harriet Beecher Stowe
UNQUIET EARTH by Denise Giardina
THE UNTIDY PILGRIM by Eugene Walter
THE VOICE AT THE BACK DOOR by Elizabeth Spencer
WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS by Wilson Rawls
WONDER WHEN YOU'LL MISS ME by Amanda Davis
WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME By Robert Penn Warren
THE YEARLING by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
YELLOW JACK by Josh Russell