Best of the South cover

Best of the South

by Anne Tyler

Like the venerable Best American Short Stories series (the 1983 volume of which Tyler and Ravenel edited together), each volume of New Stories from the South collects the best stories published in the previous year's magazines and literary journals. New Stories has been called "maybe the best annual story anthology around" (Kirkus Reviews) and "the collection others should use as a model" (The Charlotte Observer). By inviting Anne Tyler to choose and introduce her favorite stories from New Stories from the South, 1986-1995, the series celebrates its first decade with fanfare and colors flying - not to mention the literary fireworks of twenty great short stories.

More by Anne Tyler

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?