The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
Ratings413
Average rating3.8
Okay, so this book started out strong with Steel Magnolia vibes. Then, I somehow simultaneously hurked and cheered for wilting Patti to kick some butt a lá J.Lo in Enough. The midway point ignited my hatred for Carter (seriously f*ck that guy) and his Good Ol' Boys club–they were easily bought and obviously useless. Most interesting was which women chose to turn a blind eye because they were comfortable with their situations and which women chose to flex for some positive change. All in all, a fun spooky season read complete with those don't-go-in-there-shouting-at-the-screen feels.
This book almost feels like it doesn't belong to one genre. It has humor,a monster and a detective story. And I don't think that's a bad thing. It's also an amazing palate cleanser if you've been reading a lot of one type of book. I enjoyed how fleshed out some of the characters are. It would be very easy to just type cast one of the characters as the “religious one” etc.
So given the above, why not five stars? This book has what I see as a few small problems. They weren't barricades to my enjoyment, but they caused me to pause and “Huh?” a few times. For instance, I think the writer needs slightly more practice writing action scenes. I had to re-read a paragraph a few times to figure who was doing what to whom and how. In addition, at one point a character undergoes some development (yay! Go Team!) and then there's a time jump and seems like the character development has moved to another country, changed its name, and disavowed it's former life as a plot point. The character recovers their mojo (which is part of the reason I have 4 stars.), but I would have liked if that time jump was handled differently.
3.5 stars. I especially liked the beginning and the end - the middle was good, but deals with difficult issues (racism, sexism, classism) that are upsetting and reminded me of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
I'm so satisfied with this ending- I had to stop reading when I couldn't take the rising tension (even before the anguishing interlude) but I'm glad I came back to finish. Will definitely pick up more by this author.
Patricia Campbell leads the picture perfect life. A house in the affluent Old Village suburb of Charleston South Carolina, hard working husband and two beautiful kids. She joins a book club with some of the ladies in the community where they escape the humming normalcy of their lives by reading pulpy true crime novels and books featuring serial killers. Things are great.
And then James Harris enters their lives.
Sure this is a blood soaked vampire horror story (though to be honest the most visceral episode in the entire story for me involved a single cockroach) but Grady Hendrix is playing with a lot of themes here.
The housewives may be in mortal danger from a vampiric creature but it turns out the real villain is the patriarchy. As vile as Harris is, it's the husbands that are the monsters here. The women's voices are all invalidated through gaslighting, violence, religion, and careerist concerns. The racial divide is also plumbed as the women can almost excuse their inaction when it's “just” the Black kids disappearing down on Six Mile. The families there are also slowly being displaced by an ambitious new development project called Gracious Cay being led by the charismatic James Harris. A project that makes the book club ladies and their husbands very wealthy to boot. It's easy to just go along with it all - but James harbours a hunger that can't be stopped. Patricia learns that her inaction has led to the horrors seeping into her's and her children's lives. And so she rallies the housewives along with the Black cleaning lady to mount an offence.
God, this whole thing is just a metaphor for white Republican women ignoring all the signs and warnings and willingly inviting a monster into the “House.”
I adored My Best Friend's Exorcism, so I couldn't wait to get my horror-loving hands on this. It certainly did not disappoint. It shines a light on a housewife in the 90's as she begins to suspect one of her neighbours of being a vampire. It had gore and humour and surprises - and it touches on some very important social issues of racism, sexism and a housewife's role in society (which is mostly overlooked and belittled). Grady Hendrix said he wanted to pay homage to the wives and mothers who fight everyday for their families and their communities without any appreciation or recognition.
What I loved most was the friendship and camaraderie between a group of middle aged women, and how fierce and powerful they can be when they support each other.
Near perfect read. I like and respect the premise – the nods to other books, including mashups of “literature” and horror. I liked what the book had to say about the human instinct to ignore the things we want to keep at a distance. And I liked what the book had to say about women not being taken seriously. Bahni Turpin! I listened to the audiobook, and I'm so glad I did. If I listed my favorite audiobooks of all time, no narrator would show up more than Bahni Turpin. I just love her work, and she blew me away yet again.A deal with the devil. I kept on thinking about the Audre Lorde quote about how the master???s tools will never dismantle the master???s house. The white women at the center of the story are invested in not rocking the boat, in not challenging their husbands, in justifying the status quo. White women, then and today, come by a lot of their privilege through the white men with whom they align, and these women find out just how precarious it all is. Early on, we're told a story about the vampire which shows his modus operandi – target black people, appeal to the greed and ego of white men. The main character, Patricia, tries to appeal to her friends, telling them he's harming black children. They try very hard not to believe, wanting to choose ignorance, especially since their husbands are in business with him. Patricia fairly early on makes the association that those kids could be her kids, and you save children when in peril. Why, yes, there's foreshadowing then. I had sympathy for some of the women, I also wanted to smack them, and their willfull ignorance. These women were rarely overtly racist, but they happily lived in their segregated neighborhood, chatting about gated communities, oblivious to what's happening down the road from them. Arguably the most heroic person is a black woman who looks after the main character's mother in law, and she I would have loved more of her perspective. She also calls the ladies on their B.S.This story is the road to these women removing their blinders, which might be a bit of a familiar feeling to some people these days. You could definitely read it through the lens of BLM, and a theme of which lives matter, and to what degree. Not that the author is overt, or directly invokes it. A quick Google search indicates he is not publicly political. SSDGM by a Vampire The women are fans of true crime, and that just might be what saves them. The excerpts and discussions are murderino approved! Blah Blah Blah The vampire, and just about every man in this story is a big old mansplainer. The vampire mansplained until the last moment. Some “people” cannot be killed enough. The men also kinda ruined the book club for a bit. Being a woman with important information, and being gaslighted and not heard is a pretty classic (and relatable) horror trope. He has his father's eyes. One of the classic authors of satirical horror was a man named Ira Levin, and I have to think Grady Hendrix, who is a student of the genre [b:Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction 33670466 Paperbacks from Hell The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504436657l/33670466.SX50.jpg 54542087] had him in mind, particularly [b:Rosemary's Baby 228296 Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1) Ira Levin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296.SY75.jpg 883024] and [b:The Stepford Wives 52350 The Stepford Wives Ira Levin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554371721l/52350.SY75.jpg 1534281]. The Levin books and this one have oodles in common, particularly husbands who will sell out their family for success, and wives who are belittled while living the saying that you are not paranoid if people really are out to get you. You CAN judge a Grady Hendrix book by it's cover. He has the best covers these days. I cannot decide which version of My Best Friend's Exorcism I prefer, but I think it's the VHS looking one.[bc:My Best Friend's Exorcism 41015038 My Best Friend's Exorcism Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533059241l/41015038.SY75.jpg 46065002][bc:My Best Friend's Exorcism 26118005 My Best Friend's Exorcism Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456208235l/26118005.SX50.jpg 46065002]Genius. Meanwhile, this cover is –Chef's kiss– Women's fiction, literary fiction, horror, maybe even Twilight. Compare:[bc:The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires 54333381 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593499474l/54333381.SX50.jpg 68534292][bc:Commonwealth 28214365 Commonwealth Ann Patchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483278132l/28214365.SY75.jpg 48242398][bc:Twilight 41865 Twilight (Twilight, #1) Stephenie Meyer https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1361039443l/41865.SY75.jpg 3212258][bc:Bite Me 8570832 Bite Me Christopher Moore https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442548654l/8570832.SY75.jpg 6752024]Here's a secret I usually also end up becoming a bit chocked up ready books by this author. The stories are camp, and satire, and funny, but there's also a real heart there that comes shining through at unexpected moments. What else? I hate when pets die horribly in horror, and this author HAS DONE THAT BEFORE in a way that – no pun intended – haunts me, so when I saw there was a dog in this one... See, I am traditionally so worried about the pet that any time they're on the page I'm so freaked out that my enjoyment of the story is diminished. In case you are like me, and would prefer to know going in... The book takes place over several years, and the dog does eventually die, and it IS sad, but Ragtag does not die a sad horror story death. Close, but...Oh, the son is obsessed with Nazis, and Patricia never pursues that, which to me is just part of the theme of not wanting to deal with the hard stuff. Also, I am not saying this would automatically make him evil, considering what I read, but it fascinates me that she never pursues this. Major Spoiler And nothing comes of it. I suppose it was just there for the reading to track and worry about.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is an addition to the world of horror from Grady Hendrix. The author, well known for Horrorstor and Paperbacks from Hell, makes a return to the world of his previous award winning book My Best Friend's Exorcism. Following a family living next door to the Lang family, several years after the conclusion of Exorcism, this book takes on themes of friendship, gender, and race in an older demographic.
This book is at times funny, suspenseful, and creative in the field of vampire stories. My only disappointment was that Hendrix didn't flesh out his vampire lore as much as I would have desired. Fans of Hendrix's other books will likely enjoy this one. Those who didn't dig Horrorstor or Exorcism might find something interesting in this one too.
This is the first Grady Hendrix book I didn't love. The characters just aren't as vibrant as they are in his other works, and the story feels like it takes forever to actually start. It's not a BAD book - it picks up in the second half - but it's the first of his titles that I could never see myself rereading.
4.5.
Knocked down for dragging on in the beginning/parts of the middle. Also frustrating at times, and the men-folk were really terrible to get through. As were the kids for that matter...but, they're kids so I can have a bit more lenience. A horror story that made some very good points regarding sexism, classism, and racism. Set in the 90's but still relevant to day. I highlighted A LOT in the last 1/3 of this story.
Regarding why choose to move to the South?: “You'll take anyone at face value as long as he's white and has money.”
Lots of good material for discussion here. The characters are not always meant to be made as characters to root for, but this was thought provoking and the ending was as satisfying as it could be given the circumstances.
I stand by my convictions when starting this book that Carter is indeed trash.
ETA: this book was very gory so be prepared for that if you proceed.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! This was so good. It was humorous and suspenseful all in one. They were right it's like vampires meets Steele Magnolias. Read it you won't regret it.
DNF. Quit around page 100.
I'm not thrilled. I think its probably just me - I was automatically turned off by the stereotypical Southern women's club drama and overly hick names. The dialogue is also extremely forced and strange (very clearly written by a man who doesn't understand women), and none of the characters actually have their own character - this is an automatic no-go for me. Plus, bring in the vampire and you all the sudden have a weird telenovella forced plot/dialogue vibe going on.
Just bad.
Wow. I wasn't sure how I felt about this book until I reached the middle and then BAM. It just took off. Loved every second and was riveted by the final 200 pages. Perfect palette cleanser and an excellent way to decompress.
3.5
Great writing, I cringed and tensed up when I was supposed to.
If this was set in the 1950s (because that's what it felt like and not the 90s) then I would say it felt very realistic like I could picture this actually happening and the characters acting they way they did, if I suspended my disbelief that vampires existed. This had a lot more serious topics then I expected, it brought issues of class, race, sexual assault, child abuse and domestic abuse. There was even gas lighting.
The women were there for each other when it came to “normal” matters like arranging care for an elderly parent but when it came to the supernatural aspect of the book it took much longer then I liked for everyone to ban together. Based off the title of the book and the premise I thought there was going to be more of group of friends taking on this evil entity but that really didn't happen until the end of the book and it was mostly the main character having to handle things on her own.
This was good, though I didn't love it like I did [b:Horrorstör 13129925 Horrorstör Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414314217l/13129925.SX50.jpg 18306052] and [b:My Best Friend's Exorcism 26118005 My Best Friend's Exorcism Grady Hendrix https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456208235l/26118005.SX50.jpg 46065002]. It didn't seem as funny - in fact, some seriously heinous all-too-realistic bad shit happens, like rape, suicide, and child abuse (seriously, big trigger warnings here). Of course icky bad stuff happened in the other books too, but this seemed more like real life and less fantastic.Now, the more serious tone fits with the metaphors and is pretty well-executed. Horrorstor dealt with 20-something employment and commercialism, and MBFE was like a pure hit of “I was a 14-year-old girl in 1987” nostalgia and dealt with how being a teenager can be like literally being possessed, from the standpoint of parents, friends, and even self. This book takes aim at misogyny, domestic abuse, sexual assault, racism, classism, and dementia. That's . . . a lot. The nostalgia angle doesn't hit me as hard with this one - I'm not (really) southern and I haven't had a circle of friends that was both enduring and close and also kind of judgy (heh - maybe I just repeated myself?) Also, my husband isn't AWFUL, as the husbands are in this story. The most sympathetic ones were kind of non-entities/checked out. I'm thankful I can't connect to the experience of feeling both at the mercy and abandoned by the person who's supposed to support you. But that said, this does hit some perfect notes about being a primary-caregiver mother: feeling pressure to perfectly control and orchestrate your children's lives to the point where they literally don't feel negative emotions; and simultaneously resenting your kids or being irritated beyond all measure with them. I was certainly nodding along a lot of the time!