Drowning in Gruel

Book excerpt: Take a darkly hilarious trip through a South Carolina town with the “unchallenged king of the comic Southern short story” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “Usually stories about small, quirky, southern towns are full of adorable, quirky characters that share their unusual philosophies with us and teach us how to enjoy life (think Forrest Gump or even Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). Gruel may be small, southern, and quirky, but it is also as miserable as its name sounds. The inhabitants are miserable. Even people from as far away as New York who happen to stop by Gruel are miserable . . . Fortunately, the writing is good enough that the misery becomes somehow enjoyable.” —Booklist “George Singleton is a madman. He’s also one of the most talented American writers the South has turned out in decades.” —The Post and Courier