New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2006

In his introduction, novelist Gurganus (Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All) questions ""the use of fiction"" and suggests that the medium's duty is to do more than merely distract readers from tenuous times. That Gurganus even asks that question at all marks a turning point in the 21-year history of one of the country's most-enduring and highly respected annual short-story anthologies. Heretofore edited by Shannon Ravenel, the series now welcomes a guest editor for each volume. That delicate task falls first to Gurganus, who answers his own question regarding the use of fiction by choosing 20 mostly entertaining stories from both seasoned writers and newcomers. Here are authentic tales of a celebrity divorcee with a plumbing problem (Tony Earley's ""Yard Art"") and a white woman stuck in an all-black hospital (Nanci Kincaid's ""The Currency of Love""). Gurganus also indulges in revisionist history (Ben Fountain's ""Brief Encounters with Che Guevara""), The Onion-style news accounts (Chris Bachelder's ""Blue Knights Bounced from CVD Tourney"") and a narrative by a rattlesnake rancher (R.T. Smith's ""Tastes Like Chicken""). But the best stories (Kevin Wilson's ""Tunneling to the Center of the Earth,"" William Harrison's ""Money Whipped"") are the ones in which the protagonists attempt to improve their own little place in the world. Photographs of each author, brief bios and post-story commentary provide added context.