Small-town America may be fading into collective memory, but its rhythm and charm remain ageless and untarnished. Here in the South, images of town squares, front-porch banter, and church potlucks still conjure up nostalgia.

Ferrol Sams relies on this emotional connection in his latest foray into the South and its picturesque past. The novel is essentially a collection of short chapters that overflow with colorful descriptions of the citizens of an unnamed Georgia town. The narrator, James Aloysius Holcombe, Jr., uses his distinct colloquial voice to tell the story of characters such as Toor Cofield, the town's penny-pinching millionaire, and Mrs. Melrose, the proper and haughty town gossip.

Down Town's main attractions are the quirky phrasing and vintage Southern sayings that densely populate the pages. Ferrol Sams makes sure the intricacies and delights of the old South will live on for years to come. --Marti Buckley Kilpatrick