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Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta

Richard Grant (2015)

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THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

Leave it to the English writer Richard Grant to capture the soul of the enigmatic and often disparaged Mississippi Delta.  Grant, captivated by the beauty of the region and a love of the blues, makes an impulsive decision to leave his shoebox of an apartment in New York City to buy an isolated old plantation house and to bring his girlfriend Mariah to the tiny and bizarre little community of Pluto, Mississippi.  Daily life is an adventure as the couple learns to fight off snakes and alligators, to grow and hunt for their own food, and to assimilate with the eccentric cast of locals.  And Morgan Freeman.  Grant does a fantastic job describing the unique culture of this region, including real insights into the complexity of racial tensions and the crushing impact of a shrinking economy.  Despite the challenges of daily life and the overwhelming clouds of racism, Grant describes an enjoyable experience with some remarkable and generous people.  Dispatches From Pluto is entertaining and funny, written with empathy, and giving readers a rich view into the area that Grant calls “the best kept secret in America”.
Click here to see reviews and prices for this book on Amazon.

OTHER RECOMMENDED TRAVEL BOOKS - RICHARD GRANT

Richard Grant is a freelance English travel writer who now lives in Mississippi, best known for his writing on exploration and culture.  He has published a number of books including two travelogues: ​God's Middle Finger (2008) recounting his travels in a dangerous part of Mexico and Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa (2011).  Click here to learn more about Richard Grant and his work.
book cover of God's Middle Finger
book cover of American Nomads

GREAT QUOTES FROM DISPATCHES FROM PLUTO

“One of my hopes in writing this book is to dissolve these clumsy old stereotypes, and illustrate my conviction that Mississippi is the best kept secret in the United States.  Nowhere else is so poorly understood by outsiders, so unfairly maligned, so surreal and peculiar, so charming and maddening.  Individually, collectively, and above all politically, Mississipians have a genius for charging after phantoms and lost causes.  Nowhere else in the world have I met so many fine, generous, honorous people..."

​“It was religion, it was worship, it was masterful musicianship and electrifying performance art, all rolled into one.  It was a tradition, honed and perfected over many generations.  It was a survival mechanism, an escape hatch, a way to feel exalted, sanctified, joined together in glory.  It was a way to beat mortality and to live forever in the perfect sky.”

“So you see the difficulty in trying to generalize about racism even in one tiny pocket of the Mississippi Delta.  It’s a shifting target, a grouping of perceptions about other people’s perceptions.  There’s a huge social chasm between the races, a deep history of prejudice, and bonds so close they feel like kinship.”​

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • Read the New York Times review of Dispatches From Pluto, written by Tom Zoellner in 2015.
  • This book is one of our favorites.  Click here to see the full list of our top recommendations.

LEAVE YOUR OWN REVIEW HERE


A MAP OF PLUTO AND THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA


THOSE WHO LIKED THIS BOOK WILL ALSO LIKE:

book cover of Deep South

Deep South, by Paul Theroux

One of the best travel books on the South comes from one of the best American travel writers, Paul Theroux.  Theroux is better known for extended travel to remote destinations in Africa and Asia, but in his book he stays closer to home, choosing to take several driving trips through this region of the world.  Click here to read our review of Deep South.

book cover of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

One of Grant’s friends, and the person that introduced him to the Delta, is Martha Foose,  author of one of the best cookbooks on Southern cuisine, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea.  The book is filled with funny stories and useful tips that highlight what Southern cooking is all about: comfort, hospitality, and great food.  
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