DIXIE RIGGS

by Sarah Gilbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 1991

This trite and insubstantial second novel by the author of Hairdo (1990) is nevertheless a breezy read that runs along on sass, spunk, and good old redneck raunchiness. The eponymous 22-year-old narrator, a self-described ""creative liar,"" hails from small-town Georgia but finds herself in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after a short-lived marriage to a no-count soldier. A girl who can't say no, she moves in with her new beau, a handsome hunk named Buck Speed, who lives with his parents while grooming himself for his dual careers as Mr. Universe and televangelist. Dixie tries to better herself by enrolling at Renee's World of Fashion Modeling, where she attends sessions with her equally sex-obsessed friend Sparkle Starling. With no job, dwindling savings, and lots of payments due on Buck's mother's credit card, Dixie's world falls further apart. A bunch of slightly pornographic photos show up on the Speed doorstep; she's expelled from modeling school for entering a wet T-shirt contest; and, worst of all, her 39-year-old, multi-divorced mother saunters into town, the pretty Le Daire Riggs Rideout, who dresses like a cheap hooker and picks up emery bikers half her age. When Dixie's breasts begin to swell, it can mean only one thing, though Buck soon learns he may not be the father. Though Jesus keeps Dixie from going over the edge, it's her ""pure-T white trash"" mother who really saves the day by wreaking vengeance on the real source of all of Dixie's immediate troubles: her boyfriend-stealing pal, Sparkle. Dixie comes to believe in the inevitability of poor girls ""making sleazy mistakes,"" but the storybook ending finds her well rewarded with a six-figure income for her perfect size-six feet: a job modeling shoes worldwide. Here's a voice, both sexy and naive, that begs to be liked--only the silly plot and cheap morals get in the way.

Pub Date: March 26, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Warner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1991

Categories: FICTION