Rating: 
Summary: Great insightful look at clashes of culture, odd mannerisms,
Review: and delightful characters. Loved the novel--more so than Mama...seeing people up close and personal is White's expertise. Her portrayal of urban vs. rural norms by the dialog of Andy and his dad,Tom were classic--clinched by Andy's "domestic"interests (in following a Martha Stewart "good thing" tip of using buttermilk to encourage moss growth on pots).These everyday events with familiar tensions are quickly explained by sweet Hilma following the festival outing when she tells Meade: "Oh, Meade, people hardly ever behave the way we wish they would."--we are all different and eccentric and odd...and love is like "brown rot on a plum tree in the dark winter months, and by the time you become aware of it, the leaves are out and it's too late to spray."...but Truths are the same with everyone--everywhere and can't we all agree with Lucy when she says outloud, "You're a good man, Roger."?
Rating: 
Summary: A really good book
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are small-town, which I like. I have some pet chickens, and so the part about the old breeds was an added bonus for me. I was especially moved in reading the brief part describing the sad facts of the modern commercial egg-laying hens. I have seen this first-hand and know it's true. Perhaps people who otherwise would not know about these conditions will read it in this fine novel. Overall, a very good read. I hope there will soon be another similar book by Bailey White.
Rating: 
Summary: What's this really about?
Review: I sometimes enjoy "reading" books on tape, since I drive a lot. Certain authors, including Toni Morrison, are a lot more accessible on tape. This book, however, practically put me off the road - a drowse inducer which should never have been recorded. I kept thinking that high school teachers everywhere must be torturing their students to come up with literary allusions and examples of patterns or imagery. If so, I'd like to know - otherwise the book is really not about anything.
Rating:
Summary: A real eye closer about small town America
Review: Have you ever taken the trouble to read someone's diary, with permission of course, and been struck by how mundane their life is? This book encapsulates such a journal, which I will describe as the yawn genre. I purchased the book due to the gushing enthusiasm of the reviewers and due to previous work by the author. Suckered again largely by the marketing hype, I discovered a book of confusingly similar, two-dimensional characters. The reason for the inclusion of practically all the players, the hero among this number and I use the term hero in its loosest sense, is questionable to say the least. As I read I waited expectantly for the action to begin and as the number of pages as yet unread diminished, I found myself getting a little irritated but resigned to the fact that it was likely to end with a crescendo similar to that of the 1812 Overture. I reached the end without a single cannon being fired and I am left with one overwhelming question: what was the point of doing all the research into the flora and fauna of Georgia to end up with so many empty pages. I accept that if you look at the other reviews there is a polarity of stark contrast between the Bailey White appreciation society and detractors such as myself. I think that I have missed something but can't face retracing my steps to see if I can find it. Quite a year for plums? I rather think the trees developed leaf curl very early on.
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable, comfortable read, perfect for a hot summer day
Review: I have to say this book didn't meet expectations, but it was still a great read. I could just hear Bailey White's distinctive voice narrating the lives of these characters. The text is rich with classic Bailey White one-liners, if you read it carefully. I suspect that her voice adds so much to her audio narratives that we feel something is missing when we read her stories on paper.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a Lemon
Review: Not what I hoped for; certainly not what I expected from the glowing reviews, nor from my previous experiences with Ms. White's writing. The characters are confusing to sort out (any non-Russian novel which begins with a character list should immediately be suspect), not simply because of their sound-alike names but because they are all so equally flat that no one character ever distinguishes itself from another in the reader's mind. Ms. White is a superior essayist, and unfortunately, has written this novel as if it, too, were a series of essays. No character development, no plot to speak of and no one to care about by the end of the book. Quite a Year For Plums is a lemon.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, lifeless, characters without a plot
Review: This book is just a collection of everyday, ordinary events that weren't tied together in any cohesive fashion. The author described behavior of the characters but never portrayed any insight into their motivations and emotions. Better luck on your next novel, Ms. White.
Rating:
Summary: National Treasure or National Bore
Review: Because of all the hoopla by Amazon.com and others for this book, I forced myself to finish it. I'm sorry, but I just don't see it. I read a great deal. I teach literature. The characters in this book, however, left me cold. They were not as eccentric or amusing as those in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I simply could not care about them. The plot was also absent, or so deeply buried that it never surfaced. I am really sorry that I spent my money on White's latest effort. She may be called a "National Treasure" by some, but I'll now regard her as the "National Bore."
Rating:
Summary: Sleeper
Review: I have enjoyed selected stories from Mama Makes up Her Mind for years. I was excieted to see that Ms. White had written a novel and bought it immediately. I understand life in small southern towns, they have been the essence of my experience, but I did not find these people to be quaint or interesting or worth reading about. By page 38 I had a real lack of interest into these characters and there was no plot that I could detect. I usually know a story when I see one and this book was a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: What did everyone else SEE in this book?
Review: Sorry folks, but this book was a real loser. Perhaps it's just that I like plots that make sense, can't stand it when the author gives most of the characters names that start with the same sound, or that I literally had to force myself to finish it ---- but, I really did not like this book and regretted having spent the money to purchase it. I read a lot, and read a great variety of topics, but this one was a total wash!
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