Rating: 
Summary: Lyrical Lunacy
Review: As this book chronicles the lives of Gussie Hamilton and her eccentric offspring, it is anything but predictable. Do not make the mistake of thinking, "Mmmm-hmmm, another 'Southern' novel."Miss Gussie is a woman of quiet strength and stolid integrity who commits an unspeakable act as the book opens in 1932 when her daughter Dorothy is an infant. Dorothy is a peculiar child who bitterly resents the birth of her sister, Clancy Jane, in 1938. We follow the girls as they grow and become wives and mothers themselves with some fairly disastrous results. Clancy Jane has disappointed her mother by getting pregnant at 15 and running off with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, at the same time giving the jealous and petty Dorothy ammunition to lord it over her. This is also the story of Queenie, Gussie's black domestic employee who is an integral part of the family and more Gussie's best friend than servant. By the time the book ends in 1972, Clancy Jane has been a frowsy housewife in New Orleans and a California hippie, but her daughter Violet has turned out relatively normal. The domineering Dorothy, on the other hand, who has lived for appearances and her position in small-town society, starts losing it when she can no longer control her 2 children, Mack, a Viet Nam veteran, and Bitsy, married into the best family in Crystal Falls, Tennessee, and divorced before her baby is born. The writing is powerfully evocative and stirringly beautifuly, almost Faulknerian in its intensity. There were passages where I laughed out loud and others where I bawled aloud. This book is funny and passionate, ironic and wryly witty, bittersweet and sorrowful, and completely captivating. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it
Review: Though not as deep as New Orleander, this book fell along in the same vain as Ya Ya Sisterhood. It was good enough but not too emotionally draining. The family centered plot brought forth many exciting times and themes in the story, I.E. Vietnam, mental breakdowns, and substance abuse. I knocked off a star because some of the characters were not as substanative as I would have liked to have seen them. The plot however lended itself to an excellent southern flavor. I really felt like I was living and dying in Tennessee and New Orleans while reading this book. Overall, I recommend this if you are looking for a good piece of southern literature but it will not keep the interest of your average reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Am I from another planet?
Review: Wow. I thought this book was a complete waste of precious time...and so did the rest of my book club. The characters were shallow and undeveloped, there were no resolutions of issues, poor Dorothy never had a chance to win her mother's love and I am still trying to figure out why Clancy Jane married the doctor. What galls me even more is that reviewers have the audacity to compare this book to Ya Ya's, which is SO much more fun (although still disfunctional). A book about Pearl and how she put up with these sick people all those years might have been more interesting. But I doubt it.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy Ladies
Review: Crazy Ladies captures your attention immediately and doesn't let go! The characters are well developed, and very realistic. Michael Lee West combines humor, tradgey and love in a very unique way to make a very strong statement about the strength and weaknesses of women.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read but don't listen to it on tape!
Review: I had the unfortunate experience of listening to this book on tape. While Michael Lee West is a good author and the book is funny, enjoyable and endearing, having to listen to Ms. West screech her way through the audio version was like listening to fingers scraping on a chalkboard. She has the most unpleasant speaking voice I have ever heard - it really is almost a screech. I have read other books where the author is also the narrator and they always suffer. Please Ms. West - continue writing but leave the audio version to a professional!
Rating:
Summary: Average tale of a family's women
Review: The hoopla surrounding this book has me stumped. Granted, the first chapter is excellent. After that, however, the book plods along with all the expected highlights of a multi-decade book. It is readable and somewhat interesting, but so predictable. There are few surprises, no unexpected plot developments after the first chapter. This is a fun read, but not a great book. Take it to the pool.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy ladies is buried treasure
Review: I dare you to read the first chapter and not continue. A smartly constructed story that rivets you immediately has been accomplished with West's novel. As the family branches out, the story winds deliciously around these very original characters. Most intriguing is the author's use of gardening as a constant background in which the plot moves along in harmony with the seasons. Just as important to the plot is to pay attention to what kind of plants are growing, who is planting and where they are being planted. (Note those are zinnias on the book cover! ) The characters are not all especially crazy, in the real sense. Each of them defines crazy in their own way; basically struggling with life's cards as they unfold on the table. A truly unforgettable story about some of the most remarkable women you will ever meet. A perfect summer novel to enjoy in your own garden....
Rating:
Summary: It's a Winner
Review: I loved this book! It's the first one I read from Michael Lee West. Her writing is realistic, yet compassionate and objective. All characters are flawed, but in a wonderfully charismatic way. While you may not agree with their actions and points of view, readers can certainly understand where their behavior comes from. Strongly recommended for women (and people in general) with extended families (with many women).
Rating:
Summary: Crazy about Crazy Ladies
Review: To be honest, I picked up this book planning on light fare type of reading material. What I found was so much more. While this book was not so deeply or poetically written in the league of certain books such as "White Oleander", it kept me interested and looking forward to the next chapter. I really admired the author's ability to initally protray Dorothy as somewhat ghoulish and repulsive, yet when you read her chapters, you realize how much of this pitiful behavior has perhaps been learned and ingrained in her upbringing. My heart broke when reading the scene in the Vets office. You can see that for once in her life, Dorothy experienced true unconditional love. Some of the charactors may have been weak and somewhat detached, however that was easily offset by the strength in the other charactors. I enjoyed this book more then "The Devine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" because the charactors in this book were flawed and not as successful in their lives, hence, more human.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: I found this story very compelling. Seemed more plausible than some because not everyone had a perfect ending. Definitely could feel the "first novel" in some of the writing - and that's okay because this was a GREAT ATTEMPT- and I'm sure the writing only gets better as this writer progresses. I liked how she pulled the different eras together, too. Great references to different times and places! I'm definitely trying more by this author!
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