Rating: 
Summary: Best of the Lot
Review: I'm in the middle of reading The Diary of Mattie Spenser, which makes 3 Sandra Dallas books in a row. I enjoyed "Buster" the best --- hands down. Ms. Dallas' art of finding and expressing the voice of an ordinary woman is at her finest in this book. Like several other reviewers, The Persian Pickle Club (her most famous?) was the least rewarding for me. But, she really has the voice perfectly with Effa Commander in this novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Real People with Real Struggles
Review: Mae Anna Kovacks was discovered on the dusty streets of Butte Montana, and went on to become a Hollywood star. War, fame, marriage, and love came and went. What never changed was the bond she shared with her two best friends, Effa Commander and Whippy Bird (what names!). When scandal, murder, and betrayal made a legend of Mae Anna, only her friends could set the record straight.Told by Effa Commander, the story weaves personal details of the other lives into the "story behind the legend." Though Effa Commander and Whippy Bird remain hometown girls, the code of their friendship marks them as the real heroes of the story--not the beautiful Mae Anna, Hollywood's Marion Street. This is an extremely touching book. The simple characters, Effa Commander and Whippy Bird, are of course the richest. They humbly live through their own personal tragedies and still find the courage to remain steadfast to their "weaker" friend.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW
Review: My mom recomended this book to me and I could not stop reading it. I was truly touched by the Unholy Three and all they went through. I wish I could have been friends with Effa Comander, Whippy Bird, and May Anna Kovaks. What great ladies. And of course the great men in their lives. This book had one of the best endings I have ever read. I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Nice quick read
Review: Nice story, quick read. Better, in my opinion, than Alice's Tulips. More comparable to Persian Pickle Club...actually maybe even better! Good character development, and pretty smooth storytelling too. A good Sandra Dallas book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Nice quick read
Review: Nice story, quick read. Better, in my opinion, than Alice's Tulips. More comparable to Persian Pickle Club...actually maybe even better! Good character development, and pretty smooth storytelling too. A good Sandra Dallas book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Not as good as "Persian Pickle Club", but still very readable and entertaining. I remain a staunch Dallas fan!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Not as good as "Persian Pickle Club", but still very readable and entertaining. I remain a staunch Dallas fan!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, well paced, easy reading
Review: Sandra Dallas does a wonderful job of engaging the reader in this work, keeps the pace lively yet does not invite you to jump ahead. Set in Butte, MT, the story is about three girls (The Unholy Three) growing up in the hell-roaring days of mining in Montana. The relationships forged become life long friendships, strained and estranged by hard life, war, and death. One of the three becomes a teen prostitute and goes on to movie stardom. The touching account of the lives and relationships between these girls will make you laugh and make you cry. Anyone from Montana or familiar with Butte should enjoy this book. An excellent use of the language from Butte and accurate depictions of the characters. Native to Montana and married to a daughter of the Anaconda company, I gotta say both my wife and I loved this book!
Rating:
Summary: Power of women friendship
Review: Sandra Dallas likes to write about woman companionship, the famous "sisterhood" described by other writers who like to use fancier terms. Dallas describes the "force" of this companionship in many of her books as what seems to give women power to move on in spite life hardships. One can bear a lot, as long as you have a friend to share it with.
This is the story of Effa Commander from Butte, Montana who decided together with Whippy Bird, her life long friend (anyone who really knows her will never call her just Whippy) to set the record straight and tell the truth about May Anna Kovaks and Buster Midnight, their third best friend, a famous movie star and her high school sweet heart, a boxing champ.
Sandra Dallas draws a tale who takes a while getting into, but once inside you get hooked. We accompany the "unholy three" along the important stages of their lives where they remain faithful, caring and non-judgmental towards each other.
Sandra Dallas is an expert in capturing and transforming characters - tones of speech, expressions, voices and places. The real pleasure however is not really the story of May Anna and her success but the "simple" life story of the long friendship between Effa Commander and Whippy Bird. There is something very reassuring and comforting about the story of this friendship and the ability to see it stable and unchanging through the years. I believe that this and Dallas bitter - sweet writing ability are really what makes the charm of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Power of women friendship
Review: Sandra Dallas likes to write about woman companionship, the famous "sisterhood" described by other writers who like to use fancier terms. Dallas describes the "force" of this companionship in many of her books as what seems to give women power to move on in spite life hardships. One can bear a lot, as long as you have a friend to share it with.
This is the story of Effa Commander from Butte, Montana who decided together with Whippy Bird, her life long friend (anyone who really knows her will never call her just Whippy) to set the record straight and tell the truth about May Anna Kovaks and Buster Midnight, their third best friend, a famous movie star and her high school sweet heart, a boxing champ.
Sandra Dallas draws a tale who takes a while getting into, but once inside you get hooked. We accompany the "unholy three" along the important stages of their lives where they remain faithful, caring and non-judgmental towards each other.
Sandra Dallas is an expert in capturing and transforming characters - tones of speech, expressions, voices and places. The real pleasure however is not really the story of May Anna and her success but the "simple" life story of the long friendship between Effa Commander and Whippy Bird. There is something very reassuring and comforting about the story of this friendship and the ability to see it stable and unchanging through the years. I believe that this and Dallas bitter - sweet writing ability are really what makes the charm of this book.
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