Customer Reviews

Crazy Ladies

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Finishing Crazy Ladies marks the end of my tour de West, and I am so happy it has ended on such a fantastic note! I loved this novel and all of its humor, quirks, sadness, eccentricities and love. Michael Lee West is the best southern fiction writer in my book, and I can't wait for Mad Girls in Love to be published so I can read more.

Crazy Ladies is just that: CRAZY! A novel told in six voices, readers are treated to the intertwining lives of three generations of women, plus a maid that ties up the saga nice and tight. Miss Gussie begins the novel in 1932 with a bang of a drama and the sparks keep flying up until the end in 1972. Forty years of children, grandchildren, husbands, war, hippies, poverty, murder, rape, jealousy...it's all there. Crazy Ladies is a pageturner to the nth degree and will give readers whiplash with all its goings-on.

Michael Lee West's writing has a cozyness about it, a nice relaxing feeling that will make the pages fly by. She brings to life the signs of the times with passion and zeal; you can't help but smile and cry as your emotions are tugged in all directions. Crazy Ladies is wonderfully addictive, sweet and poignant, and outrageously funny. A fantastic epitome of southern life -- one that is not to be missed.

Crazy Ladies opening chapter is so riveting and harrowing that it will immediately capture your attention and won't let you stop turning pages until the end. This is the story of six southern women that takes place over a forty year period from 1932 through 1972. These women: Miss Gussie, family matriarch, her maid Queenie, her daughters, Dorothy and Clancy Jane and their daughters, Bitsy and Violet, take turns narrating the story, telling a rich, compelling tale of American life during those times. The real strength of this book are its wonderfully drawn characters and Ms West's smart, eloquent writing. A novel full of life's successes and disappointments, told with wisdom, insight and humor. Crazy Ladies is a story that both entertains you and breaks your heart, leaving you breathless and wanting more.

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.

Fans of female issues, family or friendship based theme novels will enjoy this read. Those who are familiar with Ms. Well's Ya Ya Sisters, or Ms. Smiley's A Thousand acres will be as unwilling to put down Crazy Ladies as they were with the mentioned predicisors. Real characters, with skilled character development, real situations we've all unfortunately found ourselves in or gossiped about a neighbour or church member who is suffering through it all based in a small, hot southern town with the hint of "Fried Green Tomatoes" in the air. The point is she paints an execellent real life picture of the dysfunction that runs rampant in most families with a little humour which will cheer you up after Ms. West has brought you tears. Excellent acheivement for a first novel!

I found this book difficult to put down. It is filled with gritty stories of the pain of women who are too crazy (many diagnosably so) to endure it gracefully. Those who come from more priviledged backgrounds will feel challenged to empathize with these women and their lack of resources, both emotional and financial. Women who have experienced hardships will be pleased to find that they are not alone.

For those who are looking for a book in the spirit of "Ya-Ya's," this may be a disappointment. The few times I laughed were near the end. Queenie was the most likable and humorous character. I would be interested in reading a book written entirely from her point of view in the future!

This is the first West book I've read and now I'm in the market for her others.
I really enjoy stories that change narrators, especially when the stories overlap and you get a different perspective on the same situation.
This story was so creatively written, from the way it changed tones, locations, narrators, times. There was no way to become bored with the story.
This story took place from 1932 to 1972 from several locations and was told first-person by Gussie, her two daughters Clancy and Dorothy, her granddaughters and her maid.
Like other reviewers, I wanted to ring Dorothy's neck in one chapter and felt sorry for her in the next. Not too many mothers say of their daughters "she'd make me wish I'd caught a faster moving disease." Clancy also grated on my nerves because what trouble didn't find her, she brought on herself. But then when she told her side of the story, you could sympathize with her. I, like other reviewers, wish the author would have finished Dorothy's story.
There is everything in here from laugh-out-loud humor to some tear-jerking. And a deep-dark secret you know will eventually come to the surface, literally.
This read is well worth your time and once you get started, won't take much of it because it's a page turner.

What a terrific book. Having personally lived in most of the places outlined in the story I'm impressed with the effort the author made to give an accurate geographical depiction. There is no crazy like southern crazy. The story is well told. It's funny, sad, bursting with emotion. The characters are well-formed, realistic women. Their love, hatred, passionate distrust and longing for one another's respect are evident on every page. One customer review said it was not a funny book but a sad book. It's a realistic book. The glass is either half full or half empty and the attitude of the reader is reflected in the way the reader reviews the book. A must read!

If you loved "YaYas", you have to read this and CRAZY IN ALABAMA by Mark Childress. Ms. West writes beautifully! The characters are not always likable, but very much real. I see the african american character, I believe her name was Pearl - just can't think of it right now, was the best character. Always there for everyone - what a wonderful person she was! Wish they would make a movie of this book very soon. As another customer said in his/her review, I can see Kathy Bates as Dorothy. Further, I would recommend Shirley McLaine as Gussie, Tori Spelling as Clancy Jane, Drew Barrymore as Violet, Alicia Silverstone as Bitsy and, last but not least, Oprah Winfrey as Pearl!

Don't miss this one and Ms. West's other book, "She Flew the Coop". Can't wait to read her other books!

I fell in love with this charming tale of mothers and daughters. There's never a dull moment, and the characters are so real, you can almost smell their perfume. Their escapades took me through a rainbow of tears, laughter, and smiles. If you loved FRIED GREEN TOMATOES and STEEL MAGNOLIAS, this is the book for you. It's southern in spirit and utterly beguiling.

Just finished this book after reading the two YaYa books back to back. It was a page turner & always kept my interest. It's a book that is difficult to put down. Plot line was simple & direct without all the frou-frou of Ya-Ya books. Author did a great job with historical chronology. As a 50-something--I kept thinking, I've been there, I've done that!
I agree that the title should be changed as well as the book jacket cover. Jacket cover photo has nothing to do with the story.