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133rd out of 237 books
—
766 voters
She Flew the Coop: A Novel Concerning Life, Death, Sex and Recipes in Limoges, Louisiana
by
Michael Lee West (Goodreads Author)
The two main occupations in Limoges, Louisiana (population: 905), seem to be spreading juicy gossip and consoling the unfortunate with casseroles. And in this early spring of 1952, there is ample opportunity for both with sixteen-year-old and pregnant (by the Baptist minister) Olive Nepper, currently languishing in a coma after drinking pop laced with rose poison. But the
...morePaperback, 400 pages
Published
March 31st 1995
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1994)
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And the story goes on .. this time, recipes included. A book I did not want to end.. or to which I wanted a sequel.
A fun summer read - this book also contains yummy recipes in between the chapters
Highly recommended for anyone with a crazy southern family.
I laughed out loud so much I read this a second time!
Sophie, I liked the comparison of Sophie's beaten biscuits and her life – I don't think you read too much in it – I think it was right on. And it was accurate with Burr gone she has become something sweet and better. I'm still a little shaky on what happened to their son it touched on it so lightly that I didn't know exactly what happened that led to his death. Sophie was one of my favorite characters. Especially after Burr died and she started living.
Henry - I think it was more than `mid-life c...more
Henry - I think it was more than `mid-life c...more
This is the perfect book for fans of Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes and other great triumphs of Southern drama/comedy literature. It's a sprawling novel featuring almost a dozen POV's and a great deal of time is spent in back story and flashback, but it all works thanks to West's engaging style where one can almost hear the Southern narrators spinning their tales (I read this book, but I would bet that this would be an AWESOME audio book or read-aloud book for a road trip). With so man...more
Taking place in a small town in Limoges, Louisiana in the 1950's, this novel revolves around the Nepper family. Daughter Olive has just taken poison in a Nehi soda and is in a coma in desperation regarding her pregnancy by the preacher. Her father, owner of the drug store, is having an affair with his counter assistant, Dee Dee, and her mother is adrift in her life. As friends and neighbors rally around Olive's situation, we meet the friends and neighbors. Sophie is the black maid for many in to...more
This was a fun, intricate, surprisingly mesmerizing novel about a small town in Louisiana, and I looked forward to reading it every night.
I bought this book a long time ago and apparently it ended up in the bookcase before I read it. I found it looking for something else and decided not to put it of any .longer. It is southern fiction in its best form. I enjoyed the pov of the many different characters and while I can't say the ending was to my liking, I enjoyed the read up until then. I just would have rather it ended a little differently, but the author did pull together all the storylines and tie it up neatly. If you like south...more
as always awesome!
The first 363 pages were fantastic. Limoges is presented to you in technicolor detail, right down to the curtains hanging in kitchens. You can see everything in your mind's eye. The characters are fully fleshed out - nothing is missing. The plot meanders here and there, just like Southern book plots tend to do, and again, the pace is perfect.
In the last 20 pages, time hurries up, the plot speeds along into territory that makes no sense, and the ending is messily wrapped in gaudy wrapping paper...more
In the last 20 pages, time hurries up, the plot speeds along into territory that makes no sense, and the ending is messily wrapped in gaudy wrapping paper...more
This book is awful! I read it because of the good rating it has, but I can't figure out how all these people enjoyed it. I'm not hard to please, I read a lot of books and this is the first one I have ever given such a poor rating. I kept with it, hoping something interesting was about to happen, but it never did.
This novel is so good. The storytelling is excellent. I love the play with point of view. Even the town itself works as a character. This is my favorite MLW novel thus far. I highly recommend this book to aspiring fiction writers because it is such a study in emperimentation in POV. It's also just plain good reading.
while i enjoyed this book quite a bit, i was disapointed in the recipes it promised. the rest of the book was full of people doing naughty things but i was very happy that they got their just reward in the end. not a light hearted book but somehow still written in a light hearted manner.
I read this book a long time ago, but it has never left my mind. I love all of West's books. She is so funny, but poignant. She writes specifically about women in the south (Louisiana this time), but her insight into the human frailties and faults and joys is very universal.
I just adored this book completely. Probably because it was about several women, living in a small Louisiana town, going through very big issues that were written about in a thoughtful, charming way. I'm going to miss this book. I really fell in love with it.
Really a 4.5. Great southern fun, quirky characters, interesting and strange recipes. Beware, many saucy passages, and some tough stuff too. Overall though, an enjoyable read. Will probably check out some of her others.
I read the irst 50 pages. It is well written, but I was raised in the South in the 1950's, so it is a little bit TOO REAL for this reader. I like to be entertained - not reminded!! LOL
A novel concerning life, death, sex, and recipes in Limoges,Tennessee. Limoges is a composite of small southern towns. Got more interesting the further I got into it.
Amazing study of a quirky southern town and its colorful inhabitants. A novel filled with humor, sadness, love, sex, life lessons, and a recipe or two.
My dear good friend pointed out to me just earlier that this type of book is not my reading style and you know when I thought about it she was right. I was very surprised that by the time it was over I was glad to see Henry Nepper get his just desserts and the DeeDee women end up in the same situation as her poor husband who did nothing but love her. There was a lot of sad things that happen in this book and things that will make you blush it's got some real honesty in the words. I enjoyed the s...more
Quote from the book:
“If there’d been Baptists in Sodom and Gomorrah, it would’ve burned up a whole lot sooner.”
“If there’d been Baptists in Sodom and Gomorrah, it would’ve burned up a whole lot sooner.”
This was a great southern book ... Michael lee west has a way of writing that you feel like you are part of the story...
This gem will have you falling out of your chair in hysterics. Got the blues? This book is the sure cure! Enjoy!
The best part is the recipe for red beans. I have been using it since I read the book many years ago.
What a Fun, Fun, Fun book! I laughed out loud more than once and fell in love with many of the characters.
Every day life in Limoges LA in 1952. Vangie, Henry & Olive Nepper. DeeDee and Billie Robicheaux.
Pretty good book! Lots of sex and lots of recipes, very Southern storyline, good beach read!
Great southern book by a great southern writer. Love her books. Fun summer read.
i thought that each female character had a very hard life.
no matter if they were rich or poor, they had a hard life being a female.
the maid that kept being beat up by her crazy husband was a bit much
for me. it turned me off for the author being so descriptive about
the beatings. i guess it happens that pastors or ministers take advantage
of such young girls. nothing to keep them busy and no one to look up to.
sad, but true in small towns. it was sick to find out that the soldier took
the place of t...more
no matter if they were rich or poor, they had a hard life being a female.
the maid that kept being beat up by her crazy husband was a bit much
for me. it turned me off for the author being so descriptive about
the beatings. i guess it happens that pastors or ministers take advantage
of such young girls. nothing to keep them busy and no one to look up to.
sad, but true in small towns. it was sick to find out that the soldier took
the place of t...more
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Michael Lee West grew up on the Gulf Coast with a wild tribe of Southern cooks. She lives on a farm near Nashville with her family. Michael is the author of Crazy Ladies, Mad Girls in Love, She Flew the Coop, American Pie, Mad Girls in Love, Mermaids in the Basement, Consuming Passions, and Gone With a Handsomer Man. Her new novel, A Teeny Bit of Trouble, is the second installment in the Teeny Tem...more
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