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May 23, 2008

Mich rated it:

chick lit. michael lee west writes the BEST books! this one is the 'first' book about miss gussie and her antics as she grows up and raises a family. super good read with a southern twist

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May 21, 2007

Shannon rated it:

This story takes place over 40 years, from 1932 to 1972, in the southern United States. It centers around women in a family (5 women plus their maid). The chapters are written in their different voices. The book was a wonderful read, very easy to lose yourself in it for a couple hours. It's especially good if you like southern stories or stories that take place "back in the day", as I do.

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Oct 18, 2007

Irene rated it:

This book is a delight--funny, thought-provoking, sad and also inspirational. The characters are interesting and well-drawn. Hard to put down and one that I read again and again.

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Aug 29, 2007

Rachel rated it:

I normally do not like fiction, but I really couldn't put this book down. I grew up the crazy tales and trouble-making characters and I feel like this is a grown up version. The book starts in the earlier part of the 20th century and ends in the 70s, a journey through the secrets and lives of three generations of southern women. I really like the way that the author tells each chapter in a different character's voice. The author has a great way of weaving the characters stories together. Th More...

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Jan 31, 2008

Heather rated it:

I can always go back to this book for light-hearted laugh out loud fun. Michael Lee West tells the same story from different perspectives, (think Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible), and the voices are so consistent, so genuine and SO Hilarious. I thought HE was a genius author that could really capture the female voice until I found out that He, Michael Lee West, WAS a woman!! Less impressed once I found that out, but the book is still great. Similar style to Fried Green Tomatoes, etc.

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Jul 03, 2007

Maria (Ri) rated it:

I finished this one last night and I am already missing the characters! I really loved this book! It reminded me so much of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik, one of my favorite authors. This is southern version with a little more dramatic kick. As crazy and "unlovable" as she was, Dorothy was one of my favorite characters. She needed to be loved so badly but just went about it in all the wrong ways. Oh Dorothy, if only I could have seen you for counseling and a homeopa More...

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Apr 16, 2008

Kirsten rated it:

I first chose this book based solely on the title. I figured any book with a title like this has to be appealing. I myself am occasionally crazy/wacky, so why not read about others that are too! This was a fun book, but I think that it was the author's first book so it isn't written quite as well as the second book, "Mad Girls in Love." However, both books were fun reads.

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Apr 23, 2008

Joiseyshore rated it:

I have actually read this book quite a few times. It follows the lives of several (quite colorful) southern women through some troubled times but keeps you laughing.

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Mar 30, 2008

Carla rated it:

My aunt gave me this to read. I'm finally on the last chapter today. It has been such a great read that I'm disappointed that it will be over after this last chapter.

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Aug 03, 2011

Donna rated it:

Crazy Ladies is a multigenerational story of 6 unforgettable Southern women - Miss Gussie; her daughters, Dorothy and Clancy Jane; Gussie's granddaughters, Violet and Bitsy; and Queenie, who had been with Miss Gussie for years.
The book starts out with Miss Gussie trying to calm her daughter, Dorothy, who has the colic. Finally asleep, Charlie, Gussie's husband comes up to the house for his meal, then goes upstairs to bathe. In the meanwhile, a young man comes to the door smelling of corn More...

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Dec 16, 2007

Kendra rated it:

This book was on my "To Read" list for years, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to finding it. With multiple narrators and a fifty-year span, this book covers several generations of southern women and takes us from shortly before WWII through the Vietnam era. I thought it was striking to see both how much things change over time and how much things stay the same.

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Dec 16, 2009

Shelley rated it:

The mother and favored daughter characters reminded me too much of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, so it was a little disappointing and I don't particulary like books that have a lot of infidelity in them, but most books seem to have that anymore.

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Jul 16, 2008

Dolly rated it:

I liked this book. The only thing that bothered me was some of the language used, but due to the time setting of this book it made sense I suppose.

I thought it was interesting seeing the story through all of the different characters.

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Mar 14, 2011

Peggy rated it:

Great writing. At times I just had to chuckle out loud. I enjoyed the book Crazy Ladies and they were all really Crazy Ladies....starting with the mother, Miss Gussie and her daughters. The two daughters were opposites and continually at each other's throats. A good story and very entertaining. The characters were both loved and hated each character.My favorite books have well developed characters and this book does. Miss Gussie had her share of trouble.....and it started in the first chapter. T More...

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Nov 03, 2010

Ashley rated it:

I LOVE this book. One of the few books I have read over.. and over.. and over some more. I bought this book maybe in 2001 and simply fell in love with it. The story revolves around a few generations of women and the sad, scary, and funny stories of their lives. Mostly set in the south, but the story also travels to the west coast and more. For any woman who wants to read a feel-good story that draws you in from the get-go, this is it. :)

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Jul 02, 2011

Karen rated it:

The more I read Michael Lee West's books, the more I really like her as an author. She genuinely cares about the reader. And is consistent in giving readers a first rate tale. I first read her "Gone with a Handsomer Man" which I absolutely loved. And highly recommend. So I'm now reading her back catalog. Il ow it'll be a sad day when I finish everything.

MLW is now one of my authors I will always pre-order. She's that enjoyable.

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Sep 17, 2011

Valerie rated it:

Brilliant...set in the Deep South, I was captivated from the first page. When you read that a wife has gone on the run because she fears she murdered her husband by hitting him with some frozen spare ribs, you know you're in for a treat. An absolute delight, i was soon hunting for the sequal "Mad Girls in Love" That one didn't dissappoint either. My one reqreat is that Micheal Lee West doesn't write fast enough.

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Jul 08, 2011

Marzie rated it:

This was such fun for a summer read! The story was so well put together with characters that were charming and sad at the same time. I don't often read this type of fiction, but I found this and it's sequel at our library sale and saved them for summer. I recommend this to women of any age, but those of us from the 1970's will find it especially fun! So now I am on to "Mad Girls in Love", the sequel. Can't wait!

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Dec 09, 2009

Heather rated it:

This book was pretty interesting. The point of view skips around each chapter, between the women in a family spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s. Which is intriguing and frustrating because sometimes you really want to know what Violet is thinking when it's Bitsy's point of view, etc... But the history of the times laced throughout the story is really interesting. And all I can say is the title says it all - these are some crazy ladies, all for different reasons, but crazy none the less.

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Jan 01, 2009

Nancy rated it:

I love the multi-generational novel about eccentric southern women. This one was more soap-operesque trash about truly dysfunctional and crazy women and unfaithful men. Its one you keep reading to find out how it ends even though you can see it as a Lifetime made for tv movie. And I read the next in the series and it was more of the same.

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Jul 15, 2009

Cynthia rated it:

June seemed to be my month for reading books filled with unlikeable characters. I picked Crazy Ladies for my book club book and was pretty disappointed in my choice. When I first read the description, I thought the book was going to be a feel good story (the club had been reading a lot of depressing books lately) about multi-generational female family members, all their different trials and hardships but through all of it, they banded together and made it though.

Every single woman More...

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Dec 02, 2011

Sue rated it:

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be another very funny story about southern women. Instead it was about a family that was, in my opinion, very dysfunctional because of an incident with Miss Gussie (main character)when she was first married. Her oldest Dorothy was a product of it and in the end was looked at as "crazy" by her family. I didn't think anyone was crazy but people who just lived their lives the best they could.
The story was about Miss Gussie and her More...

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Mar 19, 2009

Tammy rated it:

I thought this was going to be hokey - something about southern women getting together and drinking sweet tea, etc.. The first chapter grips you and you can't put the book down. The book is about the women in one family and how they are effected by happenings of their past as they age.
It's a real page turner.

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May 31, 2011

Brandy rated it:

I love Michael Lee West. This one is set in the south and centers on the lives of a family of women throughout several decades. I think West does a great job of telling a great big story in a small way. She shows whats going on, never tells it. And her prose, though subtle, is often really poignant and beautiful.

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May 09, 2011

Xrusanthi rated it:

I read this one in 3 days.It is highly enjoyable and the ladies of the book are indeed crazy.Not as good as "Divine secrets of the Ya ya sisterhood" (which also concetrates on South and its ladies)but I enjoyed it neither the less. I found pieces of my character in almost every heroine of the book.

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Jul 14, 2011

Cindy rated it:

I read this book quite a few years ago and remembered that I had enjoyed it. I normally don't re-read a book, but I just found the sequel, "Mad Girls in Love", and wanted to read the first book again before reading the sequel. However, I had forgotten how parts of the book are quite dark. I had a little trouble finding the humor sometimes, because these ladies really were CRAZY. I did enjoy reading the book again, though, and had a hard time putting it down. I'm now reading the sequel More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Laura rated it:

I am loving this author! Great characters, although I found the crazy part a lot more sad than "haha" crazy. I don't think I have ever despised and yet felt as sorry for a character as I did for Dorothy. Mad Girls in Love is next on my list!

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May 17, 2009

Deborah rated it:

Tales from a multi-generation Tennessee family, spanning for the 30's to the 70's. Times are not always easy, decisions aren't always correct and there are secrets to keep. Each chapter is the voice of a different family member.
I was quickly drawn into this sad, funny novel.

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May 26, 2009

Michael rated it:

I honestly don't know what I thought of this book. I had a hard time believing the characters at times because they were so unremittingly tragic. It ends in an interesting way and the characters are certainly engaging.

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Jan 06, 2009

Jill rated it:

I really looked forward to reading this book. I usually love books about southern women and their lives, but some of these ladies really were crazy! :o) Also, it was set mostly in the 70's-not my favorite era to read.

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