Another great story by Michael Lee West. I disagree you don't have to be a Southern lady to enjoy the humor. I love this author. ( )

Another great story by Michael Lee West. I disagree you don't have to be a Southern lady to enjoy the humor. I love this author. ( )

She Flew the Coop: A Novel Concerning Life, Death, Sex and Recipes in Limoges, Louisiana
by Michael Lee West

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Avon A (March 31, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060926201
ISBN-13: 978-0060926205
Limoges, Louisiana may seem gentile on the surface, but behind closed doors, everyone has a secret. While the Baptists and Methodists hash out old grievances on the sidewalk and nosy old ladies peek around lace curtains, gossip is flowing over back fences and sixteen-year-old Olive Nepper is drinking a Nehi spiked with poison. As she slips into a coma, the secrets of the city begin to be revealed and no one will ever be the same. As the residents recount their memories of the pre-poison girl, the complexities of small town southern life are exposed. When a nurse discovers that the teen is pregnant, the murmurs of the city become more vicious. Then Olive's seemingly ideal family is rocked again when her father, esteemed pharmasist Henry, is caught having an affair with the buxom counter girl, Dee Dee Robichaux. Her mother, Vangie, retreats to her family's abandoned farm, leaving behind her prized roses and the neighbors' whispers. Vangie finds comfort in her only friend, her housekeeper, Sophie Donnell, who is struggling to survive her own marriage and transverse the newly complicated tangles of her friendship with widower, funeral director and personal saviour, Cab Beaulieu. Finally, an impostor is revealed, Vangie and Sophie find their voices, and the entire community begins to heal.

While Olive's suicide attempt and the breakdown of her family is certainly a frame to the story, this novel is about the secrets of the entire community. Each of the vividly drawn characters brings a piece of the story together, and the result is a finely woven tapestry of small town southern life during the 1950s. Full of humor, warmth, and charm, She Flew the Coopholds a spot in my top 5 books of all time for the depth of the story, the lyricism of the prose, and the absolute magic of the characters. I felt as though I knew these characters from page one; they could be my neighbors, my relatives, and my friends. Having grown up in many small southern towns, I felt the atmosphere of Limoges was spot on and its secrets completely believably and surprisingly current. In addition to the fine cast, beautiful story, and solid humor, this novel deserves praise for its innovative use of recipes as integral parts of the plot. Take for example Sophie's beaten biscuits. In a riveting explanation of the recipe, Sophie artfully illustrates her own abusive relationship with her deadbeat husband as well as her incomparable strength. I would adore this novel for that single piece of prose alone, but this story offers so much more as well. West is a master in weaving together lovingly rendered plot pieces that work together to create a stunning rumination on the role of women as wives, lovers, mothers, daughters, and friends. Every character, from the eccentric and modern New York artist Edith Galliard to the earthy and matronly Sophie, is a realistic illustration of the struggles faced by men and women in complicated relationships, both public and private.

Read alikes: Fannie Flagg, Lorna Landvik, Bailey White, Billie Letts and Rebecca Wells.

See West's other novels including: American Pie, Crazy Ladies, Mad Girls in Love and Mermaids in the Basement and her nonfiction Consuming Passions.

5 out of 5 ( )