This book is about 3 generations of southern women in a dysfunctional, yet somewhat typical family of their respective time periods. They did what they had to do to survive. Very rich, strong characters....a mixture of both happiness and despair. However, I did not find this book to be fun, humorous, or a light read.

A multi-generational story of 6 Tennessee ladies, from Miss Gussie, her 2 daughters Dorothy and Clancy Jane, and their daugthers, Violet and Bitsy. The family is rounded out by Queenie, who keeps them all semi-sane. Great characters!

This is a great story!! There is an unexpectedly brutal introduction which segues into a rich multi-generational saga. I highly recommend it.

Funny. A heart-grabber. You'll like this book!

Very good book,sad and funny at the same,revolves around the lives of several southern women spanning 30 years

This was a very good story about 3 generations of ladies from Tennessee. I read it in 2 days as it was hard to put down.

this is not your typical run of the mill southern women's novel...but on the other hand it is like one. the quirky charachters,the laughs the tears...the general confusion. the chapters are titled by who is talking and what year it is. it is 3 generations of women and what is going on around them from the early thirties thru Viet Nam to the early 70's.

From Amazon.com:
"Amazon.com
Rebecca Wells's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is rivaled by a fictional sibling: Michael Lee West's Crazy Ladies. West's tale of wild women down South is faster and snappier than Wells's thick bayou prose gumbo, but it has some of the same virtues--a cast of wacky characters, lively regional dialogue, and a satisfying multigenerational time frame. The scene shifts from 1932 to 1972, and from Crystal Falls, Tennessee, to New Orleans to hippie Frisco and L.A., though it's mostly rooted in Tennessee, where sunflower gardens contain deep secrets and kids can light up whole summers with lightning bugs in a jar.
The crazy lady who starts the story is Gussie, vexed by her ornery first daughter, Dorothy. When Dorothy's kid sister, Clancy Jane, comes of age, the real ruckus begins, thanks partly to Gussie's helpless preference for sweet Clancy Jane over dour Dorothy, who calls Gussie "Mother Dear" from age 6 on. Sweet Clancy Jane turns out to be headstrong, too--she runs off in a poodle skirt with Hart, who works on oil rigs, Esso stands, and the odd Cajun girl on the side. And then the '60s hit, bringing on Gussie's grandkids, Bitsy and Violet, plus some jolting social changes reminiscent of Lisa Alther's Kinflicks. Though it's spiced with horror (rape, crib death, one character buried alive), the dominant tone is breezy humor. At one point, the sister with "thighs that could break a man's neck" catches her husband and her shapelier sister "wrapped around each other like stripes on a candy cane." Not a magisterial novel, but a really good read."

Compelling.... could not put it down. A tale of a dysfunctional family. Three generations of women. The most amazing thing about it was that I found myself hating a character, then understanding that character; loving a character then despising a character; As in life, there really is no black or white - heroes can be villains sometimes; bad people can have good in them; people are flawed but not inherently evil..... I know this is a confusing review, the book was NOT confusing. It was downright mesmerizing. Loved it!

This was not what I expected with the title. It was a lot deeper and heartbreaking than I expected but definately worth reading.

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Loved this book. Great story of three generations of women.

A story of 3 generations of Tennessee women, with a little mystery thrown in. Enjoyable.

Following 3 generations of Southern women.

Not as engaging as I'd hoped.

It was a fun read

A very good read!

My book has a different cover.

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