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mehitabels's review against another edition
4.0
"At that moment I tasted the water in the nigger cup. I tasted the iron tang of blood in the water. I was huddled in that hearse with them, breathing the smell of their blood, sharing their fear."
pocketvolcano's review against another edition
4.0
Well written, amazing story and yet so sad. Funny yet sad.
mbhernandez's review against another edition
5.0
Loved loved loved it!! What a crazy mix of tragedy, history, humour and hilarity! A big thank you to my sister-in-law, Lisa, for recommending this book. I probably would have never picked it from the shelf on my own. Now I am very much looking forward to reading other books by Mark Childress.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 STARS
"CRAZY IN ALABAMA is the story of two journeys--Lucille's from Industry, Alabama, to Los Angeles, to star on 'THE BEVERLY HILL BILLIES' and her 12-year-old nephew Peejoe's, who is about to discover two kinds of Southern justice, and what that means about the stories he's heard and the people he knows." (From Amazon)
A great funny coming of age story set in the south. A young boy living with his grandmother falls in love with his crazy aunt's life. She writes to him about her adventure in Hollywood. It is set in the 60s and racism is a focus through the local pool being segregated.
"CRAZY IN ALABAMA is the story of two journeys--Lucille's from Industry, Alabama, to Los Angeles, to star on 'THE BEVERLY HILL BILLIES' and her 12-year-old nephew Peejoe's, who is about to discover two kinds of Southern justice, and what that means about the stories he's heard and the people he knows." (From Amazon)
A great funny coming of age story set in the south. A young boy living with his grandmother falls in love with his crazy aunt's life. She writes to him about her adventure in Hollywood. It is set in the 60s and racism is a focus through the local pool being segregated.
abroadwell's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun and fairly light read, set in Alabama in 1965. It's funny in a lot of places, but also deals with the serious issues of civil rights at the time. The story centers on a 12 year old PeJo, who is witness to a funny but felonious aunt, civil rights marches, and a lynching.
cjdawn236's review against another edition
4.0
One of my managers practically forced me to read this book, and I'm so glad he did. The only way I can think of to describe it is To Kill a Mockingbird on LSD. That doesn't quite paint the right picture, but it's close. The novel is set in Alabama, summer of 1965 - just a few months after the events in Selma. Half the book is a haunting look at the racial tensions at the time, while the other half is this insane story about a woman who dreams of being an actess and carries around her husband's decapitated head in a tupperware salad keeper. If that doesn't sell you on it I don't know what will. It's so crazy, but so good. I loved it.
llawlor's review against another edition
3.0
this book was much better than I expected. I enjoyed the movie back when it came out, but as always the book was much better.
msjoanna's review
3.0
A mostly unmemorable, but basically entertaining, account of two parallel stories. The first traces the zany escapade of a woman who kills her husband, then travels with his severed head out to California in an effort to seek her fame as a star in Hollywood. This storyline seemed intended to bring lightness and humor to the book, but didn't really appeal to me. The second story is that of Peejoe, a young boy witnessing the beginnings of the civil rights movement in his small town in Alabama.
This book suffered from what I've taken to calling the bookends problem. There is probably an official name for this, but I don't know it. Basically, the book starts with one chapter in the "present" tense, then the whole book is historical, followed by an epilogue that tries to tell what happened to everyone after that in a few pages. Occasionally, this is an effective way to cabin a story; more often, it seems a lazy way to get on and off stage for an author who can't be bothered to think of beginnings and endings that fit the bulk of the work. This problem seems to happen most often in debut novels, but it appears that Childress is an experienced author who should have known better.
Also, as a final warning, the book contained fairly frequent, and mostly unnecessary, sex scenes as part of the crazy-woman story arc. Readers who don't appreciate this should skip this one.
This book suffered from what I've taken to calling the bookends problem. There is probably an official name for this, but I don't know it. Basically, the book starts with one chapter in the "present" tense, then the whole book is historical, followed by an epilogue that tries to tell what happened to everyone after that in a few pages. Occasionally, this is an effective way to cabin a story; more often, it seems a lazy way to get on and off stage for an author who can't be bothered to think of beginnings and endings that fit the bulk of the work. This problem seems to happen most often in debut novels, but it appears that Childress is an experienced author who should have known better.
Also, as a final warning, the book contained fairly frequent, and mostly unnecessary, sex scenes as part of the crazy-woman story arc. Readers who don't appreciate this should skip this one.
jessferg's review against another edition
4.0
I read this a looooonnnnngggg time ago but I remember loving it - laughing out loud and recommending it to everyone. Fun read.