American Pie

by Michael Lee West

The lives of the three McBroom sisters of Tallulah, Tennessee, were tangled before the eldest, Eleanor, discovered their mother hanging from the Venetian blinds and the years have done little to comb out the knots. Now a drunken encounter with the midnight train has left brash, much-married Jo-Nell near death, compelling agoraphobic Eleanor to summon marine biologist Freddie home from California where she fled after being expelled from med school following a daring gall bladder heist. At last the McBroom sisters are together again, to face old fears and new catastrophes as they cheerfully deflect every flaming arrow that outrageous fortune fires their way.

With wit and loving compassion, Michael Lee West introduces us to an indomitable family of eccentric survivors in an unforgettable novel of cruel fate, bad luck, and unassailable resiliency.

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Drama, Humor, Literature

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

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 Templeton series and will be published on April 10, 2012.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I like books about the south. I guess I kinda wished Freddie would've stayed and be with Jackson.

[Joan Eisenstodt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I love Southern writers and books about the South - the eccentricities of the people. This book and others I've read made me laugh out loud and then cry - the situations are all so familiar even if we've never lived them. The human condition explored.

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read quite a few from author Michael Lee West. I usually love a great sprawling family drama, especially when that family drama takes place in the South, but I've got to say, this one wasn't my favorite. I don't appreciate much language or crudeness, especially if it does nothing to really add to the charachters or the story.

I got stuck waiting unexpectedly, my iPad was dead and I had this one checked out from the library, or honestly, I might not have finished it.

Skip this and read Crazy Ladies or Mermaids in the Basement Here are a couple of reviews: http://sweeticedtea.wordpress.com/?s=....

Another fantastic family story is John Steinbeck's East of Eden.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite quote from the book: "Oh, you just had to wonder. You raise them half decent and they grow up and leave. They move to Miami or California - someplace with gourmet restaurants and nude beaches because you've reared them to cook good and be liberal-minded. It's just the opposite with your failures - them kids stick to your tail like a cocklebur. You'd think it would be the other way around, but it's not."

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Southern zaniness!

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

can't get enough of this author- loved it along with the rest.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by this author, and although it American Pie is better than She Flew the Coop, it still wasn't good. It semed to be building up to an interesting tale, but then it just ended. The characters were quite interesting, but the story fell flat. Apparently I was one of the few who didn't like it though, so if you enjoy southern, gentle fiction you may want to check it out from the library.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading "Crazy Ladies" by the same author, I thought I was in for another dissatisfying book but overall I was pleased. The book is about 3 sisters raised by their grandmother--all women are very different with their own set of issues. Well each made their own mistakes and had their faults, they were still likeable characters. Also, there were some pretty hilarious parts. My favorite sister was the oldest, Eleanor who had some serious OCD issues but her brick purse story was a laugh.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like interesting characters. This book had them. Mainly, three quirky sisters with a loving grandmother all set in small town Tennessee. I loved the southern foods and customs and idioms found in this book. Wish I had a grandmother like Minerva Pray. I know she would fix me my favorite casserole for supper.

[Mellodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting as are all of Michael Lee West's books. Well devo
eloped characters and insight into the relationships between women in a family,particularly that of sisters. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone who has an interest in Southern culture.

[Alka Upadhyay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again if I could give 3.5 stars that would be my rating.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but had expected more from the reviews I read.

[ChilliDeadpool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stifler, is back! #StiflerRules

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a few of West's books and have enjoyed them, though this one fell flat. I felt she could've gone much deeper with the characters. It was more like a light beach read, chick-lit book.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light read, but not one of her better novels.

[Madeesonxoxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This is how the soul heals. It thaws out bit by bit, the way the ground warms after a hard winter. You notice the sun or hear the whippoorwill calling across the flats. You sweep your porch, go drink your coffee in the shade of the trumpet vines. You have days where you want to lay down and die, but what you learn is this: As long as there's somebody left on this earth who loves you, it's reason enough to stay alive. You don't give in to your broke heart—you just let the wide, cracked spaces fill up again.”

“People don't like to think a body can wear out, but child, anything can. No matter if it's a faucet or a hot water heater or a heart. Sometimes you can wear the love right out of yourself, and the life too.”

i’m a big fan of grief and complex relationships between sisters in literature so you can imagine what a ball this was for me. i kinda just wish we saw more of how eleanor and jo-nell would adjust to life without minerva but i really like the full circle ending with freddie so!

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually read quite slowly, sometimes not even a chapter before sleeping so the fact that I stayed awake reading multiple chapters of American Pie is high praise.

West is a master of southern dialects. In this book she introduces us to a family of Southern women whose stories are told in first person in alternating chapters. Nothing is too perfect or sweet. Her characters are the best mix of flawed and endearing and the sisters treat each other with the impatience and compassion reserved for close siblings.

This book feels real.

[Linda T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of the three McBroom sisters of Tallulah Tennessee of East Tennessee.
When one of the sisters is involved in an accident, the other two sisters must show up for support. We then find out about all the secrets and quirks of the McBroom sisters.

[Donna Arcara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My notes from July 2001: "I loved this surprising, quirky Southern novel. I was invested in the three sisters and grandmother, and cared about how they were affected when dogged by strange tragedies. Putting West on my list as an author for future reads."

[Susie James · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

One has to get with the culture of the characters that people Michael Lee West's chortlingly wonderful Southern adventure, "American Pie", which I found recently at the Carrollton, Miss., library. Highly recommended for Tennesseans and Texans, as well as Mississippians!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the type of book it is it was ok. My favorite chapters were "Minerva Pray"'s chapters.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three sisters: a floozy, a scared cat, and one that seems pretty normal. The story is OK, but it is nothing new.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got about 80 pages in and gave up. I could not connect with any of the characters.

[Aleksandra Sokić · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,7

[Cherie Queree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read. Not my style of read normally but it was ok

[Carolyn Southard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. Liked how each chapter was from a different persons perspective. Slow, not much of a plot.

[LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was hoping. Just meh. Nothing really happens. The characters are pretty good, albeit predictable.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never heard of the author, Michael Lee West, before, but after picking up this book, I found her writing style to be refreshing and heartwarming. But unfortunately, other than that, I don’t have much to say about it. The book was good, but it didn’t exactly grab my attention. Every time I put it down to do something else, even if only for a few minutes, I’d go back to the book having already forgotten everything that had happened before I stopped. I’d have to go back another paragraph just to refresh my memory. This is always a sure sign for me that I’m not liking a book as much as I’d like to.

Not that it was bad. I enjoyed the read, if not entirely. The book follows the three McBroom sisters -- Eleanor, Freddie, and Jo-Nell -- and their grandmother, Minerva Pray, after the youngest, Jo-Nell, is almost killed by a train and they’re brought together again in Tallulah, Tennessee. The book is written from their viewpoints, as well as some others mixed in. I must say that West really brought out each character in their sections, alternating their voices almost seamlessly and giving us glimpses into their lives. By the end of the book, I felt that I’d come to know the whole McBroom family almost as well as my own. Jo-Nell and Miranda were my two favorites. If I could, I’d adopt Jo-Nell as my older sister, she’s hilarious, sassy, and to the point on everything. Exactly my style. And although Minerva plays the quintessential old lady from the South who can bake a mean pie and tell a story well, I found her musings on life and the importance of family to be wise and true words of advice.

The other two characters, Eleanor and Freddie, on the other hand, frankly got on my nerves, with Eleanor’s severe agoraphobia and Freddie’s complete misreading of her husband and her marriage. She seemed so apathetic about everything, too, a quality that I personally hate -- in real people and in fictional characters. So she was tough to like.

Despite these pros, the book was just okay. There was nothing substantial to add to the story. It’s a good read for a balmy summer night when you’re bored and just want to pass the time. I must say, though, that you probably shouldn’t read this on an empty stomach because food is mentioned a LOT in this book and my god, it’ll make you want to fry up a batch of chicken, bake a pie, and gorge yourself on some good Southern food. You’ve been warned.

[MBenzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's written in the same fashion and with the same quirky characters as a Fannie Flagg novel. This was only the second book I've read by Ms. West, but it certainly won't be my last. Crazy Ladies was a great read, and so was this.

American Pie follows three Tennessean sisters and their grandmother...Freddie, Jo-Nell, Eleanor, and Minerva Pray. After Jo-Nell's car is hit by a train and she's in the hospital, their small little family gathers around to console one another. Freddie, all the way from California has given up her southern heritage and proclaims the west to be her new home. Leaving her husband and his sexy secretary alone on the island of Baja, she flies home to help her sisters and figure out what to do with her life after an old beau steps back in the picture.

Eleanor lives with their grandmother Minerva Pray and has become scared to leave the house alone. She surrounds herself with senior citizens and her family to forget about it. Minerva Pray is convinced there's a curse on the family and that all bad things happen in six's to them. And as Jo-Nell sits in the hospital getting better, she decides to make some major changes in her life, and a move just might be the best thing.

Overall this was a wonderful book. One that I'd definitely recommend for fans of Southern Lit and authors such as Ms. Flagg, Sandra Dallas, and Adriana Trigiani. I can't wait to read more from Ms. West!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The McBroom sisters have dealt with tragedy and bad luck for most of their lives and each sister has "managed" differently. Freddie escaped, first to med school, and when things went wrong with a theft from a cadaver, she broke her engagement and ran off to California, reinventing her life in a small town as a whale researcher with another researcher becoming her husband. Eleanor has retreated inward, becoming agoraphobic and obsessively collecting crime statistics. Jo-Nell became the social butterfly/tart, with multiple marriages and then multiple one-night stands. Jo-Nell's drunken encounter with a train causes Eleanor and grandmother Minerva to call Freddie back to Tallulah, TN. As the chapters are told from different perspectives, we learn more about each woman's inner life and more about the trying experiences of their lives. While each sister is very different, together they end up moving towards better paths, and each sister has a turn of events by the conclusion of the novel. This book will definitely appeal to those who enjoy the quirkiness of small town Southern women.