Mermaids in the Basement Reviews

• Juicy!

  
  By A1ELAL4RK13US on 2008-01-28
  I gave this book a five star rating because I could never find a good "stopping place". You know how you tell yourself that you'll put the book up at the end of the chapter? Well, I couldn't help myself; I just had to keep reading. It has elements of romance, drama, and suspense along with a few laughs. I highly recommend it. :0)
  
  

• amusing slice of southern life

  
  By AFVQZQ8PW0L on 2008-01-12
  Carrying twenty extra pounds is enough of a load, but Renata DeChavannes rationalizes that she has earned every pound. Five months ago her mother and stepfather died in a plane crash leaving Renata bereft. Recently the National Examiner ran a feature about her boyfriend award winning movie director Ferguson Lauderdale having an affair with actress Esme Vasquez while filming on location in Ireland Joyce's Ulysses. Finally her father Louie informs her that he is marrying again for the nth time with someone younger than her.
  
  However, all that goes on the back burner when Renata obtains a message from her late mom insisting she go "home" to learn her "dirty secrets." A chance to escape Hollywood and her current case of writer's block, Renata leaves for the Alabama's Gulf Coast. There she will do her mom's bidding while seeing the steel magnolia make that tungsten magnolia triad of her grandmother Honora DeChavannes, Renata's former nanny Gladys Boudreaux and longtime friend former actress Isabella D'Agostina McGeehee.
  
  Although the myriad of subplots needs a scorecard (or perhaps a flow chart) to keep track of, fans will enjoy this amusing slice of southern life. The women including Renata's late mother come across as fully developed formidable people while the men especially her boyfriend and her dad seem emaciated in comparison. Still readers will appreciate this humorous but discerning look at you can come home even if a major part of what made it home has passed on.
  
  Harriet Klausner
  
  
  
  

• Southern Comfort

  
  By A3B4GIRKVVRC1U on 2008-02-10
  Michael Lee West lives on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, surrounded by her husband and a large variety of animals, both farm and domestic. This hardly qualifies her to write sophisticated, comic romances set in surprising locales. But she's done just that in novels like "Crazy Ladies" and "Mad Girls in Love."
  Now, she has surpassed herself with "Mermaids in the Basement," the story of a woman who has to go home to comfront all the ghosts of her past. What she discovers, however, is a very-current mystery and an old trunk that turns out to be sort of a Pandora's Box...it releases even more mysteries of her past.
  All this is written in a wonderfully witty style. How can you resist a book that opens: "If I had not read the cover story in the March 2, 2000, National Inquirer, it's doubtful that I would have gone to Alabama and ruined my daddy's engagement party, much less sent the bride-to-be into a coma."
  West is a very Southern writer. Her swift prose paints authentic portraits of people, places, and things Southern. You'll swear you can smell the magnolias. But there is no Southern Gothic here, despite the unpleasant events at the heart of this book. This is a romantic South peopled by ladies and gentlemen you wish were real.
  West's prose is simple, and her style seems to be simple as well. That's deceptive. While her work is witty and romantic and very easy to read, there are all sorts of things going on under the surface.
  
  
  

• It's Charming ...

  
  By A1BI8PUEHA5CHW on 2008-03-13
  It is a charming little book and a very fast read since it's not a deep intellectual book. It is a little flat on the consistency of the story line and I am not even sure what the plot is supposed to be. I have to be honest, I am really glad that I didn't buy this book since it really would have been a waste of my hard-earned money. It isn't that good.
  
  This story is about an ultra-rich family in the Deep South. I love reading about the Deep South because it's so different from living in the plain ol' Midwest. But this family is too rich for me to relate to, throwing parties left and right and even a theme on a faux funeral just creeps me out. The stereotypes are so rich in this novel. There's a dad who is a womanizer and very distant from his only daughter. There's Renata, the main character, who runs away from reality when her mom and stepdad died and her fiancee was supposedly in bed with a famous actress across the sea in Ireland. Then there's Honora the tall, regal grandmother who oozes lots of charm and money. Then there's Honora's best friend Isabella who is an aging Hollywood starlet (this woman was definitely my least favorite character, she was cruel and a druggie and just not plain funny) and Gladys, who is the typical maid who turns best friend of the family.
  
  Boring.
  
  Which is really disappointing for me to say because I was looking forward to reading this book after reading one of her older books. I love reading about people who live in a different part of the country, but this book was just another descriptive book on how different the rich people live their lives from us poor people. Like I said, it was boring. There was absolutely nothing really fascinating about this book and it even ends happily ever after. There is no real substance to any of the characters and I am still trying to figure out what the dirty secrets were supposed to be. So Renata's parents cheated on each other? Big deal.
  
  Maybe what I am trying to say is there is no real emotions detected in this book. There is no real passion for life. There is no zest for love. And it is a major disappointment for this reader.
  
  But if you're looking for a book that is shallow and very fluffy, this book is definitely it. You do not have to think or feel while reading this book. It's absolutely perfect for the days you want to lie by the pool or fly across the country as it is a quick reading and doesn't require a lot of the reader.
  
  3/13/08
  
  

• True Southern Hospitality!!!!

  
  By A213IXXQQIE1VB on 2008-02-13
  From Chapter 1 when you first meet Renata DeChavannes you will not want to put this one down. You become quickly drawn into her life, her feelings and emotions.
  
  As she begins to face her past, going home to the South, you are caught up in each chapter. Each character will inspire empathy and possess charming attributes. I would be surprised if you don't find a common trait with each one you encounter.
  
  This story has many layers and as I unfolded each one I found the story to be intriguing, charming, and amusing.
  
  This was my first read of Michael Lee West. I found it to be an excellent read, full of surprises and hard to put down. I look forward to the next one.
  
  
• Why did I order this?
  By A1UIICV1LI881N on 2008-02-29
  After reading about half of this book, I have returned here to re-read what in the world I might have found here that convinced me to buy this book. And I bought it without even downloading a sample first (to my Kindle). Another review mentions mistakes that an editor should have caught - but it's more than that. The mistakes are the kind that reveal huge problems in the whole construction of a story about people that are very difficult to relate to.
  
  As a plot vehicle (I guess), the author has conjured up an uncle's birthday party in another state that the whole family flies off to attend. One chapter begins telling us that the birthday party is in the evening, and goes on to describe what the family does in the mean time. Then the first sentence 2 paragraphs later tells us it is now 2 hours before the "rehearsal dinner". The writer obviously started to make this plot vehicle a wedding, and then decided it should be a birthday party (because there's already a wedding elsewhere in the book - another tortured plot scheme). Wow. Forget an actual professional editor - did the author even have someone else - anyone else - read through the book first?
  
  The characters are conveniently ultra rich people, and the conflict in the piece seems to revolve around past family infidelity (a shock to the tender psyche of the 30-something protagonist) and whether the main character's famous boyfriend is having an affair with the star one of his movies. I'm not sure of much more than that because I really don't care enough to continue reading.
  
  I wish I'd read the reviews more closely.
  
  
• Excellent Book
  By A186NAW5WLGYP4 on 2008-05-09
  This book is a must read. I could not leave the book till I finished reading the entire book. It really captures the essence of the south. The writer appears to have a good insite about family dynamics and holds your interest throughout. Outstanding piece of work !!
  
  Vijay Pethkar, MD
  
  
• Southern writing at its best!
  By A7RFDGVXDYQLJ on 2008-05-19
  Ms. West never fails to make the South come alive. As other reviewers have already said, you can smell the gradenias & taste the mint juleps. Soutern stories are my favorite & Mrs. West is one of the best. I loved all the characters, even Isabella, and thought her tricks very creative. Only the South could have such eccentric characters and Mrs. West can bring them alive. I just wish Mrs West could write faster & give us more great southern stories.
  
  
• great read!
  By AUMAWD018V9QB on 2008-04-05
  What a great book! I was captured after the first few pages and was finished within a day. I was upset that I read it so quickly!
  
  
• Fans of West's earlier works will not be disappointed
  By A2F6N60Z96CAJI on 2008-02-12
  Try as she might, Renata DeChavannes cannot ignore the cover of The National Enquirer. It's practically screaming at her, "Your boyfriend is cheating!" And there, for all the world to see, is handsome Scottish director Ferguson Lauderdale canoodling with man-eating actress Esme Vasquez. They are supposed to be working on Ferg's new film, which is shooting in Dublin, but the cozy pair seem to be doing everything but working. Deep in her bones, she just knew that "somewhere in the haze a skanky starlet is stealing my sweetheart."
  
  To add insult to injury, Renata, a former prolific screenwriter, is suffering from the worst case of writer's block, and worrying about her philandering boyfriend while he is miles away isn't helping matters. After a disastrous and ill-advised haircut, burning her manuscript and sending the charred remnants to her studio bosses in a drunken fog, she relents to her feisty grandmother Honora's urging. She knows she is in desperate need of a healthy dose of southern comfort --- stat.
  
  Renata returns to Point Clear, Alabama, her Gulf Coast hometown and to the welcoming arms of her grandmother and her former nanny, Gladys. But all is not perfect below the Mason-Dixon line. Renata must also face her emotionally distant father and his impending nuptials to fading southern belle Joie. At no time has she ever felt close to her father, a man who never misses an LSU game but hasn't remembered his own daughter's birthday in years. This hurt has been compounded by her mother's recent death in an airplane crash. Despite having one surviving parent, Renata still feels like an orphan.
  
  But Honora has a hidden agenda for wanting Renata to return to Alabama. She made a promise to Renata's mother that in the event of her death, she would reveal all the family secrets to her daughter, whether or not she's ready to hear them. Honora hopes that knowing the truth about her family will enable Renata to move on with her life and flourish, like the kudzu she always thought she could be. Gladys also desperately wants to help Renata banish the demons of the past. She relates the story of how she came to work for her mother, who suffered from crippling depression, and the aunt she never knew existed. Even though Renata has possessed more "hell than belle," in the words of her formidable grandmother, both Honora and Gladys hope they can impart upon her the true meaning of being a "steel magnolia."
  
  The whimsical title comes from an Emily Dickinson poem ("I started Early--Took my Dog--And visited the Sea--The Mermaids in the Basement Came out to look at me-"), a couplet that can be applied to Renata's story in many ways. The mermaid theme also recurs throughout the novel, adding to the charming touches that Michael Lee West likes to sprinkle throughout her stories.
  
  West, the author of CRAZY LADIES and SHE FLEW THE COOP, is one of the leading writers of modern-day southern-fried fiction. In all her novels, you can practically smell the gardenias blooming and the corn bread cooling in humid but welcoming kitchens. She deals with life's heartaches and hiccups with homespun humor and old-fashioned common sense. Although some of the interconnecting storylines fare better than others, she engages the reader with her sprightly writing style and gentle wit. And while some of her characters' attributes feel a bit forced in the folksy department (like Honora's habit of leaving couture handbags in public where they will be snatched up by those less fortunate --- she calls this "releasing them into the wild"), on the whole they are an appealing bunch. Fans of West's earlier works will not be disappointed.
  
  --- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller
  
  
• Sweet Song of the South
  By A122GNPTDAJV20 on 2008-03-30
  I have always been a fan of Michael Lee West. As a transplanted "yankee", i have come to embrace the genteel quality of life in the south. Those of you who live or hail from dixie certainly understand it's allure. Like "Crazy Ladies" and "She Flew the Coup", West again vividly paints a beautiful portrait with "Mermaids".
  
  
• Billie's Review
  By A1W3B3361H3BBQ on 2008-04-04
  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Michael's book. It was a wonderful romance novel that contained lots of humor and southern charm. I especially enjoyed the way the story was narrated at different times by various characters in the book. I can't wait to read another one of West's books.
  
  
• CBD
  By A1D9QFM1IEL9N2 on 2008-04-07
  Love It! Love It! Love It! This was truly a book I could not put down. I am a southern girl and loved this book. It is so much fun to relate the characters to people that you know. This is truly a book for the fun at heart. This would not be for "a stick in the mud" as we say in the South. My family was so glad when I finished this book, because they were out of clean clothes and very hungry. This has certainly been another hit for Michael West.
  
  
• GREAT BOOK
  By A3QFRGSSRK8B2S on 2008-04-10
  Another great book by Michael Lee West.It is a great story with lots of romance and humor.I have read Mad Girls In Love,Crazy Ladies,She Flew the Coop,American Pie and Consuming Passions.This is by far her best!! I look forward to her next novel.
  
  
• Borrow this from you local library...
  By A30QN6TZULBVZM on 2008-02-24
  With all due respect to the writer, I say this as my opinion only. I was born and have lived in the South for 39 years now. As a self-proclaimed Southern Writer, I wish more respect and accuracy had been paid to our lovely culture.
  
  I also think that the writer's editor's ability should be question as I found several mistakes in the book. As a result of this disrespect and these mistakes, I found it hard to finish the book.
  
  I will give the writer credit for having a good PR team.
  
  

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