Buster Midnight's Cafe by Sandra DallasMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. I have read three other books by Sandra Dallas and I really loved them, but this one seems a little contrived. The characters are more caricatures, and from the wrong part of the country. I could easily believe that May Anna, Effa Commander and Whippy Bird came from a small town in Texas rather than Montana. The names, grammar and some of the actions seem more like the deep South. On the other hand, the fact that May Anna's mother has "gentlemen callers" and May Anna quits high school to become a hooker, and this is accepted by the circle of friends is really bizarre. That could happen, but not in the way it is portrayed in this book. Parts of it just don't ring true. I found it hard to relate to the characters and their attitudes. The author actually seems to glamorize the "sex trade" in a way that is not realistic, and I can hardly see Hollywood accepting this background for a major star as a simple matter of choice.
Still, there is a lot about the story that is interesting. The characters do get better as the book goes on and the way their lives turn out is not completely predictable. I don't know...I just can't put my finger on what is wrong with this book, but it just didn't ring true to me and nothing in me resonated with it. Her other books are MUCH better.
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1 comment:
If you aren't from Butte don't try to second guess the dialogue or glorification of the sex trade.
Butte is still a lot like that if you live Uptown where the characters live. The criminals, whores, and fighters walk the streets today just as they did in the era this book represents. They are not glorified but are treated like everyone else. Nobody looks down on them. You never know you may need them when the times get tough as they do every winter.
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