I chose this book to read after I finished "The Girl who Played with Fire" and while still in the middle of "The House of Seven Gables." It considered a "light read." And to be honest, it kind of was. It's really a straight forward book without many surprises.
The premise of the book is that two elderly women, Whippy Bird and Effa Commander, are living in Butte, Montana and decide to tell the real story of their childhood and to try and correct the lies that some other guy who wrote a book spread about certain folks from town. They allude to a murder, so when that part happens, the reader isn't really surprised about it.
Chapter 2 starts at the beginning of a friendship between Whippy Bird, Effa Commander and May Anna Kovaks. How they met and such. From there, the story progresses through their life pretty chronologically from beginning to end.
It's a nice story about friendship, love and relationships, as well as the detrimental effects of a small town girl hitting it big in Hollywood. And certainly qualifies as a "light read" in my opinion. The nice part is that it's not a teen read where it's dripping in romance and all that. The narrator, Effa Commander, leaves out most details about her romantic life. I believe it comes from her character having been raised during a time when such things weren't talked about in polite society. It deals more with the bonds of friendship between both men and women and always being there for each other no matter what.
Sandra Dallas has another book I've read called "The Chili Queen" which is about a woman who runs a whorehouse. I recommend both books for their light read quality and their occasional silliness. After reading, you'll be set to delve into some other classical literature novel.
