Buster Midnight's Cafe
- Book Review,
by Sandra Dallas
From Publishers Weekly
Narrator Effa Commander's rollicking reminiscences about movie star Marion Street and her devoted lover, champion boxer Buster Midnight, are recounted in a sharp and snappy voice that captures the reader's interest on the very first page of this amusing novel. Effa Commander and lifelong friend Whippy Bird shared childhood, adolescence, Prohibition and many other experiences with Marion and Buster in their hometown of Butte, Mont. They also know much more about the Hollywood scandal called the "Love Triangle Murder" than ever got into the papers, and Effa Commander has decided to vindicate her friends' misrepresented lives. Dallas's first novel depicts a remarkable cluster of enduring friendships that may strike the modern urban reader as implausible, but accurately reflect the flavor of a small town and its inbred relationships. If the denouement seems predictable, Dallas, whose work calls to mind Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe , is nonetheless a stylist to be reckoned with. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-- A story of three tough, courageous women who stuck together. Effa Commander is now in her 70s but she vividly remembers her youth, growing up in Butte, Montana with her best friends Whippy Bird and May Anna. May Anna eventually goes to Hollywood and becomes a famous movie star and is involved in a notorious murder trial after her boyfriend, the heavyweight boxer Buster Midnight, kills a British actor, ending both the actor's career and his own. May Anna never forgets her friends, however, and sends flowers when Effa Commander's babies die and she loses her husband in the war. Whippy Bird's husband dies in that same war. Effa Commander paints a colorful, humorous, almost innocent picture of Montana, prohibition, and early Hollywood. A book that is truly offbeat but appealing. --Diana C. Hirsh, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, MDCopyright 1990 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Country music between covers...Style, tone, and lesson in one succinct package." --The Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Sometimes, sad, sometimes funny, but always right on the mark, this is a book about heritage, about friendships you will envy, about people doing their best, as well as their worst. Sandra Dallas has worked magic." --Cathie Pelletier
"Entertaining...memorable characters bring Prohibition-era Montana to life...Ms. Dallas has a good feeling for story, character, and dialogue." --The New York Times Book Review
"Undoubtedly one of the zippiest and most pleasant reads to come out this year... I read it the second time with equal pleasure just to make sure the magic was there. It is. It surely is."
--The Denver Post
"Compelling...charming..." --Vogue
Review
"Country music between covers...Style, tone, and lesson in one succinct package." --The Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Sometimes, sad, sometimes funny, but always right on the mark, this is a book about heritage, about friendships you will envy, about people doing their best, as well as their worst. Sandra Dallas has worked magic." --Cathie Pelletier
"Entertaining...memorable characters bring Prohibition-era Montana to life...Ms. Dallas has a good feeling for story, character, and dialogue." --The New York Times Book Review
"Undoubtedly one of the zippiest and most pleasant reads to come out this year... I read it the second time with equal pleasure just to make sure the magic was there. It is. It surely is."
--The Denver Post
"Compelling...charming..." --Vogue
Review
"Country music between covers...Style, tone, and lesson in one succinct package." --The Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Sometimes, sad, sometimes funny, but always right on the mark, this is a book about heritage, about friendships you will envy, about people doing their best, as well as their worst. Sandra Dallas has worked magic." --Cathie Pelletier
"Entertaining...memorable characters bring Prohibition-era Montana to life...Ms. Dallas has a good feeling for story, character, and dialogue." --The New York Times Book Review
"Undoubtedly one of the zippiest and most pleasant reads to come out this year... I read it the second time with equal pleasure just to make sure the magic was there. It is. It surely is."
--The Denver Post
"Compelling...charming..." --Vogue
Book Description
May Anna Kovacks was discovered on the dustry streets of Butte, Montana and went on to become a Hollywood star. War, fame, marriage, love, and heartbreak came and went. What never changed was the bond she shared with her two best friends, Effa Commander and Whippy Bird. When scandal, murder, and betrayal made a legend of May Anna, only Effa and Whippy Bird could set the record straight.
About the Author
Sandra Dallas is the author of Alice's Tulips, The Persion Pickle Club, and The Diary of Mattie Spenser. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
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