American Pie - Michael Lee West

I read a lot of international authors and sometimes I just need a good old American or Canadian book to make me feel that I am not too far away from home (Yes, I am Canadian but I do feel a kinship to American literature).

American Pie hit the spot by giving me an insight into small town Tennessee and the women who live there. This novel is about a family, sisters Jo-Nell, Eleanor and Freddie and their grandmother Minerva. Freddie is the sister who left Tennessee and moved to California to work with and study whales. She married a California man and never went back to Tennessee. Eleanor is the oldest sister and frightened of men, going places by herself and many other things. She runs the family bakery. The youngest sister Jo-Nell is beautiful, has been married three times and has a reputation around their small town of stealing husbands. Their parents died when they were young so their grandmother raised them on love and food.

Freddie comes back to Tennessee because Jo-Nell gets into a serious car accident. Everything that Freddie was running from when she left finds its way back to her and the story gets pretty interesting. I loved the Southerness of this book and how the characters talked. The sisters were so different but so interesting in their own way. The story was told from every woman's point of view which gave you great insight into each character. I love books that are written like this. They flow so well. I think this book would make a great movie.

I am searching for more books set in the South. Anyone got any suggestions?