Book Review: Wait and See, Annie Lee

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Wait and See, Annie Lee     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Michelle Curry Wright
Class/Genre:   Fiction
Warner, Jul 2001, $23.95, 280 pp.

Obsessive Annie Lee Fleck is a perfectionist pessimist, a fatal combination when she sets her mind on doing something. Not only does whatever she wants done must be 200 per cent flawless regardless of cost, she performs a complete Murphy analysis to determine what could go wrong to insure that never happens.

Annie Lee wants a baby in the worst way. She begins her overkill to insure this happens, driving her beleaguered spouse to seek shelter and comfort elsewhere. Even worse, Annie Lee begins to call the local Poison Control Center on a daily basis and sometimes more than that. She acts with the counselors as if she already has a baby though she is not pregnant and her husband has moved from Pike, Colorado to Seattle to escape her latest obsession. This marriage appears busted unless they can find a common peak like the restaurant they both want to open.

WAIT AND SEE, ANNIE LEE starts off as a hilarious satire that rips the basic tenets of society. However about half way into the tale, the plot takes an unnecessary turn to cuddly capriciousness and loses some of its edge. The story line overall is amusing due to the eccentric and likable characters including Annie Lee (as long as she is not part of the reader’s household). Michelle Curry Wright shows the right stuff for those readers who want something completely different.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner