Good news! Fannie’s back in town—and the town is among the leading characters in her new novel. Along with Neighbor Dorothy, the lady with the smile in her voice, whose daily radio broadcasts keep us delightfully informed on all the local news, we also meet Bobby, her ten-year-old son, destined to live a thousand lives, most of them in his imagination; Norma and Macky Warren and their … and their ninety-eight-year-old Aunt Elner; the oddly sexy and charismatic Hamm Sparks, who starts off in life as a tractor salesman and ends up selling himself to the whole state and almost the entire country; and the two women who love him as differently as night and day. Then there is Tot Whooten, the beautician whose luck is as bad as her hairdressing skills; Beatrice Woods, the Little Blind Songbird; Cecil Figgs, the Funeral King; and the fabulous Minnie Oatman, lead vocalist of the Oatman Family Gospel Singers.
The time is 1946 until the present. The town is Elmwood Springs, Missouri, right in the middle of the country, in the midst of the mostly joyous transition from war to peace, aiming toward a dizzyingly bright future.
Once again, Fannie Flagg gives us a story of richly human characters, the saving graces of the once-maligned middle classes and small-town life, and the daily contest between laughter and tears. Fannie truly writes from the heartland, and her storytelling is, to quote Time, “utterly irresistible.”
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You can never go wrong with Fannie Flagg! Loved revisiting Neighbor Dorothy and her family and friends.
It makes you believe you are there sharing the pain and the thrills.
Brought back many memories from my childhood. Great book. Will probably read it again.
i love fannie flagg
Fannie Flagg has a terrific talent for drawing characters who are funny and sad and surprising and human, in short everything you want in a novel in order to really connect with people in it.
Another great Fannie Flagg story. Keeps mr laughing!
Took me a while to get into the book.
I will always read a book written by Fanny Flag. She has such good stories. She is too of my list of favorite authors!
No one can interpret characters as well as Fannie Flagg. However, in this novel, some have feet of clay.
Classic Fannie Flagg.
A wonderful story about normal people. They aren’t perfect but extremely loveable.
Old fashioned characters in an old fashioned town. Loved it.
Love Fanny Flagg’s books. The characters are unique but you can still identify with their day to day trials and tribulations. Do they live in a fantasy world – yes, but it’s a world you want to visit. Certainly a feel good book. Enjoy.
I’m just starting but already getting bored.
Another wonderful story about southern women by Fannie Flagg.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book takes you to a time in our country when
life was less complicated. The characters were so appealing. It completely
took me away! I laughed and cried. I would recommend it!
I love Fannie Flagg anyway which is why I picked this book. I grew up in a small town in the southwest. So many similarities. I did love reading again about the women’s struggles, successes and losses. Some of it was a little hokey, like the organ playing the songs during the radio episodes, but that also had its own charm.
I didn’t start as back as far as this book, but I lived most of it….
A trip back in time with Fannie Flagg never disappoints.
It is a delight to disappear into Fannie Flagg’s alternate universe! Her characters, the town, the history, the time capsule are so inviting and entertaining that I hoped the book never ended. If you are a fan of good storytelling with feel good characters, you can’t go wrong with this book or any of Ms. Flagg’s novels.