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Summary: Flagg Delivers A Masterpiece on Small Town America
Review: Fannie Flagg creates the warm, wholesome characters she is famous for and plops them down in the center of the US-- Elmwood Springs, Missouri, to be exact--- for a nostalgic look back at what life was like in the 1940s and into the 90's. If you are a baby-boomer and remember The Arthur Godfrey Show, the Ink Spots, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Wildroot Cream oil, wearing a shiny dime in your penny loafers and more, you'll fall in love with Flagg's charming characters who populate this small town. At the heart of the story is the family of Neighbor Dorothy, the homemaker cum radio personality we first met in WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL. This book more fully explores Neighbor Dorothy's family life as well as the people she connects with and the influence she wields throughout the state. The reader sees the world through the eyes of her son Bobby who longs for no greater honor than to become the Bubble Gum King of 1949 yet grows into a remarkable war hero and family man. Along with her daughter Anna Lee, her husband Doc who is the town pharmacist, and her mother-in-law we see a picture of a family that is not only idyllic but realistic in their affections, problems, and experiences. Delightful in all respects, this book takes you through the Korean War, the anti-war movement of the 60's, the political travails of country bumpkins who long for the national stage, the liberation of women, and other important factual events that colored the lives of the American people. Real people mix with fictional in a story that is engrossing, satisfying, and hard to leave behind. You'll treasure your time with Neighbor Dorothy from her first broadcast to her final sign-off and be glad to be a part of the lives of people who remember buying a Christmas dress for $1.50, being mesmerized by the department store window at Christmas, and thrilling to the sight of a new neon sign lighting up the main street.
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Summary: I enjoyed every paragraph
Review: My favorite novel of all time is "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlstop Cafe", by Fannie Flagg. Next is this one. "Standing in the Rainbow", also by Fannie Flagg. Ms Flagg is the Norman Rockwell of literature, having the ability to paint with words a humorous yet lovable portrait of Americana past. This ia a lovely book that made me laugh out loud and, I admit, shed a tear or two, but Ms. Flagg's work always does that to me. I highly recommend "Rainbow" and her other novels as well. Also, I recommend two other books with similar themes and setings- "A Painted House". by John Grisham and "The Curve:A Tale of a Gentler Time and Place", by Ned Bibb.
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Summary: FANNIE FLAGG DOES IT AGAIN!!!
Review: ONCE AGAIN, FANNIE FLAGG HAS WRITTEN A WINNER. SET IN THE SMALL TOWN OF ELMWOOD SPRINGS, MISSOURI STARTING IN THE 1930'S, SHE WEAVES A TALE AROUND THE SMITH FAMILY, INCLUDING EXPERTLY INCLUDING NEIGHBOR DOROTHY FROM WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL. THERE IS ALSO A VARIETY OF OTHER COLORFUL CHARACTERS THAT SHE MAKES US GROW TO FEEL LIKE FAMILY. THE ONLY PART OF THIS BOOK I HAD A LITTLE TROUBLE BELIEVING, ALTHOUGH IT IS FICTION, WAS THE GOVERNORSHIP OF HAMM AND BETTE RAE SPARKS. SHE NEVER REALLY SHOWED US HOW BETTE RAE GREW FROM A SHY "VEGETABLE GIRL" TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI. I FEEL LIKE THAT PORTION WAS A BIT OVER THE TOP. ALL IN ALL THOUGH, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT READ. AS TIME MARCHES ON IN REAL LIFE, SO DOES IT IN THE BOOK, AND THE READER FINDS THEMSELVES FACING SOME OF THE SAME SITUATIONS THAT HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE. PLEASE, FANNIE, HURRY UP AND WORK YOUR MAGIC AGAIN!!
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Summary: An American Treasure
Review: Fannie Flagg is an American treasure. She captures small town America as no other living writer can--you just had to have been there to truly appreciate her brilliance. Thank you Fannie for taking me home again. It was a heart-warming trip that I recommend to everyone.
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Summary: Charming
Review: Fannie Flagg is an abosolute delight! At first glance, the lives of the characters of Elmwood Springs seem rather simple and ordinary. By the middle of the story you want to move there. By the end they are all old friends you hate to say good-bye to. I hope Fannie doesn't keep us waiting so long for her next book.
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Summary: A Wonderful World to Get Lost In
Review: I don't know how she does it, but Fannie has created a wonderful world within this book. It is heartwarming, suspenseful and wistful. The characters are colorful and some are just teetering on the edge of believable -- however, in even the most outrageous of characters, she manages to reveal their humanity. They will make you laugh, inspire you, and even make you cry. They became my friends as I read this book, and I found it hard to put down. I really enjoyed the ride, and I'm sorry that it had to end.
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Summary: Thank you Fannie Flagg
Review: I didn't even know that Fannie Flagg had a new novel out, I just happened to run across it while browsing through the bookstore. Needless to say I was very excited and I bought it two days later. The characters in this book are absolutely fabulous. I am a big Fannie Flagg fan. I love to watch her on the old episodes of Match Game on Game Show Network. By listening to her on that show one doesnt have to wonder where her witty characters come from.
Please Fannie, dont make us wait so long for your next book!!
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Summary: Fabulous Fanni!
Review: This book is a truly masterful work in the art of simplicity and joy. In this day and age where gloom and doom seem to linger constantly on the horizon, it's nice to read something so light-hearted, fun, and genuinely well-written that allows us to escape from our troubles for awhile. Standing in the Rainbow reintroduces us to characters we met in Ms. Flagg's last novel, 'Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!' including Neighbor Dorothy, Norma and Macky Warren, and the irascible Aunt Elner. But don't worry if you've never read it-you needn't have in order to love this one. This book never gets too heavy or too sad and it really reminds us to appreciate one of the most important things in life--just being alive. So read it already! I would also recommend reading 'Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man', which is also by Ms. Flagg, and 'Tales of the City' by Armistead Maupin.
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Summary: Fannie Flagg does it again
Review: If you are a certified baby-boomer, particularly one who was born and bred in a small town or thereabouts, "Standing in the Rainbow" is bound to bring back some pleasant memories- particularly memories of long, leisurely summer days when your biggest decision whether to go swimming or to go exploring with your best friend. With her usual gentle humor and beautifully-drawn characters, Fannie Flagg takes us back to a time when everyone in a small town knew everyone else, people sat on the front porch in the evenings, every drugstore had a soda-fountain, and screen doors had springs that made them to slam when little boys weren't careful. That is not to say, however, that Miss Flagg sees the world only through rainbow-tinted glasses; her characters experience a wide range of experiences and emotions. Even so, Miss Flagg always manages to help her readers smile at life, even when the humor is mixed with a few tears. At the center of the novel is the Neighbor Dorothy radio show starring Mrs. Dorothy Smith with her mother-in-law, Mother Smith, at the organ. (Some readers will remember Neighbor Dorothy as a supporting character in "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl.") The story, which begins in the 1930s and reaches into the 1990s, includes Neighbor Dorothy's household, her friends, neighbors, and fans. The cast of characters includes some colorful ones: Bobby Smith, whose learns a technique for winning the yearly bubble-blowing contest that helps him solve later problems, Tot Whooten, the local hair-stylist whose experiments with hair go as wrong as her family life, Betty Raye, the mousey member of a gospel-singing family who learns to overcome her stage-fright, and Aunt Elner who has the innate ability to adapt to any situation in any era. Although the first third of the book is episodic -- a group of (sometimes unrelated) anecdotes that often bring to mind the author's early comedy routines -- as Miss Flagg develops her story, she entwines these many characters and events into a neatly woven story that leaves no loose ends. Baby-boomer or not, there is plenty in Miss Flagg's straightforward storytelling and delightful characters for any reader to savor.
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Summary: Loved it, I'm sad that it had to end
Review: I have read all Fannie Flaggs books and this one is the best. I'm going to reread this, it is so sweet and makes me recall things about the past that are fun to remember. The characters are all people that you would like to know. This is the best book I have read in years.
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