Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this book.....I laughed 'til I cried....absolutely hilarious, and at the same time, so poignant.....It's one of those books you don't want to finish. However, at the same time you can't put down....You feel as if you know each character; and if you don't, you wish you did. I wish it had gone on for another 500 pages...I just finished it, and miss the town, and the people already.
I want to thank Fannie Flagg for such a gift...
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant Read
Review: This is, as with most Fannie Flagg books, a pleasant, easy read. I look forward to all her works as my perfect "escapist" fiction. As a former St. Louisian, I take exception to one glaring error. The St. Louis Gateway Arch was not in existence in th 1940's - wasn't created until the 1960s!
Rating:
Summary: Non-stop fun!
Review: Spanning 60 years, from the 40s into the 90s, I couldn't put this book down! Very interesting character developments, great interweaved plots, kooky southers folks, and humor galore! I needed this book at this time in my life and I will always be grateful to Fannie for writing it!
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Summary: Small Town Americana At Its Finest
Review: Standing In The Rainbow paints a beautiful picture of small-town America that is fast fading away. Fannie Flagg's portrait of this homey Missouri town and the Smith family is nostalgic, poignant, funny. The reader progresses from smiles to chuckles to laugh-out-loud. Then, when least expected, come the tears--both of sadness and of joy. Flagg's book is pure joy to read and is one that won't be soon forgotten. It's definitely one to keep on the bookshelf for a reread. Thanks, Fannie Flag, for another delightful book!
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Summary: I love Fannie Flagg!!!
Review: This is the first book by Fannie Flagg that I have read, and it will not be the last. I finished it last night and all day I have been in "mourning" that I won't have Standing in the Rainbow to read tonight!! This book is one great story. It follows some truly lovable characters from the 1940's to the 1990's all the while bringing in a true feel for America throughout all of those time periods. This is a definite shoe-in for a spot on my personal top 10 books of 2002. I am now going to read all of Ms. Flagg's books. If you are looking for a heartwarming, good old-fashioned story that entertains you and makes you feel good, this is the book! I just want to hug everyone in Elmwood Springs, Missouri!!!! Great, great book! Get it immediately, it will make your day!
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This is my first time reading Fannie Flagg and I must say I was hanging onto every word. I loved the characters, they were refreshingly real. Even the traveling gospel family struck a funny chord with me with details that made them clear to picture in my mind. If you want a lighthearted read, this is a good book to curl up with.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful study, in beautiful colors, of smalltown America
Review: Fans of Fannie Flagg's earlier novels will love this new one, and I predict she'll pick up a whole lot of new fans, too. This book is just wonderful: an unforgettable and yet comfortable voice tells us everything we need to know about everyone in town, yet never tells one thing more than we need to know.The true subtlety of Miss Flagg's work lies not in the richly softspoken sentences, the dead-on dialogue, the gentle humor and tart observation that are her comic hallmarks. It's what she leaves out of the story, the parts she knows not to tell. I happen to think Fannie Flagg is the most underrated American author, except by her readers, who love her. She's the finest comic voice working in fiction today, and when things take a serious turn -- as they do in this sweet, lovely, summery novel -- she can flat break your heart.
Rating:
Summary: The return of Neighbor Dorothy
Review: Fannie Flagg returns with a sequel to "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" Neighbor Dorothy is back in her kitchen with her folksy radio program, accompanied by her organ-playing mother-in-law, Mother Smith. This book spans 50 years in the small town of Elmwood Springs, Misssouri, and follows such wonderful characters as Tot Whooten, Hamm Sparks, and the Oatman Family Gospel Singers. The book is reminiscent of "The Prairie Home Companion" and Flagg spins her tales in a never-take-a-breath style which evokes equal shares of laughter and tears in her readers. Her stories and characters are unforgettable and Flagg recounts a wonderful era during the 40's and 50's when neighbors were neighborly, people were honest, and patriotism was a quality to be admired. This is a wonderful book, which will bring back warm memories to those of us who lived in that era, and will show those who didn't what they missed!
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Summary: Heartwarming, Witty, and Captivating.....
Review: The year, 1946; the place, Elmwood Springs, Missouri. Life is good and filled with unlimited opportunities and promise, the future never seemed brighter, and spirits are lifted daily, by the "lady with the smile in her voice," radio homemaker, Neighbor Dorothy Smith, as she passes along recipes, friendly advice, local news, and a little entertainment, each morning, from her living room on station WDOT. Meet the Smith family, their friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, and revel in the joys of small town life, as Fannie Flagg takes the reader on an amazing fifty year odyssey, rich in insight, wisdom, humor, and truth. This is storytelling at its very best, filled with interesting twists and surprises, vivid scenes, engaging writing, and clever dialogue. But it's Ms Flagg's brilliant characterizations that make this book stand out and sparkle. These are complex and endearing, real people, warts and all, not cliched, cartoon characters, and Ms Flagg is able to breathe life into each and every one of them. Standing In The Rainbow is an intriguing and captivating story, sometimes poignant, often uplifting, but always touching and heartwarming; a story that captures the imagination as it pulls you in, and introduces a whole new generation to the simple wonders of living in a small town. You'll laugh, you'll cry, but mostly you'll remember what it was like to walk with your family down a decorated Main Street at Christmas to buy your tree at the town lot for $1.50, sit on a stool and have a sundae at the drug store soda fountain, watch a whole afternoon of movies, every Saturday, for a nickle, and listen to the voice of a friendly "neighbor" each day on the radio. And there was never a doubt that "something wonderful was always just about to happen..."
Rating: 
Summary: Sweet story full of nostalgia.
Review: I thought this book was sweet. It wasn't a "deep" story but rather one that invoked nostalgia for the era of my childhood, the baby-boomer 1950's and also the greatest generation era, that of my parents', the 1940's. I think it was just a feel-good patriotic kind of book that reached into the past and reminded us of some of those things that were so wonderful about growing up in America during those eras - the simplicity of life and those "American" things that we probably didn't appreciate at the time, such as sitting on the front porch, having bubble gum blowing contests, the local movie theatres, knowing our neighbors and just a much simpler and slower way of life. I thought the characters were developed as much as they needed to be for this story. I think Fannie Flagg just wanted to write a "feel-good" story without getting too deep into the problems of the characters and she succeeded. However, I did notice one mistake. During one summer when Bobby almost drowned in the pool, it was noted that Monroe was out of town visiting his grandparents. Then at the start of the 1950's, when Bobby and Monroe went to California for the Boy Scout Jamboree, the author said that this was Monroe's first trip out of Elmwood Springs. That really bothers me when I see a mistake like that in a book. It makes me feel that the author wasn't paying close attention while writing the story. Other than that, I liked it. If you want a really light and fast read, I would recommend it.
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