Standing in the Rainbow

Rating:
Summary: Mark Twain? NOT
Review: Let me say that I enjoyed this book - it is a collection of quaint stories. The subjects are generally pleasant, and the characters are appealing. All of them. There are no "villians" in this book - even the gangsters are whitewashed.

I got the feeling that Ms. Flagg was trying to write a more modern day Huck Finn type book - centering around the character of Bobby Smith, his family, and their home town, Elmwood Springs, MO. It has that theme of "even the bad things turn out to be good" in every turn. The characters are not very deep at all. They all seem to go through the good and the bad with the same reaction, "that's life". A main character dies, and it's revealed with one sentence. All the bad stuff in the world (alcoholism, adultery, financial stress, teen pregnancy, etc.) happens to one side character - Tot ("poor Tot" as she is known), and she is the most real character as she goes into a depression after her no-good husband leaves her. But even that feels like it's being reported to you rather than the reader getting the real feelings of the character.

I guess that's it - the characters and their feelings are reported to you. Ms. Flagg doesn't use much dialogue to reveal the story or characters, and when she does, a lot of it is from "Neighbor Dorothy" who is talking to her radio audience. This is unfortunate because, from reading Ms. Flagg's other books, I believe she has a real knack for dialog. Maybe she wanted to try a different style, but it is very flat.

The bottom line is that this is an enjoyable book to read - on the light side - and there is something missing, but you won't feel like you wasted your time.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money.
Review: I know Ms. Flagg is a good writer; let's hope this is her worst work. The characters are one-dimensional and stereotypical, the story lines are all over the place, and it's just a dull read. I don't like books that *try* to pull at your heartstrings. This one's worse--she tries, and fails miserably. A book club pick that was the biggest dud ever.

Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL SUMMER READ!!
Review: After reading WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY GIRL, I purchased this book and found it to be one of the best books I read in a long time. Fannie Flagg?s characters of Elmwood Springs, Missouri seem so real that I felt as though I could have known them myself; and was very saddened when the book ended. I hope that Fannie Flagg will continue to write such wonderful well-written hometown stories as this one. Thank you Fannie Flagg!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: This book was phenomenonally great from start to finish. From the first chapter, you are mentally intrigued and begin memorizing each new character's behavior, and mannerisms. Dorothy is one of the best characters, she never says a mean or ugly thing about anyone, she's available for anyone that needs her, and with each bit of love and kindness that she offers she gets it back 10 fold. You begin anticipating the growth of each character as the story unfolds and years go by. In the end each character has evolved in such a different way from their original self that you feel proud reading about them, for the most part.