Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man

Rating:
Summary: Alleluia Brother!
Review: This is an enjoyable look at the world through the innocent eyes of Daisy Fay, an 11 year-old with a drunken con man for a father. Named after a vase of daisies in her mother's hospital room at birth we follow the trials and tribulations that are her life. Flagg has such a sincere way of presenting the main character's view of her father's dastardly deeds, that culminate in putting Daisy in a leaky row boat with a light that shines a crucifix in the sky, followed by the staging of her death and her return to life (via inner tube) from the sunken boat, as a miracle from God. There are plenty of laughs and a down home southern appeal to the book. The author reads the book on tape and makes it even more pleasurable. A light, fun read with an unforgettable cast of characters. Kelsana 4/11/01

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Summary: Fannie Flagg's Debut Novel
Review: Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg's debut novel, DAISY FAY AND THE MIRACLE MAN is the story of young Daisy Fay Harper, a young naive only child of a man who never gives up and a woman that is frustrated with her life and her marriage.

The novel starts with Daisy Fay as an eleven-year old typing in her journal about her Grandmother Pettibone winning the VFW bingo, and buying her a typewriter with the winnings. It is the start of Daisy Fay's story. The entire book is in the form of her journal, and we see life through her pure naive eyes. She writes from her heart, so we learn of all her innermost secrets, her hates and her loves. Daisy Fay brings us into her world where she grew up in Mississippi and ends the journal in her eighteenth year. She does a lot of growing up and learns a little more about the world around her and the people that are most important to her in her life.

Daisy Fay's world is one of a dysfunctional family's, but in her opinion, she's having a blast. She doesn't notice what is going on around her and with her family. At least, it's not evident in her journal. With the help of her friends and her own imagination, Daisy Fay is having fun and enjoying life, as only she knows how.

For those who are fans of Fannie Flagg, I highly recommend reading DAISY FAY AND THE MIRACLE MAN. Although this was not as good as her most famous novel, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE, nor as good as WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY GIRL, I feel that DAISY FAY was a very good debut novel. It depicted what life was like growing up in the south in the 1950's. Young Daisy Fay can teach us all a lesson that life is what you make it and anyone can succeed and reach his or her dreams. Thumbs up for DAISY FAY AND THE MIRACLE MAN.

Rating:
Summary: Funniest Book I've Ever Read
Review: For sheer entertainment and a laugh-out-loud good time, this is the book to read. I think Fannie Flagg is always witty and heartwarming, but this, her first novel, has to be the most humorous book ever.

Daisy Fay Harper's story is told via her diary which begins in 1952 when she is eleven-years-old and ends in 1959 when she leaves Mississippi to begin her long-awaited future. Along the way, the reader is treated to a hodgepodge of beautifully-drawn characters including would-be socialites, restaurant operators, wayward preachers, theater people, back-alley abortionists, and more.

Whether it's rising from the dead, riding half-naked on horseback through the middle of town, or competing for a longed-for scholarship in the Miss Mississippi pageant, Daisy Fay is about the most endearing character to ever leap from the pages of a novel. She is stubborn, feisty, loving, loyal, and focused. Most of all, her coming of age is an accurate portrayal of Southern life in the 1950's. It has not been sanitized to be politically correct or rewritten to avoid offense. It is truthful and sincere and the most side-splittingly funny novel I've had the pleasure of reading.

Whether you grew up in the South or not, this microcosm of small-town life in the 1950's will touch your heart. So join Daisy Fay, her struggling mother and her father, the Miracle Man, for a trip back to a time and era that is too rich with human emotion to ever forget.

Rating:
Summary: Fannie Flagg is a born story teller!
Review: I was hooked on this book from page one. The journal of 11 year old (to her late teens) Daisy Fay Harper is a gem! I laughed so much reading this book and wondered, "Where did Fannie Flagg get these ideas?" She is a wonderful story teller. The characters are great (didn't we all have someone like Kay Bob "Big Mouth" Benson in our lives?) and memorable. If anyone is looking for a light read and lots of fun and laughs then look no further than DAISY FAY AND THE MIRACLE MAN. I'm recommending this book to all my friends who love to read.

Rating:
Summary: Wild, witty, and wonderful.
Review: Eleven-year-old Daisy Fay Harper is the sassy narrator of Fannie Flagg's debut novel. Documenting her experiences growing up in a tiny Mississippi beach town, Daisy Fay writes with indomitable humor, charm, and pluck. Fannie Flagg has an amazing talent for creating true-to-life (yet marvelously zany) characters, and Daisy Fay and her town are no exception.

The only problem? Flagg appears to lose interest once Daisy Fay hits high school. Things take a turn for the worse - both in Daisy Fay's life and in the writing. Things aren't as detailed, and the older Daisy Fay lacks much of the smart alecky quality of her younger counterpart.

Still, a more than worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Touching and hilarious coming-of-age tale
Review: Fannie Flagg wrote this one before striking it rich with Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, and it's not as good as that show-stopper. But it's just fine, if you don't try to compare it to Green Tomatoes. It's hilarious, sentimental, also written in anecdotal diary format, as were parts of FGT at WSC.
Told in the POV of Daisy Fay, it includes a flamboyant and unforgettable cast of characters that we have come to expect from author Flagg as we follow sassy but lonely 11 year old Daisy Fay on her unlikely journey toward the title of Miss Mississippi.

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Summary: A Sure Thing
Review: If you like well-written "coming of age" books set in the south, such as "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Bark of the Dogwood" or "Secret Life of Bees," then you'll love this one. Both funny and heartwarming, I honestly couldn't put it down and finished it in one day. You can't go wrong with any book by Flagg, and this one, along with "Fried Green Tomatoes" is a sure bet.

Also recommended: FRIED GREEN TOMATOES and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!!!!!!
Review: This was an absolutly wonderful book!! Daisy Fay is hilarious, as well as the other characters. Her father is a riot (besides the whole alcholic thing)!! I did not want this book to end. I highly recommend this book!!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best!
Review: I have read this book probably 1500 times. It is one of the best writtn books I have ever picked up. I was raised in the good ole south and it brings back so many warm memories. What strikes me as really interesting about this book is that is not at all PC. Yet how can it be? This is truly what the south was like at that time and any change would have made it much less enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Love Fannie Flagg...
Review: She is a wonderful Southern story teller. Her characters have warmth and everything wonderful in life, with some spice mixed in. It's books like these that are hard to put down and sad when they end.