Now Read This: ‘The Whole Town’s Talking’ by Fannie Flagg

I first learned about Fannie Flagg in 2006 after watching the movie adaptation of her book “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.” That book was published in 1988 and, since then, she has gone on to write several more that are just as engaging as her first. NoveList says this about Flagg: “Fannie Flagg uses her unique storytelling voice to submerge readers in the atmosphere of the rural small town, spinning tales that are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. As a keen observer of human nature, Flagg illustrates the vast complexity of humanity in her strong and true-to-life characterizations.”

Her latest novel, “The Whole Town’s Talking,” is the story of the life of a fictional town in Missouri called Elmwood Springs. In 1889, founding father Lordor Nordstrom starts the town with just a Swedish mail-order bride and a farm. As the years go by, he brings in other farmers, businesses and all the necessities of a small town. Readers meet a host of characters and watch them grow over a period of 150 years and through many of the major events, including both world wars, the Great Depression, the age of bobby-soxers and the big-box takeover of suburbia. As the residents die, their spirits meet in the cemetery where they talk to each other and keep an eye on their relatives. Divided by the decades, the book is the story of Nordstrom and his neighbors and descendants as they live, love, die and carry on in mysterious and surprising ways. The library owns this title both in hardcover and audiobook formats.

Two of Flagg’s other books that I have read and enjoyed are “The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion” (about four sisters who ran a filling station and flew planes during WWII) and “I Still Dream About You” (a comic mystery romp through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, past, present and future with a great starring character). The library owns her titles in a variety of formats: hardcover, large print, e-book and book-on-CD. Two of the titles that NoveList recommended as read-alikes are “The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing” by Mira Jacob and “Dear John” by Nicholas Sparks, both of which the library owns copies. Sparks’ books are so popular, the library owns “Dear John” in four formats: book, book-on-CD, DVD and e-book.

Happy reading!