The whole town's talking : a novel / Fannie Flagg.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781400065950 (hc)
- ISBN: 140006595X
- Physical Description: 402 pages ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Random House, 2016.
- Copyright: ©2016.
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Communities > Fiction. Small town life > Fiction. Families > Fiction. Cemeteries > Missouri > Fiction. Future life > Fiction. |
Genre: | Domestic fiction. Romance fiction. |
Available copies
- 18 of 19 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Fort Nelson Public Library.
Holds
- 1 current hold with 19 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Nelson Public Library | FIC FLA (Text) | 35246000892065 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2016 November #1
In 1889, Swedish immigrant Lordor Nordstrom buys farmland in Missouri and sets up a town from scratch. Thus begins Flagg's latest, which follows the development of Elmwood Springs and the lives of its inhabitants from the turn of the twentieth century through the present, with stops at all the major events along the way (both world wars, the Great Depression, the age of bobby-soxers, the big-box takeover of suburbia). Readers meet a host of characters and watch them grow, but there's a twist: when residents die, they are buried in Still Meadows cemetery, which looks over the townâquite literally. That's right; the recently dead remain, watching the world change as time goes by. Flagg doesn't stray far from her winsome and winning formula: adorable town with a cute history, check. Quirky characters, check. Nostalgic look at America, check. Readers may recognize that Flagg has visited Elmwood Springs before (Standing in the Rainbow, 2002), and there are appearances by characters from her previous novels. Fans of Maeve Binchy and Lorna Landvik will adore this charming tale. Copyright 2016 Booklist Reviews. - BookPage Reviews : BookPage Reviews 2016 December
Satisfying small-town storyBestselling writer Fannie Flagg returns to a fan-favorite locale, Elmwood Springs, Missouri, in her latest saga steeped in small-town life. Peopled with a memorable cast of characters, Flagg's chatty historical novel spans nearly 150 years in the life, growth and eventual decline of this small farming community in southern Missouri.Â
It all begins with Lordor Nordstrom, a young Swedish immigrant. In the early 1880s, Lordor finds a large tract of land in Missouri that is perfect for his long dreamed-of dairy farm. He places an ad in Swedish-American newspapers, hoping to attract other farmers from his homeland, and soon the small community begins to thrive. Lordor also donates a piece of land for the local cemetery, Still Meadowsâa peaceful plot with a magnificent view of the town below.
By 1889, Lordor realizes it's time to start a family, so he advertises for a mail-order bride. Katrina Olsen, who left Sweden five years earlier and is eager to escape her job working as a housemaid in Chicago, answers his ad, and they become a successful team, working hard to expand their dairy and raising two devoted children.
Chapter by chapter, Flagg introduces a growing number of characters: friends and neighbors of the Nordstroms and their children, their siblings, wives and ex-wives, husbands and ex-husbands. There's 18-year-old Lucille Beemer, who comes from Philadelphia in 1901 to teach the growing school population; Gustav Tildholme, who has a lifelong crush on Lucille, but never gets a chance to tell her; Elner Shimfissle, who sings to her chickens to make them lay bigger eggs; Ander Swensen, who learns the dairy business from Lordor; the Nordstroms' daughter Ingrid, who becomes the first female to attend Iowa's famed School of Veterinary Medicineâand many more.Â
One by one these characters make their way up to Still Meadows. There, though deceased, they are still able to communicate with one another and learn about how the world is changing, as each newcomer delivers the latest news, from airplane travel, to World War II, the atomic bomb and the advent of television.Â
The Whole Town's Talking joins previous Elmwood Springs novels, which include Can't Wait to Get to Heaven and Standing in the Rainbow. Though it's sometimes hard to keep track of the many characters, Flagg's humor shines through as she chronicles their successes, disappointments and even a mysterious murder or two. Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for the screen adaptation of her novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, and her latest has a cinematic quality as well. The interwoven lives of these completely engaging characters twist and turn in unexpected ways, making this chronicle of a close-knit community a pleasure to read.
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This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Copyright 2016 BookPage Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2016 October #2
The history of a Midwestern town founded by Swedish immigrants, including both lives and afterlives, from 1889 to 2021."Over the years, the mail-order bride business had been fraught with pitfalls and disappointments." Not this time. The big, ambitious Swede Lordor Nordstrom and the nearsighted little wife who answers his ad fall quickly, madly in love. Lordor goes on to start a family, to incorporate Elmwood Springs, Missouri, and become its mayor, and also to donate a panoramic parcel of land for its community cemetery. And then he dies. "Shortly after the funeral, the strangest thing happened. Lordor Nordstrom woke up." Turns out, after people die, they remain as spirits in the cemetery, at least for a while; at a certain point the souls disappear from the gossipy spirit kaffeeklatsch for parts to be revealed. As this tale winds through the decades and generations, two communities flourish, one of the living and one of the dead. Flagg (The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, 2013, etc.) does a clever job of tracking her clan of interconnected families through the decades, including a drive-by from Bonnie and Clyde, a visit from Harry Truman, four different wars, the birth and death of downtown, and finally modern plagues including drugs, unemployment, and deaths from texting. There's even a murder mystery woven in, the untimely and suspicious death of a particularly beloved resident which the spirits are determined to investigate and avenge. Much of the fun of the book happens in the graveyard, with conversations like this: "I went to your funeral and sent you flowers." "Thank you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to reciprocate." "My hip doesn't hurt anymore, butâ¦I'm not happyâ¦.I hate that I'm dead, that's why. I've been saving for ten years to be able to make that trip to California, and now I'm not ever going, and the ticket was nonrefundable." You know the expression "This is not your grandma's epic novel"? Well, this is your grandma's epic novel, anodyne but sweeping in its sweet way, full of home truths and consolation. Copyright Kirkus 2016 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2016 May #1
Best known for Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Flagg routinely turns out hits; 2013's The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion has sold 405,000 copies across formats. In Elmwood Springs, MO, townsfolk who die wake up once they are buried and convene amiably with friends and family. But, puzzlingly, some of the dead simply vanish.
[Page 49]. (c) Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - LJ Express Reviews : LJ Express Reviews
The small town of Elmwood Springs, MO, has been populated by eccentric characters throughout its historyâstarting with Swedish immigrant, businessman, and town founder Lordor Nordstrom's arrival in 1889. In the fourth outing in her Elmwood Springs series (after Can't Wait To Get to Heaven), Flagg takes readers through a languid and nostalgic look at rural America in the 20th century by focusing on the relatives and neighbors of the Nordstrom family. The Still Meadows cemetery plays a prominent role here, and more traditional and conservative readers may be offended of Flagg's interpretation of the afterlife, which she reveals slowly throughout the novel. As well, the unconventional ending in 2021 may startle those looking to the past for comfort and stability in changing times. Series fans will recognize favorite characters including Aunt Elner and Mackey Warren. Verdict: Die-hard Flagg admirers will enjoy this title, but new readers should start with another Flagg book or pick up Americana favorites by Billie Letts or Ann B. Ross. [See Prepub Alert, 4/10/16.]âChristine Barth, Scott Cty. Lib. Syst., IA (c) Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.