Standing in the Rainbow

Starred review from July 22, 2002
From the talented storyteller whose Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
became a beloved bestseller and a successful film comes a sprawling, feel-good novel with an old-fashioned beginning, middle and end. The predominant setting is tiny Elmwood Springs, Mo., and the protagonist is 10-year-old Bobby Smith, an earnest Cub Scout also capable of sneaking earthworms into his big sister's bed. His father is the town pharmacist and his mother is local radio personality Neighbor Dorothy (whom readers will recognize from Flagg's Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!). In 1946, Harry Truman presides over a victorious nation anticipating a happy and prosperous future. During the next several decades, the plot expands to include numerous beguiling characters who interact with the Smith family—among them, the Oatman Family Southern Gospel Singers, led by matriarch Minnie, who survive misadventures galore to find fame after an appearance on the Arthur Godfrey show in 1949, the same year Bobby's self-esteem soars when he wins the annual town bubble gum contest. Also on hand are tractor salesman Ham Sparks, who becomes amazingly successful in politics, despite his marriage to overwhelmingly shy Betty Raye Oatman, and well-liked mortician Cecil Figgs, a sponsor of Neighbor Dorothy, who, as a bachelor in the mid-century South, also enjoys a secret life. The effects of changing social mores are handled deftly; historical events as they impact little Elmwood Springs are duly noted, and everything is infused with the good humor and joie de vivre that are Flagg's stock-in-trade. Agent, Wendy Weil at ICM. (Aug. 13)Forecast:Because Flagg doesn't patronize her characters, her novels beat out other feel-good fiction. Her broad appeal and
Fried Green Tomatoes fame should make her latest a guaranteed bestseller. 9-city author tour.

In the 1940s and '50s, small-town radio stations used local homemakers as hostesses for chatty programs. In the mythical town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, that woman is Neighbor Dorothy. With her mother-in-law at the organ and a blind neighbor girl offering vocals, Dorothy brought the entire region into her parlor. This is the focus of Fannie Flagg's newest novel, STANDING IN THE RAINBOW. The novel grew out of an incident in her previous book, WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL. Rainbow starts in 1946 and takes listeners to the present. Flagg does the reading and gives a warm and personal feeling to each of the characters. She is especially effective with the two dominant female characters, Dorothy and Minnie Oatman, the matriarch of a gospel group. Flagg's Alabama accent is strong enough to give the reading a kind of Missouri Ozark feel but not so strong that it makes listening difficult. The backdrop of contemporary history is fun, as Flagg shows how the characters are shaped by events in the country. But the abridgment makes some of the years fly by too quickly, giving the final cassette (or discs) a choppy feel. The opening portions, though, are charming and engaging, both in content and reading. R.C.G. 2003 Audie Award Winner (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine